Lost -missing-stolen knife

[Ray Cover]

Well it has not been a good couple days.

I just sent a recently finished job to Rob Blanton of Elite Custom knives and when the package arrived the side of the box was busted open and the knife was missing.

We both have contacted Fed-Ex and they are in the process of trying to track down what happened to it. At this point no one knows if the box was accidentally crushed and the knife fell out in transit or if it was tore open the the knife taken. We may never know.

Here are the specs on the knife and I have attached links to photos of the knife.

It was a large Joe Kious Double Pocket locket with Rados trukish damascus blade. It had the sliding pockets on each side to conceal internal engravable panels. It had 14K gold handle inlay and the internal panels were aslo 14K gold.

The knife was engraved with a Wall Street theme as you can see in the pics.
If any of you ever run across this knife at a show or ever spot it on ebay please let either Rob or Myself know ASAP.

Thanks,

Ray
http://http://st03.startlogic.com/~rcoveren/sample19.jpg
http://http://st03.startlogic.com/~rcoveren/sample20.jpg
http://http://st03.startlogic.com/~rcoveren/sample21.jpg

 

[Ray Cover]

OK Sam what did I do wrong on the links? never mind I got it fixed

 

[KSnyder]

Ray, I'd be beside myself if something like that ever came up "missing".
One consolation I will offer is if whomever did commit a crime & open the box , a piece of this magnitude only has a small spectrum of buyers which one would hope are an honest lot and be su****ious of the seller.
Or maybe the package breach was an honest mistake.
Sure hope it turns up.
Kent

 

[pilkguns]

should have sent it DHL right Kent?

naw, it could happen to any of the shippers. Fantastic work with a fascinating theme Ray. Of course we expect nothing less from you, tis a shame it has gone missing. It probably will surface sooner or later in some fashion. I had a floorplate with gold inlaid cape buff I did years ago, same thing, box was tore, actually was in the box with the rest of the unassembled gun on its way to be blued. About 8 years later I got a call from a guy asking about it, since it had my sig on it. I told him the story, he got really funny acting said he had to go, and I never heard from him again.

More constructively, there is a FedEx purgatory, where missing stuff like this ends up I am sure it is in Memphis, (UPS has one in Vegas I think) since you have good pictures, you can make a real nuisance of yourself with them if you can get the phone number. I was able to recover a missing gun sign from UPS this way once.

 

[Ray Cover]

Rob checked and he has a shipping insurance that will cover it. I think I am going to get the same insurance. I had no idea it even existed. It cost somethinglike $250 a year for $15,000 coverage on collectable items you ship. As many of these high end knives and pens I ship I should do it. Rob is supposed to send me a link to the place this evening.

Anyway the peice is covered by insurance but it is a real shame because I worked my butt off on that knife.
I suspect eventually it will show on ebay or at a knife show somewhere someday.

Rob and I were both sick yesterday when we found out. Rob already had a customer for the knife too.
I guess the silver lining is that he is not out financially due to the insurance. But I am sure he would rather have the knife.

Ray

 

[kristin]

That's a shame it's such a beautiful knife.

Do you guys double box? I'm it the diamond wholesale business and we triple box packages going Fed ex. I write the tracking # and address on each of the boxes too, just incase they "loose" it's tracking info on the outside box.

 

[Glenn]

Ray,
I'm sorry to hear about this loss. I can only imagine the feelings you are having.
Certainly not in the class as your loss, but I'm offering a heads up on a loss I had comming back from the FEGA show in Reno last month. I had two buck knives from the grs collection that I had engraved. Each was in a separate pouch, but in a plastic baggie together. They were in the front pouch of my suitcase (not in the inside with my clothing). When I unpacked at my home both knives were gone. I've tried to track down potential areas that such loss may occur, but a total waste of time. Interesting to note. I had nine way more expensive knives that I had purchased at the blade and Safari show that was in my shoes inside the suitcase that were not touched.

 

[Gargoyle]

Very sorry to hear about this. The double boxing does sound like a good idea.

Shipping can provide some of the biggest headaches, since it is a stage when we have to relinquish control to unknown people. I have insurance when I am transporting things, and I always make sure my shippers are insured, but I should look into this idea of blanket shipping insurance; collecting from third parties, like FedEx, UPS or a trucking companies insurance company, can be a headache.

I had a 600 lb gargoyle stolen off the roof of a 2 story building. It showed up 8 or 9 months later. Someone who knew me spotted it in an architectural salvage yard, called me, and we recovered it.

 

[Ray Cover]

I had a 600 lb gargoyle stolen off the roof of a 2 story building. It showed up 8 or 9 months later. Someone who knew me spotted it in an architectural salvage yard, called me, and we recovered it.

That had to be a drunk frat party gone awry.

Insurance through Fed Ex is a very tricky business. I have even called and talked to a Fed-ex rep about it and they confirmed it.

If you read the fine print (and I mean fine, get your microscope) on the Fed-Ed boxes it states that they will not pay out any more than $500 on certain items. I was told by a Fed-ex rep when I called that the only thing they cover for more than $500 is electronic equip.

They will sell you $25,000 worth of insurance but they will only pay out $500.

Ray

 

[Ray Cover]

I had a 600 lb gargoyle stolen off the roof of a 2 story building. It showed up 8 or 9 months later. Someone who knew me spotted it in an architectural salvage yard, called me, and we recovered it.

That had to be a drunk frat party gone awry.

Insurance through Fed Ex is a very tricky business. I have even called and talked to a Fed-ex rep about it and they confirmed it.

If you read the fine print (and I mean fine, get your microscope) on the Fed-Ed boxes it states that they will not pay out any more than $500 on certain items. I was told by a Fed-ex rep when I called that the only thing they cover for more than $500 is electronic equip.

They will sell you $25,000 worth of insurance but they will only pay out $500.

Ray

 

[Gargoyle]

That had to be a drunk frat party gone awry.

Insurance through Fed Ex is a very tricky business. I have even called and talked to a Fed-ex rep about it and they confirmed it.

A tuckpointing company was stealing architectural ornament around that neighborhood. The cops caught them a couple weeks later; but the cops were too impatient, didn't wait to catch them in the act, so the could only charge them with trespassing. They'd scout out beautiful architectural ornamentation during the day, then come back later with equipment; either set up like they were working, or climb up at night.

As to FedEx, UPS, et. al, they do have lots of loopholes hidden in their fine print. Collecting on anything which can be classified as a unique work of art can be very difficult.


OK, here's the link to the fedex document: (I'm deleting some irrelevent items for conciseness)

Shipments (packages or freight) containing all or part of the following items are limited to a maximum declared value of US$500:​

• Artwork, including any work created or developed by the application of skill, taste or creative talent for sale, display or collection. This includes, but is not limited to, items (and their parts) such as paintings, drawings, vases, tapestries, limited-edition prints, fine art, statuary, sculpture and collector's items.
• Antiques, or any commodity that exhibits the style or fashion of a past era and whose history, age or rarity contributes to its value. These items include, but are not limited to, furniture, tableware and glassware.
• Glassware, including, but not limited to, signs, mirrors, ceramics, porcelains, china, crystal, glass, framed glass, and any other commodity with similarly fragile qualities.
• Jewelry, including, but not limited to, costume jewelry, watches and their parts, mount gems or stones (precious or semiprecious), industrial diamonds, and jewelry made of precious metal.
• Precious metals, including, but not limited to, gold and silver bullion or dust, precipitates, or platinum (except as an integral part of electronic machinery).
• Ostrich and emu eggs.
• Collector's items such as sports cards, souvenirs and memorabilia. (Collector's coins and stamps may not be shipped. See the Prohibited Items section.)
• Guitars and other musical instruments that are more than 20 years old, and customized or personalized musical instruments.

 

[Ken Hurst]

Ray, I am truly sorry about your loss. I gave up on UPS and FedEx due to reoccuring problems with them both. About seven years ago I solved the problem by only shipping via USPS Reg. mail. Everyone that handles the package has to sign for it --- for the last seven years I haven't had any losses or damaged packages. FWIW, Ken

 

[2toes]

Collector Insurance

I believe this is the insurance you are looking to purchase. Great people to deal with and they do pay claims when a item is lost.


http://www.collectinsure.com/SpecPages/knives.htm

 

[pilkguns]

I could tell you a horror story or two for Registered mail as well..... but the insurance is good

 

[Don Cowles]

Ken, I'm with you on the USPS registered mail. When I ship a knife to a customer, it usually takes a day or two longer because of the required signatures en route - but it gets there every time.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

That's a shame Ray tough lose. If FedEx has to come up with a pay off they'll make an effort to find it, if they don't they won't. The business insurance I have now has a $500 deductible but will cover any lose up to $25,000 if I use registered mail USPS, I can up it if need be. All I have to do is insure it for $500 to cover the deductible. Don's right Registered mail is a little slower but very reliable.
Mike

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Ray,
It make me angry that this sort of thing happens all the time.
I sent a money order for some patterns a week ago and it never got
to company. The Detroit area is notorious for that sort of thing.
The reason I have some of the accounts that I do is because I hand
deliver. I don't think the money order even made it out of the Detroit
Metro area. The mistake I made was to put a company name in the
address. If it goes person to person it stand a slightly better chance.
The diamond dealers have taken to shipping parcels in box, inside a box,
inside a box, inside a box. You get something the size of a computer
that contains one job bag.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

That sounds like an absolute nightmare Ray. Like you say it's not just the fact the knife's gone missing but what you have of yourself put into such a project. I really hope you manage to get it sorted and that it turns up safe. Good luck.

 

[Steve Adams]

It seems there are people in this world determined to take advantage whenever possible. Ray's knife was simply beautiful. I had one shippng problem like Ray, but I am happy to report the item showed up after two months. I had just filed a claim, when mysteriously it showed up at my door in another box. Pretty strange that it showed up when I submitted a claim. All of the shipping companies have flaws in their systems, so I won't pick on any paticular one, I just hope that the knife can be recovered, or the person that took it cuts themselves badly. I've only done one knife I would consider collectible, and let me say that Ray's knife and talent is 100 times better, however I really feel sympathetic in this case because the knife I did was stolen from my home. To put your heart and soul into your work then have it taken away like that is a bitter pill to swallow. That pit in your stomach takes a while to go away, then there is always the fear that it can happen again. Its extremely difficult to fully protect yourself from dishonest people, but I am a firm believer in what comes around goes around.

 

[Sam]

I have found that Registered Mail Insured is the safest and most secure way to ship as the package is signed for at each stop in the journey to a customer. I also make it clear that when I insure an expensive shipment, I can't be responsible if something happens. I've also had customers who got special insurance for a one-time expensive shipment. As Walter pointed out, shippers can have all kinds of fine-print disclaimers that can release them from responsibility for certain items.