Thieves strike in Alaska

[K. Bryan Morgan]

I got this off of the Alaska Artist Blacksmith Association yahoo group today. My heart sank when I saw it. I just wanted anyone who may be able to provide assistance to know. He had been gone for a while and when he came back his shop and home had been cleaned out.


Posted by Frosty:

I got this from Gordon Dempsey and he asked me to pass it along. We may be a
prime target for thieves to want to sell this to, so please lets be on the
lookout for his tools.

Gordon's message follows:

My shop got cleaned out. The thieves got my anvil, all my tongs,
hammers, 2 leg vises, three gas fired forges, one round horizontal 9x19"
and two made from 20 and 30# propane cylinders lined with Kaowoll
and refractory.
Some of the hammers are ones I made, all the tongs were made by me.
Hammers and tongs I made have either G.S. Dempsey Nikiski, Alaska or
Gordon S. Dempsey Kenai Alaska stamped in them. It is stamped in the
left (obverse) side of the hammers, and near the rivet and on the reigns of
the tongs. All the tongs have long reigns for use in a gas forge.
If some of my stuff shows up in the valley, a license plate number and
any ID you can get would be appreciated.

Gordon Dempsey
907-394-0894

[jimmy seale]

this is sad news,,, a liberal dose of buck shot is in order....hope the stuff is recovered

[jmccustomknives]

Just check the scrap yards. These sobs are steeling anything that isn't bolted down around here. Every week it seems some one comes in to replace some piece of equipment or such. Usually the theives don't know or care what it is, they just want to sell it for scrap. Keep your stuff safe, try not to let any one know you have it. The fewer that do the safer it will be. As Jimmy said, all it takes is one load of 00 buck and the problem is solved.

[double_edge2]

Thieving grubs

[Daniel.85]

I would go crazy if that happened to me, so sad. Piece of trash scrappers or some useless kids thinking they can make swords with it.

I use some cheap trail cameras hidden for security, they snap shots of anyone driving up to my shop or walking around inside. I would like to get something set up that sends my phone a pic if its armed and the motion sensor goes off.

[Ferrous Beuler]

Oh man, I was in a good mood this morning too. That just plain hurts.
The only good thing I can see in this is that IFI exists and there will be lots of eyeballs out there keeping on the alert for this stuff.
I would keep a close eye on Craigslist and Ebay. Also, if there are any photos of the shop showing this tooling I would include that in flyers with descriptions and see to it that every scrap dealer in all the states and provinces within 1,000 miles has a copy. In fact I would call every single one of them personally on the telephone and speak directly to the owners to ensure everyone is on board and aware of what might be headed their way.
These low lifes may sit on this stuff for awhile before trying to unload it.

I don't understand why we did away with being broken by the wheel and drawing & quartering, makes no sense to me.

[HWHII]

I called a couple of my friends in Anchorage who are not involved in your group, and told them to keep a eye out.

[K. Bryan Morgan]

Thank you Harold, the more people we have looking the better our chances are of recovering some of his gear.

[Ridgewayforge]

What kind of anvil did he lose, and pictures of the shop might help. I've been trolling e-bay looking for any that might be his.

[ThomasPowers]

And for the rest of us: Do you have a way of positively proving an anvil or postvise is *yours*?

Stamping in a easily seen location with a backup stamp somewhere "hidden" is a good idea.

[Frosty]

Thanks for posting this Bryan, I'm way behind. Thanks Harold, the more eyes on the problem the better.

Good points Thomas and I'll ask Gordon for more positive ID on the anvil, post vises and photos if he has them. Heck, I'll see about getting him subbed on here too.

Thanks guys, thieves must PAY!

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Very embarrassing when an item with your "visible stamp" ground off has a hidden stamp proving them lying when they claim it was theirs for *years* and the grinding off of one stamp is evidence of intent instead of confusion over an item.

[Judson Yaggy]

Post a "blacksmith tools wanted, will pay top dollar" add on your local Craigslist. Might find your stuff, might get other good leads. Get photos of your stuff, along with a box of doughnuts, to your local scrap yard. Good luck.

[K. Bryan Morgan]

Thanks for posting this Bryan, I'm way behind. Thanks Harold, the more eyes on the problem the better.

Good points Thomas and I'll ask Gordon for more positive ID on the anvil, post vises and photos if he has them. Heck, I'll see about getting him subbed on here too.

Thanks guys, thieves must PAY!

Frosty The Lucky.






Your welcome Frosty, glad to help. I've seen nothing here locally on our Craigs. I just feel so bad for him. To come home to that would send me into a rage.

[reitenger]

I would also look up the alaska outdoors directory and post it up there. That forum is huge and has a spot for everything in alaska.

If I were going to post up on craigslist, I would definitely make it look like a newbie looking to get started out.

[John McPherson]

Breaking & Entering and Property Theft has become a low priority in the past decade or so. One might even say decriminalized, since it is now a misdemeanor and not a felony. Here, unless you are home, in the same building while the break-in occurs, or unless guns are stolen, the police just take a report over the internet or phone, and give you a case number to use for insurance purposes. They are not going looking for stolen property at pawn shops, flea markets or scrap yards, somebody (honest) would have to report it to them. Even if by chance you find your stuff, you will have to prove ownership to get it back.

Having been hit by thieves more than once myself, there are a few things you can do to to discourage theft and/or increase likelihood of recovery. None are guarantees. Some are unique to blacksmithing, most are not.

Locks, chains, dogs and alarms are just to make them look for a softer target, slow them down or make enough noise to attack unwanted attention.

Take a voice-over video or photographic inventory of all your tools (and household goods), print them out and write on the back what they are and how much they are worth. Record make/model/serial numbers on all guns and high dollar items. *****Store the inventory off site in a secure location.**** You need this in case of fire/tornado/earthquake/major break-in for insurance purposes.

Take a sheet of typing paper and a carpenters pencil and do a rubbing of the markings of every anvil you own - as good as fingerprints for ID. You and I know the stampings and accumulated dings are NEVER the same, but proving that to a jury would be tough without it.

Having your stamp on tongs and things would help prove ownership, unless you have ever sold tongs. MIG welding, paint markers, engraving or stamping your name/initials and/or drivers license number on large items works as well.

Those that know me have commented on my liberal use of Federal Safety Purple paint on ALL my tools. It helped reduce pilferage from my truck when I had a construction company. When thieves hit every remote vacation cabin on a dead end road, including my uncle's cabin we were working on, they stole the shower stall and electrical panel off the wall, as well as everything not nailed down. They left my purple tools.

At school we use fluorescent green and blue. Red, yellow and orange are too common. Find a color or combination that works for you.

[ThomasPowers]

I know a smith, (Hi Patrick!), that uses hot pink as his tool colour---says that most smiths won't even ask to *borrow* a tool so marked much less have them walk off.