Sidebar

Pipe theft! APB!

Log in

Forgot your password?

SmokingPipes.com Updates

156 Fresh Peterson Pipes
9 Fresh Caminetto Pipes
24 Fresh Estate Pipes
4 Fresh Todd Johnson Pipes
3 Fresh Il Cerchio Pipes

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

Site Sponsors

Al Pascia
Blue Room Briars
Cigar World
Danish Pipe Shop
LePipe.it
Missouri Meerschaum
Pipes2Smoke.com
PipeStud.com
Seattle Pipe Club Tobaccos
SmokingPipes.com
Tabaccheria Corti
TinBids.com

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

drunkblowhard

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 30, 2015
112
0
My boss/friend/pipe-smoking-buddy recently took his wife to Europe for their first anniversary.
While in Belgium drinking delicious beers and eating delicious fries (as one is supposed to do in Belgium) some low-life scoundrel smashed out the window of their rental car and stole everything that wasn't nailed down. Laptop, iPad, clothes, etc...
While that is a real kick in teeth, those things can be replaced. But that SOB also snatched my friend's pipe bag. And inside was his brand new, one-off Baki Meershcaum.
I'm posting about it here because I know some of you dedicated PAD sufferers spend tons of free time scouring eBay for pipes, and on the off chance this theif is dumb enough to try to sell it, I would love to recover it for him.
It's a Baki basket weave, and its instantly easy to spot because it has an irregular rim. It's a true one-off. This thing is real gem. I watched him agonize for weeks about whether or not to buy it, and was so happy for him when he pulled the trigger on it. And then some animal stole it. Ugh.
I'm going to see if I can dig up a photo of it and post it, just so you all know exactly what it looks like. It's a seriously beautiful pipe.
If anyone sees something fitting that description listed online anywhere, I would be beyond grateful for a heads up.
Thanks and cheers.

 
papipeguy

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
That is a real shame. I wonder if his insurance will even cover the losses since it happened out of the country. I suppose the odds of getting anything back are nil. My best wishes for the pipe showing up somewhere that will lead to the perp.

 
brudnod

brudnod

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 26, 2013
938
6
Great Falls, VA
I only travel with pipes that are replaceable and which will not be lamented if lost. That being said, hopefully your friend reported it to the authorities, who are frequently less than helpful - depending on country, to have documentation to submit to the [likely] unsympathetic insurance company...

 
fitzy

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
I'm sorry to hear that. It really sucks.
I was actually all excited thinking this post was announcing part 4 of The Case Of The Missing Pipe by Marshall "Butch" Armstrong.

 
edgreen

edgreen

Lifer
Aug 28, 2013
3,581
15
While searching for pipe art I frequently browse the catalogs of auction houses in Europe and will also look for it there.

 
D

drunkblowhard

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 30, 2015
112
0
Thanks guys. Really appreciate it. I know it's a long shot.
I found a picture of the pipe and as soon as I figure out how to post the damn thing, I will.
Cheers!

 
pcr1

pcr1

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 27, 2014
105
0
Terrible! Pretty bad when somebody stoops that low.

 
D

drunkblowhard

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 30, 2015
112
0
So I have a picture of the pipe on my iPad and am not smart enough to post it on the forum. Any Good Samaritan out there willing to post it here if I email it to you?

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Hope someone spots it and can track it back and get law enforcement to follow-up. He should get photos and paperwork together and copy a package to back up the claim. If the guy were smart enough to know what he had and know how to sell it on ebay, he might not be breaking out car windows, but you never know. It could pass through pawn, and fence, private auction, or antique shop and get laundered that way. You never know whether to take your treasures traveling or leave them home. If the thief got a job, he'd likely make more money for less work, but he's "outsmarting" all the honest folks by being fundamentally stupid.

 
D

drunkblowhard

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 30, 2015
112
0
Thanks shaintiques.
I'm sure it's the longest of longshots, it's just such a damned specific pipe because of that irregular rim. It's so quick and easy to recognize if someone were to ever see it.

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
33,977
75,685
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Wow, that is a gorgeous pipe.
I just can't imagine a thief thinking that a pipe would be of any value. Before I started smoking pipes, you couldn't pay me enough to even touch someone's nasty used pipe. After years of seeing Grabows and MM cobs in the drug store, I would have assumed that any pipe would be around $50 at best. I had even been smoking pipes for almost a year before I realized that there were pipes for over $100 out there. I find it hard to believe that someone would steal a pipe for anything other than smoking drugs out of.

 
brewshooter

brewshooter

Lifer
Jun 2, 2011
1,658
3
I suspect the thief simply saw the pipe bag and grabbed as part of a crime of opportunity. He or she, may have been quite disappointed with the actual haul upon opening, probably hoping for something else.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom