Strange phone call this morning....

Bailey Boat

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Received a call from a guy in Colorado (so he said) and was wanting me to make him a custom knife. Nothing unusual about that but when he said he wanted elephant Ivory for the scales my hackles went up. Before I could say anything he said that he would furnish the Ivory and immediately asked what size I would need the scales. I explained that since I hadn't seen his blade design I had no idea of the size needed.

He said he had already emailed me a drawing of the design he wanted and that I should be receiving it at any moment. He said that a friend of his had a knife made by me and he wanted the same pattern but wanted the scales to be Ivory. About that time I received his drawing (tracing of the friends knife) and it's a pattern I've been working with for several years. I'm feeling a little more comfortable now.

Things went sideways when I told him he would need to include a copy of his certification along with the material and he went silent. I asked if he HAD a certification for the ivory and he admitted that he didn't. I explained that without the cert I wouldn't touch it but would be happy to do the knife with an imitation ivory.

He promptly raises his price to double what I get for that pattern if I would use his Ivory. Again I refused without the cert. We talk for a few minutes and he again raises the price to now what is 3 times what I get for that knife. (normally 250.00 and he's offering 750.00) I told him I would need to think about it and call him back.

What I have done is place a call to the friend but got his voice mail so I left a message. I'll update later when I hear back..... Sounds like a Fed sting to me....

UPDATE in post 16.....
 
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I don’t think it’s a sting. Just a dummy that want to one up his buddy... and has more money than brains.

“Yeah, uh... no. ‘Click’. “ Would be my answer
 
Received a call from a guy in Colorado (so he said) and was wanting me to make him a custom knife. Nothing unusual about that but when he said he wanted elephant Ivory for the scales my hackles went up. Before I could say anything he said that he would furnish the Ivory and immediately asked what size I would need the scales. I explained that since I hadn't seen his blade design I had no idea of the size needed.

He said he had already emailed me a drawing of the design he wanted and that I should be receiving it at any moment. He said that a friend of his had a knife made by me and he wanted the same pattern but wanted the scales to be Ivory. About that time I received his drawing (tracing of the friends knife) and it's a pattern I've been working with for several years. I'm feeling a little more comfortable now.

Things went sideways when I told him he would need to include a copy of his certification along with the material and he went silent. I asked if he HAD a certification for the ivory and he admitted that he didn't. I explained that without the cert I wouldn't touch it but would be happy to do the knife with an imitation ivory.

He promptly raises his price to double what I get for that pattern if I would use his Ivory. Again I refused without the cert. We talk for a few minutes and he again raises the price to now what is 3 times what I get for that knife. (normally 250.00 and he's offering 750.00) I told him I would need to think about it and call him back.

What I have done is place a call to the friend but got his voice mail so I left a message. I'll update later when I hear back..... Sounds like a Fed sting to me....
I'm with you sounds really like feds wanting to see if they can get you to do something
 
You're clearly being targeted. I'll bet anything the faulty shaving cream can was bugged and that new mattress prob is too. That pretty sales lady was a federal agent.


But seriously, that call sounds strange.
 
How would that be different than a Leo posing as a prostitute and luring a "John" in.
Posing as a prostitute and soliciting you is entrapment, standing there in the uniform and letting you solicit is your choice. That's why the hooker game is all about who makes the offer.
 
No, that would be a clear case of entrapment.

Only if he is "enticed or coerced" into doing something he wouldn't normally do. The IC agent ups the price until he gets to yes, he'll get his scalp.

While in Germany, I saw a lot of stuff made out of what appeared to be ivory. I was told it wasn't ivory from elephants. It was what they called mammut, made from the tusks of non-endangered mammoth, which were gone before there was ever an endagered species list.

I think they just wanted the sale and didn't give a rat's behind about what US Customs would do to me.
 
Received a call from a guy in Colorado (so he said) and was wanting me to make him a custom knife. Nothing unusual about that but when he said he wanted elephant Ivory for the scales my hackles went up. Before I could say anything he said that he would furnish the Ivory and immediately asked what size I would need the scales. I explained that since I hadn't seen his blade design I had no idea of the size needed.

He said he had already emailed me a drawing of the design he wanted and that I should be receiving it at any moment. He said that a friend of his had a knife made by me and he wanted the same pattern but wanted the scales to be Ivory. About that time I received his drawing (tracing of the friends knife) and it's a pattern I've been working with for several years. I'm feeling a little more comfortable now.

Things went sideways when I told him he would need to include a copy of his certification along with the material and he went silent. I asked if he HAD a certification for the ivory and he admitted that he didn't. I explained that without the cert I wouldn't touch it but would be happy to do the knife with an imitation ivory.

He promptly raises his price to double what I get for that pattern if I would use his Ivory. Again I refused without the cert. We talk for a few minutes and he again raises the price to now what is 3 times what I get for that knife. (normally 250.00 and he's offering 750.00) I told him I would need to think about it and call him back.

What I have done is place a call to the friend but got his voice mail so I left a message. I'll update later when I hear back..... Sounds like a Fed sting to me....

Sounds legit,.....

Just kidding - I'd run, not walk away.

BTW, did he say seven fifty, or, se 'um fiddy?
 
UPDATE: I heard back from the "friend" and he knows nothing about this guy. Dead deal......

It's my understanding that mere possession of Ivory without the pre ban certification is a felony and could land you in Club Fed for quite some spell, and I guarantee you Big Bubba is gonna be your bestest friend.

I'm going to call a couple of other knife makers this afternoon and see if they have been propositioned in a similar manner....

My fear now is that he sends the Ivory anyway in an attempt to catch me with it in my possession. I can't think of any reason to target me specifically, generally as a knife maker, maybe. But to cook up this friend story knowing I could check it wasn't too bright on his part. No packages for me for a couple of weeks....
 
UPDATE: I heard back from the "friend" and he knows nothing about this guy. Dead deal......

It's my understanding that mere possession of Ivory without the pre ban certification is a felony and could land you in Club Fed for quite some spell, and I guarantee you Big Bubba is gonna be your bestest friend.

I'm going to call a couple of other knife makers this afternoon and see if they have been propositioned in a similar manner....

My fear now is that he sends the Ivory anyway in an attempt to catch me with it in my possession. I can't think of any reason to target me specifically, generally as a knife maker, maybe. But to cook up this friend story knowing I could check it wasn't too bright on his part. No packages for me for a couple of weeks....
Time to take off the tin foil, no government agency is going to blindly mail you something and then arrest you for possession of it, and if they were in that business and wanted you that bad they’d send you a kilo of smack.
 
Only if he is "enticed or coerced" into doing something he wouldn't normally do. The IC agent ups the price until he gets to yes, he'll get his scalp.

While in Germany, I saw a lot of stuff made out of what appeared to be ivory. I was told it wasn't ivory from elephants. It was what they called mammut, made from the tusks of non-endangered mammoth, which were gone before there was ever an endagered species list.

I think they just wanted the sale and didn't give a rat's behind about what US Customs would do to me.
Has nothing to do with the price, if the "agent" made the suggestion and offered to pay it was entrapment.
 
Time to take off the tin foil, no government agency is going to blindly mail you something and then arrest you for possession of it, and if they were in that business and wanted you that bad they’d send you a kilo of smack.

Having never used any type of drug I could talk my way out of that, but I have used Ivory once in the past on a customers knife, but what I didn't use (chips and pieces) were sent back to him but I kept the cert letter in my files....
 
Time to take off the tin foil, no government agency is going to blindly mail you something and then arrest you for possession of it, and if they were in that business and wanted you that bad they’d send you a kilo of smack.
Even if they did they would have to prove you solicited the product.
 
Ivory is like NFA, if you don’t know the rules then probably best to just stay away.
 
I would have called USFWS Enforcement and set up a sting on the lowlife.

They would have no interest, given only the facts presented there has been no crime.
 
How did he get this buddies knife profile?

I have made about 25 or 30 of that profile, he could have gotten it anywhere.... Where he came up with Darren's name (the friend he claimed to know) is what puzzles me.

No, you don't have to prove your innocence they have to prove your guilt.

That's the way it's supposed to work but when shaving gel cans dump out in your hand I think I may be running a little low on luck right now...
 
Offer scales made of this?

Ivory_old_1954.jpg
 
UPDATE: I heard back from the "friend" and he knows nothing about this guy. Dead deal......

It's my understanding that mere possession of Ivory without the pre ban certification is a felony and could land you in Club Fed for quite some spell, and I guarantee you Big Bubba is gonna be your bestest friend.

I'm going to call a couple of other knife makers this afternoon and see if they have been propositioned in a similar manner....

My fear now is that he sends the Ivory anyway in an attempt to catch me with it in my possession. I can't think of any reason to target me specifically, generally as a knife maker, maybe. But to cook up this friend story knowing I could check it wasn't too bright on his part. No packages for me for a couple of weeks....
He called you out of the blue, told you he sent an email with design before completing his conversation- it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that he might mail you the ivory in an attempt to force you.
I wouldn't accept any packages either.

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If you get any unexpected package, ask your mail carrier to notify US Postal Inspector,
UPS and FedEx also have their own investigators.
 
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Has nothing to do with the price, if the "agent" made the suggestion and offered to pay it was entrapment.
That defense didn't work very well for a guy the was badgered by ATF until he agreed to transport legal guns, that he wanted to sell to pay some bills and were legal to sell in NH in a private sale, to a town just over the MA line. Now he is in federal prison because he was in need of money, and the ATF kept upping the price until he crossed state lines.

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No, that would be a clear case of entrapment.
That defense didn't work very well for a guy the was badgered by ATF until he agreed to transport legal guns, that he wanted to sell to pay some bills and were legal to sell in NH in a private sale, to a town just over the MA line. Now he is in federal prison because he was in need of money, and the ATF kept upping the price until he crossed state lines.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


Didn’t work well for Randy Weaver, either.
 
That was another case the came to mind.
During the Bubba admin, he was sending agents provocateur into "right wing militias" to incite them to take illegal action.
OKC was one of the results.
Hundreds, if not thousands of people are dead because the media refused to do their job in 1991.
Didn’t work well for Randy Weaver, either.

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I made a few calls yesterday afternoon to other knife makers that I'm acquainted with and the ones I got on the phone had not been approached with anything like this. They all thought it could be a sting as well, seems there has been a fair increase in the Ivory trading as of late. That's not a market that I track so I'm unaware until something like this happens.
Certified, pre-ban Ivory is at an all time high on most markets (so I was told) so I guess that automatically creates a lower lever black market. Hopefully my refusal yesterday will put me on the "already called list" and this won't go any further....
 
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