Murphy knives
Encyclopedia
Murphy Knives was a knife
manufacturing company founded by custom knife maker
David "Dave" Zephaniah Murphy. Murphy was best known as the original supplier of knives to the Gerber Legendary Blade
Knife Company in 1938. Murphy's knives had a distinctive aluminum handle which was later used on many thousands of Gerber knives. Between 1941 and 1954 Murphy made approximately 90,000 Murphy Combat knives for troops to use in World War II
. These knives were marked on the handle Murphy Combat with USA on the obverse side. They were made for servicemen during and after WWII. These knives are now collectible by military knife collectors and are scarce despite the large number made.
Murphy Knives also made about one hundred knives a year of a lesser known model called the Clause Combat knife. This knife was unmarked and similar to the Murphy Combat knife with a narrower blade. These Clause Combat knives were made from left-over parts from Murphy Combat knives between 1942 and 1949 by Mr. Clause, a neighbor of the Murphy's in Oregon
.
A cased commemorative copy of the Murphy Combat knife, with an etched blade, was issued by John Ek Knives out of Richmond, Virginia
in the early 1990s but due to the etching is distinguishable from the originals.
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
manufacturing company founded by custom knife maker
Knifemaking
Knife making is the process of manufacturing a knife by any one or a combination of processes: stock removal, forging to shape, welded lamination or investment cast. Typical metals used come from the carbon steel, tool, or stainless steel families...
David "Dave" Zephaniah Murphy. Murphy was best known as the original supplier of knives to the Gerber Legendary Blade
Gerber Legendary Blades
Gerber Legendary Blades is a maker of consumer knives and multitools headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently Gerber is a sub-division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland...
Knife Company in 1938. Murphy's knives had a distinctive aluminum handle which was later used on many thousands of Gerber knives. Between 1941 and 1954 Murphy made approximately 90,000 Murphy Combat knives for troops to use in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. These knives were marked on the handle Murphy Combat with USA on the obverse side. They were made for servicemen during and after WWII. These knives are now collectible by military knife collectors and are scarce despite the large number made.
Murphy Knives also made about one hundred knives a year of a lesser known model called the Clause Combat knife. This knife was unmarked and similar to the Murphy Combat knife with a narrower blade. These Clause Combat knives were made from left-over parts from Murphy Combat knives between 1942 and 1949 by Mr. Clause, a neighbor of the Murphy's in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
A cased commemorative copy of the Murphy Combat knife, with an etched blade, was issued by John Ek Knives out of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in the early 1990s but due to the etching is distinguishable from the originals.