Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. The Murphy Combat Fighting Knife was produced during World War II by David Z. Murphy and his son David M. Murphy. Murphy was a custom knife maker who first came to fame as the maker of the knives sold by the Gerber Legendary Blade Knife Company in 1938. The “Murphy” fighting knives are often categorized loosely as “Theater Knives”, even though they were not manufactured in a wartime theater of operations. This is due to the cast aluminum handle, which was common in true "theater made" knives. They were, however, fighting knives manufactured for the explicit use of US military forces in combat during the Second World War.
Murphy manufactured the knives in Gresham, OR, and they were produced in two sizes, a standard sized fighting knife with a 6 1/8” blade and a smaller 5” bladed “Jr” combat knife. The smaller knives are much less often encountered than the larger ones, although both are hardly common and in fact tend to be quite scarce. The knives were produced with cast aluminum hilts and bright polished blades, which were manufactured from power hacksaw blades.
This is an example of the smaller model, and unfortunately no longer has any visible markings on the handle. The knife is 9¾ inches in overall length, with the larger 5 1/2 inch blade, measured in the center. Condition is very good, with minimal oxidation on the blade, which is still very sharp, having been used and sharpened during its lifetime. The aluminum grip is in great shape, with just dirt and some light wear.
The leather scabbard is in great unissued shape, with a lovely brown color. All stitching and rivets are intact, though the leather on the securing strap is cracking a bit and a section on the edge tore away.
A very nice example, ready to display!
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