murphy combat??

[artie]

can anyone tell me anything about this knife?? marked on handle murphy combat. on one side and usa on other side.around 11" long. handle looks to be made of aluminum.

[useem]

If I remember correctly, that is WWII era and they do have some collector value. Wish I could tell you more. Very good looking knife.

[El Lobo]

Well,

Just sit chilly (racing talk for patiently ) and I'm sure Mossdancer and/or Orvet will be along. They are two guys who know the Murphy's. Until then, here is a start.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_knives

Bill (who does NOT know much about the Murphy's)

EDITED: for the Mossy One's typeface.

[orvet]

Murphy was the guy who made knives for Gerber, until they had a falling out.
Mossdancer is the man to answer this question.
If you have Levine's Guide #4, it tells the story on page 358.
I have only seen one of the Murphy Combat knives in person & it didn’t look as good as yours. It seems the price of $300 sticks in my head, not sure where it came from, but I don’t think I would take less, if it were my knife, especially not if it is an original sheath.

I will call Moss & ask him to give you an answer.

Dale

[Mossdancer]

Hi artie:
You have a great example of a Murphy Combat with what appears to be a correct period sheath. Probably made during War years. DZ Murphy started making knives for the war effort the day after Pearl was attacked.
That is why you will find no Gerber knives between 12-41 and late 1945.
Other than some left over sets he made that were purchased by Gerber he made no further knives for them.
Your not going to send your kids to college on it but it should draw in the 150-350 range. Who knows, with what a recent Scagel and Ruana did it might make more. Should you desire to sell set a price and PM or email me, I have made a couple of pricey purchases for me this month already but I might be able to work something out.
moss

Edit: Hi again artie, It would appear after doing some reading that this knife depending upon condition may be worth considerably more that I said. To $750 and maybe more if the market will bear it. Should know by now to not to rely on memory.
moss
moss

[orvet]

Hey Artie,
There is another good article on the Murphy Combat in a book published by Knife World, called Military Knives A Reference Book. It is articles that were printed in Knife World about military knives.

The person who wrote the article on the Murphy Combat knife was David Murphy, the son of the David Murphy who made the Murphy Combat knife.

I think Knife World sells the book on their web site.

It also talks about the Murphy Combat Jr. A very interesting read. I recommend it. The whole book is a great reference.

Dale