Dave Murphy – The Continuity of a Name and a Style

Each country has its household brands and knives are no exception. In the United States the all-conquering knife in question is a Murphy. David Zaphaniah Murphy, born in Portland Oregon, in 1895, produced a style of straight knife that would soon find its way into every American home. A blade forged in excellent carbon steel with a simple handle, but one that had the particularity of being produced in molded aluminum. The knife was robust, light, cheap and didn␣t need any special cleaning, which was why all housewives used it in their kitchens. Different shapes were produced for different uses, with models for hunters, scouts, and butchers, etc.

Oregon, where nature is particularly wild, is a state with a strong knifemaking tradition and home of one of the greatest American Knife manufacturers, Gerber. The firm␣s directors could not ignore the creative talent of the man whom his buddies called “Zeph,” so they gave him a major order between 1938 and 1941. When World War II broke out soldiers needed to be equipped with combat knives. Gerber had already produced a high-quality range, but it was not possible to satisfy al of the requirements, and the models were costly to make. So Gerber once again called upon Zeph, who created a model using his already tried and tested methods: a robust blade and a handle with guard in molded aluminum. He made them for Gerber until 1941 or 1942.

In 1941 he created the “Murphy Combat Jr.,” then in 1942 the “Murphy Combat,” which was produced until 1945, all of them based on the same principle. Manufacture continued until 1954 and the country was soon inundated with them thanks to the vast stock made for the Army. His son David Murphy, born in 1928 and who worked with his father until 1954, set up in Gresham, Oregon where he continued working in the same tradition until his retirement in 1994. Up until then Gerber had always closely listened to then his advice, whose slogan “legendary blades” has always rung true.