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US MODEL 1880 HUNTING KNIFE WITH THE VERY SCARCE
SHORT LEATHER LOOP SCABBARD – WATERVLIET ARSENAL STAMPED
AND INSPECTED SCABBARD – VERY NICE SET: Old
Texas collections continue to provide a seemingly
endless supply of treasures, enabling us to offer yet
another very nice, matched set with a M1880 Hunting
Knife in the very desirable early Short Belt Loop
Scabbard. Encountered with considerably less frequency
than the earlier Varney Scabbards, these short loop
scabbards for the M1880 Hunting Knife were ordered to be
manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal in 1883 by Gen.
Benet, Chief of Ordnance. The short loop scabbards,
intended to be worn on the leather waist belts under the
woven cartridge belts, were manufactured with a 2 ½”
belt loop and such is the case with this specimen.
These short loop scabbards remained in service only a
short time, first being replaced with scabbard with a
longer belt loop in 1888, and by the familiar brass belt
hook which by mid-1888 was being manufactured on an
experimental basis and which would ultimately replace
the leather belt loop altogether. The final adoption of
the brass hook attachment resulted in many of these
leather loop scabbards being modified to accept the
brass hook by removing the leather loop. Hence, not
many of these early scabbards have survived this
modification or the passage of time.
Having survived in very nice condition, both knife and
scabbard are very attractive and while showing signs of
issue in the field, remain in very good to excellent
condition. The knife features a light oak grip with no
splits, excellent original finish and two minor points
of wear on the edge of the pommel. The blade is full
form; however it has been lightly sharpened without any
significant loss of the original profile. There are
some very small nicks in the edge, barely noticeable,
but mentioned here for a complete description and shown
below in full in the photograph. The blade is overall
bright with a few scattered dark spots of surface age
coloring with no pitting. The brass hilt has a nice
even patina and a clear legible “US SPRINGFIELD” and
serial number “1572”. The scabbard body has a nice,
even, smooth bright finish front and back with no signs
of wear, crazing or surface loss, and all the seams are
intact. The belt loop is solid with all seams intact
and no signs of weakness or breakage. The leather
surface shows some flexing, with no loss of the shiny
surface finish. The front of the belt loop is legibly
stamped “WATERVLIET ARSENAL” and the reverse of the belt
loops is stamped with the inspector’s initials “J.B.”
immediately above the overlap. There are two old rivet
holes showing the impression of the rivet burrs, likely
a soldier applied modification to fix the knife sheath
in position on his belt. The holes are not particularly
unsightly and while in the area of the arsenal stamp, do
not obliterate the characters of the stamp.
These leather loop scabbards
present an important link in the evolution of the M1880
Hunting Knife and this specimen will be a significant
addition to your collection of US Army Indian Wars era
edged weapons. (0703) $2550
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