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M1880 IRON GUARD HUNTING KNIFE AND VARNEY SCABBARD:
This Iron Guard M1880 Hunting Knife and matching Varney
pattern scabbard have been together as a set for quite
some time. The knife is full length, with a very good
to excellent grip with a small chip out of the pommel
edge as is commonly seen. The pommel cap bears the
correct SWP 1880 cartouche. The knife is numbered 963
and the opposite side of the hilt bears the “US
SPRINGFIELD” stamp. The unpolished blade surface is
overall very smooth with areas of darkening, but no
pitting. The edge of the blade has been chipped through
use, the largest of these chips having a 1/8”radius, the
others far less. The blade is not cracked nor does it
have any further damage. The scabbard is very tight and
the neck area is still very strong and supple. The
surface of the scabbard body is crazed on the front and
fairly smooth on the reverse. There is some minor just
below the brass throat that is now stabilized. The
hinged hanger is intact and the Watervliet Arsenal stamp
is complete and legible in the smooth leather hanger.
The leather tab that secures the hinge is missing as
expected, but could be replaced with no difficulty if so
desired. This specimen has seen some use, but is still
a very representative example with a very strong
scabbard. $1800
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