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MODEL 1879 TRAPDOOR COMBINATION TOOL – SCARCE
EARLY PATTERN SPECIMEN WITHOUT THE MODEL STAMPING:
Conforming to the standard pattern of the U.S. Army
issue Model 1879 Combination Tool for the Model 1873
Springfield Trapdoor .45/70 Carbines and Rifles, these
scarce unmarked specimens are believed to be from the
early, if not the first, production run of these tools.
The first tool to be manufactured as a completely new
design since the end of the Civil War, the previous
patterns of tools for the Indian War rifles and carbines
had been modified from the Model 1863 Springfield
Combination Tool and other Civil War tools.
As
with the standard Model 1879 Tool, this specimen
features a right angle “U” shaped cut which served as a
mainspring clamp, a pin punch on the static arm and a
swinging screwdriver blade. This specimen is in
excellent condition, retaining a smooth shiny surface
and the original arsenal blue finish.
Just over 6,000 of these unmarked tools were made before
the model stamping began to be applied. This relatively
low number compared to the number produced with the
model stamping, and the fact that these unmarked tools
were probably the first issued and hence used up in the
field both probably account for their scarcity in
collections today. See Gun Tools, Their History and
Identification, Shaffer, Rutledge, and Dorsey, page
168, and The .45-70 Trapdoor Rifle Book II,
Frasca, page 355 for more information.
This unmarked M1879 Combination Tool represents an
important stage in the continuum of tools manufactured
to service the historic Trapdoor Rifles and will be a
significant addition to your collection. $125
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