Description
The US Model 1880 was the first general issue Army sheath knife. As such, it has been the subject of much study, the full story of its development, production, and use is told in the book LIGHT BUT EFFICIENT, 1973, by Albert Hardin and Robert Hedden.
The Model 1880 Hunting Knife has an 8 1/2-inch long 2-inch wide single-edged steel blade, a stout metal guard (some are iron, most are brass), and a turned hardwood handle. All were issued in a stout black leather sheath with a brass throat, though there is a variety of sheath attachments.
The Model 1880 was designed to serve three functions in the Indian campaigns on the plains: It was to be a butcher knife for cattle and wild game; it was to be an entrenching tool, and it was to be a last-ditch weapon.
In the field, the Model 1880’s main function proved to be digging fire positions (‘rifle pits’), so in 1890 its designation was changed to ‘Model 1890 Entrenching Knife.’ In fact the M1880/1890 knives are similar in shape to the flat-bladed short-lived Model 1873 Intrenching Tool.
Approximately 11,000 Model 1880s and 500 Model 1890s were made, all at the Springfield Armory. The scabbard were made at Watervliet Arsenal and, later, at Rock Island Arsenal. The Model 1880s are serial numbered in two series.
