Springfield Armory
In the years following the U.S. Civil War, Springfield Armory had produced bayonets by re-working older bayonets left over from the war. By 1880, their supply of bayonets had been almost completely exhausted. Rather than re-tool their production equipment to make an item that was now considered obsolete, Springfield Armory chose instead to modify the Model 1873 to use a new bayonet system.