Push dagger

Weapon

A push dagger (alternately known as a punch dagger, punch knife, push knife or, less often, a push dirk) is a short bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped and held in a closed fist hand so that the blade protrudes from the front of the fist, either between the index and middle fingers or between the two central fingers, when the grip and blade are symmetrical. It originated as a close combat weapon for civilians in the early 19th century, and also saw some use in the trench warfare of World War I. Politicians wore them into state and federal buildings, even the United States Capitol. The New Orleans style push dagger was known as the gimlet knife. The San Francisco style of push dagger tended to have a slightly longer blade than that of the gimlet knife and was most often equipped with a T handle made of walrus ivory. The typical Robbins Dudley push dagger – referred to as a 'punch knife' by its maker – utilized an aluminium "knuckle" type handle cast onto a heat treated steel dagger blade or alternatively, a metal spike, which was subsequently blackened to prevent reflections in moonlight.

The push dagger re emerged during World War II, where it was first issued as combat weapon for British commandos, SAS, SOE, and other specialized raiding or guerrilla forces requiring a compact and concealable weapon for sentry elimination or close quarters fighting.

During the 1980s, several new versions of the push dagger concept were produced by a variety of specialty cutlery manufacturers, and were sold primarily as "tactical" or self defense weapons, particularly in the U. S.

The sale and possession (or possession in public) of a push dagger with blade perpendicular to the handle is prohibited in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Canada although if the edge is parallel to the handle they are legal. The laws of many countries and several U. S. states and cities prohibit or criminalize to some degree the purchase, possession, or sale of push daggers or knuckle knives.