Push dagger

A push dagger (alternately known as: push knife, gimlet knife, fist knife, Stoßdolch (German), push dirk, T-handled knife or punch dagger) is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped in the hand so that the blade protrudes from the front of one's fist, typically between the index and middle finger. Over the centuries, the push dagger has gone up and down in popularity as a close-combat weapon for civilians and selected military forces.

The sale and possession of push daggers is prohibited in some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. The laws of many nations and several U.S. states and cities prohibit or criminalize to some degree the purchase, possession, or sale of push daggers or knuckle knives.

The push dagger is thought to have originated from the Indian subcontinent, and is related in principle to the 16th-century Indian katar (कटार), or punching sword. However, the katar is gripped by two close-set vertical bars, while a push dagger uses a T-handle and a blade that protrudes between the fingers when properly gripped.

In 1800s America the knife was adopted by men and women in all walks of life as a defensive weapon and an item of daily wear. Politicians wore them into state and federal buildings, even the United States Capitol. As a concealable weapon, the push dagger was a favorite choice of civilian owners requiring a discreet knife capable of being used for personal protection. Before the development of reliable small pistols such as the derringer, the push dagger was especially popular among riverboat gamblers and residents of the larger towns and cities of the Old Southwest, particularly gamblers and émigrés from the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The New Orleans-style push dagger was known as the gimlet knife. The gimlet knife had a short two-inch (50 mm) blade with a "gimlet" or T-handle. It was a common weapon in the city during the 1800s, and was usually slipped into a boot or concealed inside a coat sleeve, or else hung on a waistcoat button by a strap attached to the knife's leather sheath. The gimlet knife was used in so many riots, fights, and murders in New Orleans that the city passed an ordinance in 1879 prohibiting anyone within city limits from selling, offering or exhibiting such a weapon for sale.

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