Push Daggers

A

Astrogator

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Mar 19, 2012
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369
Hello All,

A question for the Moderators and other Forum members.

Are Double Edged Push Daggers thought to be "traditional" and can they be discussed on this forum ?.

I submit that they are , as old makers like M.Price made them in the 1800's , there are probably many other old makers that I do not know about.

I agree that SINGLE Edged Push Daggers are NOT traditional knives as the single edged push dagger is a new phenomenon , (politically correct and all that).

I submit that double edged offerings such as those made by Cold Steel and other makers are "in the spirit of the original".

If Push Dagger discussion is permitted on this forum , I would absolutely love to see pictures of the old original ones.

Thanks for reading this.

Cheers.
 
Plain edge might be, but I doubt the serrated edge renditions are.

I'm fairly sure my maternal great-great grandfather would recognize a push dagger. I know his son would, if either were still looking down at the grass.
 
Hello All,

Thanks for giving the go-ahead to discuss Push Daggers on this forum.

I have a very limited knowledge of them , so other forum members will have to educate me :).

Push Daggers have not only been made in America , during the 1st World War the British firm of Robbins-Dudley made them and during the 2nd World War the upmarket Gunmakers , Cogswell & Harrison made a few , (these are the ones that I know about) , other British firms probably made them as well.

The American firms that I know about are M.Price and Wills & Fink , others were no doubt also in business.

Push Daggers were probably made in other parts of the world as well.

There are many modern Custom Makers that also made or continue to make them.

Here is a picture of the only 3 Push Daggers that I have , my other pictures are in books and I don't want to infringe any copyright by posting them here.

The 2 Cold Steel Safekeeper 2's are respectively made in China and Taiwan , the Taiwanese made example is of notably higher quality than the Chinese made one.
I am sure that the old crooked Riverboat Gamblers and the Barbary Coast Shysters would have used these Push Daggers without a second thought :):).

The Cold Steel Urban Pal is not "traditional" as it is single edged with serrations and is shown for size comparison only.

Please post your pictures if you have any.





Thank you.

Cheers.
 
Push daggers are traditional by the working definition of being around since Grandpa was young and is not one hand opening. They were made on the US west coast as early as the 19th century.
 
I dont know if I would call push daggers traditional... Some of them, sure. I think its a matter of materials. If it is made with "old timey" materials, then I guess it would be traditional. o_O I carry a Cold Steel push dagger (safe maker 2) a good bit for self defense purposes (obviously, since theyre no good for anything else lol) but I certainly wouldnt call it traditional. It is a breeze to carry and conceal however, and extremely effective if you know how to throw a decent punch. Id say that is why they have been made and used for so long, though I dont know how old the design actually is.
 
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I'd say that in the context of push daggers those cold steel examples are not quite traditional based on the sheath and handle material.
 
So I did a bit of reading after seeing the initial post and it looks like Push Daggers are a very traditional pattern, they were a common blade in USA prior to reliable derringers becoming common.

Everything old is new again.
 
Don't know how traditional it is, but this is my TOPS iStick.
20200308_160105-X2.jpg
 
Hickory n steel said:
I'd say that in the context of push daggers those cold steel examples are not quite traditional based on the sheath and handle material.
Click to expand...

Simple enough problem to solve. Swap out the kydex sheath for one made out of leather. As to the handle, synthetic materials have never been a problem here as evidenced by the many celluloid, acrylic, and micarta covered knives we see posted.
 
kamagong said:
Simple enough problem to solve. Swap out the kydex sheath for one made out of leather. As to the handle, synthetic materials have never been a problem here as evidenced by the many celluloid, acrylic, and micarta covered knives we see posted.
Click to expand...
I know synthetic handles aren't a problem and a number of manufacturers actually offered hunters with a hard black rubber ( or something similar, and case still does ) checkered grip very much like this, but the complete package of these cold steel push daggers just doesn't give off a traditional vibe if you ask me.
I feel that sometimes it just depends on the knife, and rules of thumb just don't always apply.
They came about In the mall ninja era and are produced with the modern tactical mindset.
Leather sheath and some pearl, stag, checkered wood, or mother of toilet seat handle scales and they'd be good to go.
As to micarta I believe it was invented by Westinghouse before Ww1 and in use by custom knife makers at least by the 60's.
 
I'm surprised the Indian Katar has not been mentioned thus far. I would think they qualify as one type of traditional push dagger since the design has been used in India since the middle ages. Any thoughts on this, or are they in a class all their own?
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I know synthetic handles aren't a problem and a number of manufacturers actually offered hunters with a hard black rubber ( or something similar, and case still does ) checkered grip very much like this, but the complete package of these cold steel push daggers just doesn't give off a traditional vibe if you ask me.
I feel that sometimes it just depends on the knife, and rules of thumb just don't always apply.
They came about In the mall ninja era and are produced with the modern tactical mindset.
Leather sheath and some pearl, stag, checkered wood, or mother of toilet seat handle scales and they'd be good to go.
As to micarta I believe it was invented by Westinghouse before Ww1 and in use by custom knife makers at least by the 60's.
Click to expand...

Hello,
I believe that hard rubber was available and used in the heyday of the Push Dagger , Colt and other Firearms manufacturers certainly used it in that time period , with a little bit of imagination the Cold Steel handle material looks very similar (in the spirit of the original) :) :) :).

The design and shape of the Cold Steel Push Dagger is very traditional when compared to pictures of Vintage Push Daggers that I have.

I certainly take your point regarding the sheath.

Thanks for your thoughts on this matter.

Cheers.
 
oldmanwilly said:
I'm surprised the Indian Karda has not been mentioned thus far. I would think they qualify as one type of traditional push dagger since the design has been used in India since the middle ages. Any thoughts on this, or are they in a class all their own?
Click to expand...

Hello,

Yes the concept of the Push Dagger is very old , and I would certainly put the Indian Katar in the Push Dagger family.

Cheers.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I know synthetic handles aren't a problem and a number of manufacturers actually offered hunters with a hard black rubber ( or something similar, and case still does ) checkered grip very much like this, but the complete package of these cold steel push daggers just doesn't give off a traditional vibe if you ask me.
I feel that sometimes it just depends on the knife, and rules of thumb just don't always apply.
They came about In the mall ninja era and are produced with the modern tactical mindset.
Leather sheath and some pearl, stag, checkered wood, or mother of toilet seat handle scales and they'd be good to go.
As to micarta I believe it was invented by Westinghouse before Ww1 and in use by custom knife makers at least by the 60's.
Click to expand...

The original Cold Steel push daggers came in high quality leather sheaths. They were very popular, thus came the littler versions. As far as modern materials, there is a whole thread in this subforum on slipjoints and modern materials plus modern construction methods such as screws, rounded edges, etc. I've seen many antique push daggers and modern reproductions of classic San Fransico push daggers...it is a US tradition, just maybe not in some social circles.
 
brownshoe said:
The original Cold Steel push daggers came in high quality leather sheaths. They were very popular, thus came the littler versions. As far as modern materials, there is a whole thread in this subforum on slipjoints and modern materials plus modern construction methods such as screws, rounded edges, etc. I've seen many antique push daggers and modern reproductions of classic San Fransico push daggers...it is a US tradition, just maybe not in some social circles.
Click to expand...

And it's debatable wheather or not those are truly traditional as there are a number of people who don't think they are ( myself included ).
I understand your point and do agree that push daggers are definitely traditional, but when I look at these cold steel push daggers I simply see the 1980's and not 19th century California.
 
Hickory n steel said:
And it's debatable wheather or not those are truly traditional as there are a number of people who don't think they are ( myself included ).
I understand your point and do agree that push daggers are definitely traditional, but when I look at these cold steel push daggers I simply see the 1980's and not 19th century California.
Click to expand...

So lionsteel and benchmade slipjoints shouldn't be allowed here because they are a modern looking, and materials? Can you post the Buck 110 Lite and Pro in plastic and micarta and a nylon sheath in the Buck 110 thread here?
 
Boxer .45 said:
So lionsteel and benchmade slipjoints shouldn't be allowed here because they are a modern looking, and materials? Can you post the Buck 110 Lite and Pro in plastic and micarta and a nylon sheath in the Buck 110 thread here?
Click to expand...

The Benchmade proper was asked about and ruled a modern slipjoint by the majority iirc
As to lionsteel their Barlow looking ones I won't really complain about though I don't think the screws are traditional.
The 110LT I say is definitely traditional enough, and it's polyester sheath may not technically be too traditional but I usually don't include said sheath in a picture when I carry it.
Micarta is traditional so that doesn't wholely rule the pro out but I do think overall it strays a bit too much for my taste.
 
Hickory n steel said:
The Benchmade proper was asked about and ruled a modern slipjoint by the majority iirc
As to lionsteel their Barlow looking ones I won't really complain about though I don't think the screws are traditional.
The 110LT I say is definitely traditional enough, and it's polyester sheath may not technically be too traditional but I usually don't include said sheath in a picture when I carry it.
Micarta is traditional so that doesn't wholely rule the pro out but I do think overall it strays a bit too much for my taste.
Click to expand...

Hickory n steel said:
And it's debatable wheather or not those are truly traditional as there are a number of people who don't think they are ( myself included ).
I understand your point and do agree that push daggers are definitely traditional, but when I look at these cold steel push daggers I simply see the 1980's and not 19th century California.
Click to expand...

Guess the line is pretty blurry then? I mean I'm not trying to be snarky, but who decides where the line is?
 
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