You may know them under a variety of names: T-back knives, push daggers, punch knives, gimlet knives, or even palm knives. The bottom line is that they all do the same thing. You grasp the handle, and the blade protrudes through your fingers. You deliver a cut or a stab as you throw a punch.
The idea has been around for centuries. Some Roman gladiators wore a weapon known as a cestus (or cesti when paired). These were leather gauntlets that covered the hand and had a blade, or several blades attached to the top. The gladiator armed in this manner would literally punch and stab for his life. Another variant was the katar of India. This was a long dagger grasped horizontally where the blade seemed to protrude from the fist, and it may have been where the term “palm dagger” originated.
The modern version of the T-handle goes back a few hundred years to German immigrants to the United States. This easily concealable design was popular in the Southeastern U.S. particularly with riverboat gamblers, and it eventually made its way out West following the gold and silver rushes.
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