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Rare Vintage PRESS BUTTON KNIFE CO. 1892-1923 "One Armed Man" Switchblade Model 

The Press Button Knife Co was a division of the Walden Knife Company and are among the oldest and most collectible of all the American made switchblades. 

This was the most recognized model Press Button Made and most unusual, yet it was specifically designed for individuals with one arm to assist in feeding and was referred as the "One Armed Man". It measures 4 1/2" closed and featured polished aluminum handles. The 4" mirror polished curved blade features a three prong "fork" at the end and has an extremely sharp, razor edge. The Front side of the blade tang reads: PRESS BUTTON KNIFE CO WALDEN N.Y. Backside of the tang reads :US PAT. 470,605. (Poor Tang stamping).

The Press Button Knife Co was originally set up as a special division of the Walden Knife Co and was directed by George Schrade who bought an interest in the company and manufactured 9 basic patterns of Press Buttons with three of these being sold by Sears Roebuck in their catalog at the turn of the century.

 Schrade continued to work for the Walden Knife Co until 1903 before breaking off and selling his interest and forming a company with his brothers (Schrade Cutlery Company)..Approx 1911 Walden became a  subsidiary of the Simmons Hardware Co in St Louis with five models  produced and marked Keen Kutter..In 1922 Simmons merged with the Winchester Arms Co and it was decided to close the Walden Knife Co in 1923 which ended the Press Button Knife Co. So in summary, any switchblade marked Press Button Knife Co is a worthy investment due to the early manufacture. Measures 9" overall open.

  This switchblade is in very good+ condition. The action on this piece is superb. It has very minimal up and down or side to side blade movement when open.  Blade is full and shows some visable pitting and staining and is mirror polished. Handles are very good overall with minimal wear and some minor denting. Blade tip seats well below the liners and is nicely centered. (Often times the "fork" portion of the blade is modified by the user and one or more prongs are altered, however this example is all original.)

You will notice that Press Buttons do not feature a safety like most early production American switchblades, that is because this was not invented yet with George Schrade introducing the "safety" feature on Schrade Cut Co marked models. The button however is "recessed", and as with modern automatic knives is really not needed. Includes a custom zippered storage pouch.