Knife with side guards

Abstract

A knife comprising a handle, a blade mounted on the handle, a pair of side guards mounted on the handle and movable between an open position and a closed position. The pair of side guards enclose at least a portion of the blade when in the closed position. An actuating mechanism is provided for actuating the pair of guards between the open position and the closed position. The actuating mechanisms includes a button movable between a forward position and a rear position and operable with the pair of side guards such that when the button is in the forward position, the pair of side guards is moved to the open position and when the button is in the rear position, the pair of side guards is moved to the closed position. Preferably, the button includes two protrusions at the lower surface thereof which interact with receptacles formed by a notch in each side guard and the edges of the side guards such that when the button is moved within the slot, the side guards are cammed between the open and closed positions. Also provided is a steel spring for biasing against the side guards.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.