Snap fastener
two-part fastener consisting of a ball and socket that snap into place when pressed together
A snap fastener, also called a snap, snap button, press button, press stud, press fastener, dome fastener, popper, tich, or tich button, is a pair of interlocking discs, made out of a metal or plastic, commonly used in place of traditional buttons to fasten clothing and for similar purposes. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied. Different types of snaps can be attached to fabric or leather by riveting with a punch and die set specific to the type of rivet snaps used (striking the punch with a hammer to splay the tail), sewing, or plying with special snap pliers.
Snap fasteners are a noted detail in American Western wear and were also often chosen for children's clothing, as they are relatively easy for children to use compared with traditional buttons.
Invention
A modern form of the snap fastener was patented by German inventor Heribert Bauer in 1885 as the "Federknopf-Verschluss", a novelty fastener for men's trousers. Some attribute the invention to Bertel Sanders of Denmark. In 1886, Albert-Pierre Raymond, of Grenoble, also obtained a patent. These early versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove. Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye". In the United States, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, helping to popularize them in Western wear.
“Snap fastener” enters the record as two-part fastener consisting of a ball and socket that snap into place when pressed together. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Snap, fastener and two-part can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2720040. The Library of Congress control number is sh00007038. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1885, 1886, 1901 and 2008.
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This entry incorporates text from “Snap fastener” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.