The Victorinox Swiss Army Knife

• In 1884, following his apprenticeship in Paris and in Tuttlingen in South Germany, Master Cutler Karl Elsener started his cutlery factory in the small village of Ibach, in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland.
• In 1891, Karl Elsener made a multi-functional pocket knife called the Soldier’s Knife for the Swiss military. The handle of the Soldier’s Knife was made of wood and consists of a knife blade, a screwdriver, a can opener and a punch (or a reamer, used to enlarge holes). Every recruit receives this knife upon entering the army.
• After the Soldier’s Knife, Karl Elsener he developed a new lightweight pocket knife, with 2 additional tools; an extra blade and a corkscrew. He called it the “Officer’s and Sports Knife”. On June 12, 1897, the Swiss Officer’s and Sports Knife was patented.
• In 1909, Karl Elsener used the cross on the shield (emblem of the Swiss army) as his trademark and that same year, after the death of his mother, he renamed his company’s name Association of Swiss Master Cutlers to her first name “Victoria”.
• In 1921, stainless steel was invented (known as “inox” in French) and with the introduction of stainless steel in Victoria knives, a new brand name “Victorinox” was adopted by combining “inox” with “Victoria”.
• During World War II, the Officer’s Knife became very popular with the American GIs (Americans who were born between 1900 to 1926 and who fought in World War II) but because they had trouble pronouncing the word “Offizmesser”, they called it “Swiss Army Knife” instead.
• The VICTORINOX “Swiss Army Knife” is part of the standard equipment used by NASA astronauts in the space shuttle.
• The largest model is the “SwissChamp” with 33 features which requires over 450 manufacturing steps and it is included in the Design Collection at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
• Depending on the model, each knife has a combination of all sorts of tools like a Philips screwdriver, flat-head screwdriver, can opener, corkscrew, nail file, scissors, tweezers, wire stripper, reamer with sewing eye (for punching holes on wood and soft materials like leather), fish scaler, fish hook disgorger, ruler, metal file, metal saw, wood saw, chisel, pliers, hook, plastic toothpick, key ring, safety pins, ballpoint pen, magnifying glass and even a digital clock with alarm.
• The wafer-thin SwissCard Lites is credit card size packed with surprises like a small blade or letter opener, scissors, mini-ruler (with cm and inches), stainless steel pin, ballpoint pen, tweezers, magnifier, compass, four screwdriver bits (3mm, 5mm, Phillips 00-0 and Phillips 1-2), plastic toothpick and a small LED (light emitting diode) flashlight.
• Individual tools can be bought to replace any loss item on your swiss army knife.
• All knives come with a lifetime guarantee against any defects in material and workmanship.
• Since the tools are very securely attached to the knife body, it does help if you have tough fingernails which makes it easier to pull out some of the tools but always be careful especially when you are releasing the sharp blades.
• The Victorinox Swiss Army collection has expanded to include clothings, watches, cutlery, luggages, backpacks, messenger bags, luggage locks, toiletry bags, laptop bags, cellphone cases, sunglass cases and even an automatic umbrella.
• In 2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger SA, Delémont in the Jura region, knife manufacturer since 1893 and a supplier of the Swiss Army Knife, is intended to protect the ongoing further development of the “Swiss Army Knife” and the future of its Swiss-based production.
• Company logos or other symbols printed on the Victorinox swiss army knives and SwissCards are used as corporate gifts or as momentos to commemorate an event. The return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 saw a limited edition of Victorinox knives printed with the flower on the Hong Kong SAR flag which is called the Orchid Tree (Bauhinia Blakeana).
• Engaving can be done on the cover and blade to personalize your very own Victorinox.

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