Victorinox is often referred to as the multi-function pocket knife, while the term "Swiss Army knife" is a registered trademark owned by Wegener S.A. and Victorinox A.G. These two, for almost over 100 years have competed in making Swiss Army knives. A Swiss Army knife is a small knife that features several blades and tools that can be folded away into the handle when not in use. Today, because of its popularity as a multi-function knife, various types of tools are now featured among these depending on their use would be.
The invention of the Swiss Army knife originated from Swiss cutler Karl Elsener's determination of reducing the reliance of the Swiss Army on foreign aid. It was in 1889 when the Swiss Army turned to Solingen, Germany to create a knife that incorporates a blade and screwdriver-the screwdriver being necessary in disassembling the newly introduced rifle as part of their weaponry. However, in that age of nationalism, Elsener set out to form the Swiss Cutlery Guild, which mass-produced the earliest predecessors of the Swiss Army knife.
Schweizer Offiziersmesser or the Swiss Officers knife which is referred to as Elsener's company which is Victorinox has monopolized the market of Swiss Army knives by 1891. Paul Boechat & Cie in the year 1893 which is also another Swiss industrial cutlery business, on the other hand introduced a similar product. Ever since then the Wenger and Victorinox knife competed in the market. Because of the increasing friction between the two companies by the year 1980, the Swiss government decided to split knives orders of the Swiss Army between the two companies. In 2005 on the other hand, Victorinox was able to purchase Wenger. Once again, the Elsener's company is the sole supplier knives to Swiss Army.
As aforementioned, Swiss Army knives today are amazingly diverse and 100 different tool combinations are now available for consumers to choose from. Generally, there are five types of Swiss army knives bases on major features. These are pocket knives, locking multi-blades, cyber-tools, Swiss Flash, and Elegant Swiss Army knives. Pocket knives are characterized by main knife blades that do not lock in the open position and tool assortments that include tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener, screwdriver, nail file, and/or scissors, among others. Locking multiblades, on the other hand, are specially designed with tool assortments needed by police, firemen, and military that feature main blades that lock securely when fully open, and are often worn in a belt pouch.
Cybertools are Swiss Army knives especially designed for modern technicians. In addition to usual tools like pliers and scissors, cybertools also include a hex screwdriver bit holder and a hex nut driver socket. SwissFlash Swiss Army knives, on the other hand, include flash drive memory blades, as well as LED lights and laser pointer, especially designed for modern electronic uses. Finally, the elegant Swiss Army knives are built for office managers and feature ball-point pen blades and small assortments of tools for office task and personal care. These five are the major classifications of these knives, yet, consumers can find a variety of models of these Victorinox knives.
A Victorinox knife-or simply a Swiss Army Knife-is indeed a tool deemed necessary today not only by the Swiss Army but by the populace as well. As such, the term "Swiss Army Knife" is also being used metaphorically to describe usefulness and efficiency.
The invention of the Swiss Army knife originated from Swiss cutler Karl Elsener's determination of reducing the reliance of the Swiss Army on foreign aid. It was in 1889 when the Swiss Army turned to Solingen, Germany to create a knife that incorporates a blade and screwdriver-the screwdriver being necessary in disassembling the newly introduced rifle as part of their weaponry. However, in that age of nationalism, Elsener set out to form the Swiss Cutlery Guild, which mass-produced the earliest predecessors of the Swiss Army knife.
Schweizer Offiziersmesser or the Swiss Officers knife which is referred to as Elsener's company which is Victorinox has monopolized the market of Swiss Army knives by 1891. Paul Boechat & Cie in the year 1893 which is also another Swiss industrial cutlery business, on the other hand introduced a similar product. Ever since then the Wenger and Victorinox knife competed in the market. Because of the increasing friction between the two companies by the year 1980, the Swiss government decided to split knives orders of the Swiss Army between the two companies. In 2005 on the other hand, Victorinox was able to purchase Wenger. Once again, the Elsener's company is the sole supplier knives to Swiss Army.
As aforementioned, Swiss Army knives today are amazingly diverse and 100 different tool combinations are now available for consumers to choose from. Generally, there are five types of Swiss army knives bases on major features. These are pocket knives, locking multi-blades, cyber-tools, Swiss Flash, and Elegant Swiss Army knives. Pocket knives are characterized by main knife blades that do not lock in the open position and tool assortments that include tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener, screwdriver, nail file, and/or scissors, among others. Locking multiblades, on the other hand, are specially designed with tool assortments needed by police, firemen, and military that feature main blades that lock securely when fully open, and are often worn in a belt pouch.
Cybertools are Swiss Army knives especially designed for modern technicians. In addition to usual tools like pliers and scissors, cybertools also include a hex screwdriver bit holder and a hex nut driver socket. SwissFlash Swiss Army knives, on the other hand, include flash drive memory blades, as well as LED lights and laser pointer, especially designed for modern electronic uses. Finally, the elegant Swiss Army knives are built for office managers and feature ball-point pen blades and small assortments of tools for office task and personal care. These five are the major classifications of these knives, yet, consumers can find a variety of models of these Victorinox knives.
A Victorinox knife-or simply a Swiss Army Knife-is indeed a tool deemed necessary today not only by the Swiss Army but by the populace as well. As such, the term "Swiss Army Knife" is also being used metaphorically to describe usefulness and efficiency.
About the Author:
Vincent Benjamin is a mountain climber from Solingen, Germany. During a mountain hike, he makes sure that he is always equipped with various tools that may be necessary during the climb. As such, he always keeps at hand his Victorinox Taschenmesser.