The famous red handled multi-tool that is the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ is far removed from the actual device issued to Swiss military personnel.

While it is certainly a descendent of knives originally supplied to the Swiss army by competing manufacturers, Victorinox and Wenger, it only became known as a Swiss Army Knife after World War II, when Americans had difficulty pronouncing its real name: ‘Schweizeroffiziersundsportmesser’.

 

 

Originally made in Germany

Until 1891, the Swiss army bought its knives from Germany but at that point, Karl Elsener, a maker of surgical instruments in Ibach, won the contract to supply them with a similar folding tool, then known as the Modell 1890.

This featured a blade, a reamer, tin-opener and a screwdriver.  In 1897, a more sophisticated spring mechanism permitted the inclusion of more tools, and the ‘Swiss Officers and Sports Knife’ was born.

This boasted an additional, but smaller, blade and a corkscrew as well, but was never supplied as part of a military contract.

In 1909, Elsener renamed the company after his recently dead mother, Victoria, and then in 1921, with the introduction of stainless steel into the production process, it became the ‘Victorinox’ we recognise today.

The Competition

Elsner had control of the Swiss folding knife market until 1893 when the country’s second biggest producer of knives, Paul Boéchat & Cie of Delémont started selling a similar product.

The company was subsequently acquired by its general manager, Theodore Wenger who gave the business his name and then in 1908, the Swiss government split the contract to supply its military.

The two manufacturers carried on as direct competitors for another 97 years, agreeing in typical Swiss fashion that Victorinox should be the ‘Original Swiss Army Knife’ and Wenger, the ‘Genuine Swiss Army Knife’.

 

A monopoly was born

In 2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger and the two brands continued to produce their respective ranges for sale to the public, but with only the Victorinox knife supplied to the Swiss military.

This continued until 2013, when the two ranges were merged and the Wenger marque disappeared as all new knives were made under the Victorinox brand.

The modern Victorinox range includes folding knives of different sizes.  At their simplest they  have just a single blade, nail file, tweezer and toothpick. More sophisticated models feature additional blades along with a corkscrew, spike, tin opener, bottle opener and flat screw driver.

 

 

Everything but the kitchen sink…

Scissors, pliers, a saw, file, fish scalar and hook remover, ruler, hoof cleaner, pen and crosshead screwdriver are also on included on bigger knives.

It’s possible to have a mini screwdriver, LED light and magnifying glass included, and more esoteric models feature specialized tools such as a removable flash drive, laser pointer and digital clock with altimeter and thermometer.

Classic Red with a Swiss Cross

Commercial Swiss Army knives are most commonly recognised by their classic red grip or ‘scales’ made from Cellulose Acetate Butyrate with a Swiss cross emblem.

Models are also available in a selection of stock colours and materials. Custom designs and colours can be made to order as well.

 

Tempered Martensitic Stainless Steel Alloy

During assembly, the various components of the knife are stacked on brass rivets. The first to go on the pile is an aluminum separator and these are used between each layer of tools.

Most implements are manufactured from a tempered martensitic stainless steel alloy of varying degrees of hardness, depending on the tool, and after assembly of the metal parts, the cutting edges are sharpened to give a 30 degree v-shaped cutting edge which is checked by laser to ensure precision.

Finally, the two coloured scales are pressed onto the outsides.

 

 

World Record Knife with 87 tools

In 2006, a knife called ‘The Giant’ was produced under the Wenger marque and this included every accessory the company had ever made, with 87 tools and 141 different functions.

Although totally impractical, the impressive Giant was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s most multifunctional penknife.

On the other hand, the more useable Victorinox ‘Superchamp’, weighing a modest 185g, has 8 layers of tools with 33 functions which is extended to 80 functions in the less usable and cumbersome ‘Superchamp XAVT’.

 

Cuckoo clocks and Swiss Army Knives

Along with the cow bell, fondue set and cuckoo clock, the Swiss Army knife ranks amongst Switzerland’s most iconic souvenirs but unlike the others, it is also a practical and useful pocket tool carried by millions of people around the world.

Recently the US Army added one of the knives to their list of official supplies…making the Swiss Army Knife a ‘US Army Knife’ as well!

 

Article written by Ed Mannix, owner of Matterhorn Chalets – luxury chalet operator in Zermatt