Shortly after we were married, Claire gave me a Swiss Army Knife. I still have that knife and, in fact, put it to good use just yesterday.
Since Switzerland stays out of international disputes, it make you wonder how its army became associated with what is one of the best known, and most commonly used, pieces of military hardware in the world.
The Swiss Army Knife was the brainchild of Swiss cutlery manufacturer Karl Elsener. Elsener was more than a little ticked that the Swiss soldiers got their standard issue knives from a German manufacturer, so he set out to win the contract from the Swiss government.
When Claire bought that knife for me, there were two Swiss companies producing “Swiss Army Knives” — Wenger and Victorinox. My knife is a Victorinox. Wenger sold their knives as the “Genuine Swiss Army Knife,” and Victorinox claimed to be the “Original Swiss Army Knife.” Victorinox acquired Wenger in 2005. Interestingly, both Wenger and Victorinox used the cross and shield to identify their knives — a symbol still used today.
When Karl Elsener’s mother died in 1909, he named his company “Victoria” in her memory. In 1921 the company started using newly invented stainless steel to make the Swiss Army Knife. Stainless steel is known as “inox,” short for the French term acre inoxydable. Victoria and inox were combined to create Victorinox — the name of the company today.
Elsener called his knife the “Soldier’s Knife” and made a lightweight version with a few more tools called the “Officer’s and Sports Knife.” Handymen around the world discovered them and began carrying them in their pockets. But it wasn’t until World War II, when American GIs dubbed it the Swiss Army Knife, that the tool got the name we use today.
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