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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Claire bought that knife for me, there were two Swiss companies producing \u201cSwiss Army Knives\u201d \u2014 Wenger and Victorinox. My knife is a Victorinox. Wenger sold their knives as the \u201cGenuine Swiss Army Knife,\u201d and Victorinox claimed to be the \u201cOriginal Swiss Army Knife.\u201d Victorinox acquired Wenger in 2005. Interestingly, both Wenger and Victorinox used the cross and shield to identify their knives \u2014 a symbol still used today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Karl Elsener’s mother died in 1909, he named his company \u201cVictoria\u201d in her memory. In 1921 the company started using newly invented stainless steel to make the Swiss Army Knife. Stainless steel is known as \u201cinox,\u201d short for the French term acre inoxydable. Victoria<\/em> and inox<\/em> were combined to create Victorinox<\/em> \u2014 the name of the company today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsener called his knife the \u201cSoldier\u2019s Knife\u201d and made a lightweight version with a few more tools called the \u201cOfficer\u2019s and Sports Knife.\u201d Handymen around the world discovered them and began carrying them in their pockets. But it wasn\u2019t until World War II, when American GIs dubbed it the Swiss Army Knife, that the tool got the name we use today. 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 … Continue reading
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