The History of the most army knife

Readers of Soldier of Fortune will likely recall the Austrian Glock knives or the US Ka-Bar.

But real professionals know that the most popular army knife easily fits in the palm of the hand, has several blades, a corkscrew and scissors, as well as red pads with the coat of arms of Switzerland.

Indeed, it all started with hats. Karl (Karl Elzener), one of the 12 children of the Elzener family, owners of the hat store, realized that selling hats was not interesting to him.

With his parents blessing, he left his hometown of Ibach in the canton of Schwyz and studied in Germany and France for several years before, at the age of 24, he founded a small factory for making surgical instruments - saws, scalpels, lancets, clamps - in short, everything to get into a securely fixed patient.

And since guns like to be she fondled, cleaned and lubricated, the military needed a tool to disassemble and assemble the rifle in the field. When Carl Elsener learned of this, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
In 1890, he founded the Swiss Knife Masters Association, where he invited all famous knife masters. The task was to create an army knife with a set of tools for all occasions of a soldier's life. An indispensable condition was a spring, which held the blade open. And that's where Karl Elsener almost went bankrupt.

The fact is that at that time the production of such knives cost a some pretty penny. Especially since Elsener demanded the highest quality (Swiss, Karl!) for his products.

German knife shops, on the other hand, offered military folding knives of lower quality, but at reduced prices. Unable to withstand this competitive pressure, the members of the association began to scatter, leaving Karl Elzener virtually alone.

That's where the venerable mother of Herr Karl stepped in.
Not only did she invest all her savings in her son's enterprise, but she also sold his knives in her store and dealt with the paperwork and administrative side of things. Meanwhile, Elzener's knives were appreciated by Swiss soldiers and officers, and demand for them began to grow exponentially. In 1891, Carl Elsener became the official supplier of knives to the Swiss army. And in 1897 the "officer and sport knife Swiss Army Knife" saw the light of day.

In 1909, the grateful son named his company after his mother - Victoria, and his children later added the prefix Inox (from the French "inoxidable" - "stainless steel") to his grandmother's name. Thus, in 1921 the world-famous company Victorinox appeared - with the logo of the Swiss cross on the red cheeks of the handle.

However, the competition was not slacking. Victorinox knives were produced in the canton of Schwyz. And in the neighboring canton of Jura, in the town of Kortel, Mr. Theo Wenger, owner of the "Swiss Tool Factory", also offered his knives, and from 1901 he began supplying them to the troops. Later he modestly renamed the factory after himself.

But since 1908, in order to avoid friction between the two cantons, the Swiss army divides its orders equally between Wenger and Elsener. Thus a precarious balance is achieved.

Interestingly, Victorinox knives were produced under the slogan "Original Swiss Army Knife" and Wenger - "Genuine Swiss Army Knife".

Almost a hundred years later, however, in 2005 Victorinox absorbed the competitor, and as of August 15, 2014, the production of Wenger knives was finally discontinued.

It's hard to find an area where Victorinox knives are not used. They are sold to the US and German armies. Sportsmen, tourists, hunters, fishermen, office workers buy them. They have even been to space and are the official knives of NASA. Why so?
Let's find out.

First, we need to note the steel. The brand of steel, from which Victorinoxes are made, is still one of the secrets of the company, but it feels similar to Sandvik 12C27. The Swiss steel holds sharpening quite well, while also being easy to sharpen and not prone to chipping of the cutting edge - perfect for an everyday knife.

Secondly, it's the toolbox. Victorinox produces a lot of models with a variety of tools. If at the beginning of the XX century in the army knife there were two blades, screwdriver, bottle opener and corkscrew, nowadays every customer can find a knife with the necessary set of tools. There are knives with wire cutters, hacksaw, fish cleaner, magnifying glass, rope pile, horse hoof cleaning hook, cigar cutter, there are even knives with a built-in clock and USB flash drive.

Third, convenience. Victorinox at least tries to keep up with the times and since the beginning of the twenty-first century it produces knives with one-hand opening as well as models of knives with the "liner-lock" type lock, which will not allow the blade to fold on your fingers.

Fourth, it's just beautiful. Indeed, Victorinox produces very beautiful knives with a memorable design. No surprise, considering that the factory has been producing military knives for over a century. In addition, Victorinox produces a lot of anniversary, commemorative, collectible series of knives with a unique design.