Invention date: 1897

Inventor: Swiss Charles. Elsener

Charles. Elsener was a knife worker in the Schwyz region of Switzerland. He was shocked when he discovered that the knives used by soldiers in the Swiss army had to be purchased from Germany. In 1891, he initiated and created the Swiss Knife Industry Mutual Aid Association, dedicated to providing Swiss The military makes sabers. Elsener made a lighter and more beautiful knife especially for officers. In addition to all the blades, awls, can openers and screwdrivers of the soldier's knife, it also had a small blade and a corkscrew. Today's Swiss Army knives can have up to more than a hundred combinations of functions

Charles Elsener, the fourth son of shoemaker Balthazar Elsener Ott, made up his mind to become a shoemaker. Cutlery worker. After spending several years as a worker in the TUTTLINGEN district of southern Germany, he returned to his hometown at the age of 24 and opened a restaurant in IBACH near SCHWYZ in Switzerland in 1884. A factory of your own.

At that time there was almost no industry in the SCHWYZ (place name) area, so many young farmers were forced to immigrate to North America, Australia or New Zealand. In order to create new job opportunities, Carl Elsener initiated and founded the Swiss Knife Industry Mutual Aid Association in 1891. Its main purpose was to manufacture soldiers' knives that the Swiss army at that time had to purchase from SOLINGEN (place name) in Germany. In October 1891, the association produced the first batch of military knives destined for the Swiss Army. Carl Elsener then began making other exquisitely designed pocket knives, which he distinguished by names such as student's knife, officer's knife, and peasant's knife, instead of numbers. The soldier's knife was very thick and therefore bulky, so Carl Elsener made a lighter and more beautiful knife especially for officers. This knife had all the blades, awls, can openers and screwdrivers of the soldier's knife. In addition, there is a small blade and a corkscrew. This new model with six blades mounted on two springs was called the "officer's knife" by Carl. This design was officially registered on the 2nd of 1897.

This convenient, multifunctional pocket knife quickly became extremely popular and began to receive more and more orders from abroad. The functions of the knife were constantly improved, and soon tools such as wood saws and scissors were added to the knife. Soon, a bottle cap screwdriver was added to the big screwdriver, and a small screwdriver was added to the can opener. Later, a nail file, a toothpick, tweezers, a metal saw with a metal file, a scale remover with a hook spit and a ruler, a Phillips screwdriver, a key ring and a magnifying glass were added to the knife. Today's Swiss Army knives can have more than a hundred combinations of functions. Among the various military knives, the "flagship" is the "Swiss Champion" with 31 functions. The total weight of this knife with all the tools and the tool box does not exceed the planned 95 grams (6.5 ounces), making it easy to carry. The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the German Museum of Applied Arts in Munich both collect VICTORINOX "Champions" as "industrial design masterpieces". The "Swiss Champion" is composed of 64 independent parts and requires more than 450 processes during the production process.

In 1909, after Carl Elsener's mother died, he used his mother's Christian name VICTORY (Victoria) as his trademark. Stainless steel was invented in 1921, so after IBACH (place name) made stainless steel knives, the word INOX was combined with VICTORY to form the VICTORINOX trademark that is still in use today. VICTORINOX now has more than 950 employees. It is the largest industrial enterprise in the SCHWYZ region and the largest tool manufacturer in Europe. From 1945 to 1949, VICTORINOX pocket knives were sold in large quantities to special stores of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. This business also made the Swiss Army Knife famous around the world. For American officers and soldiers, the name "Offiziermesser" was too difficult and convoluted, so they simply called it the "Swiss Army Knife." This name is now well known in English-speaking countries and regions. It is called "Couteau Suise" in France and "Schweizer Messer" in Germany and Austria, which all refer to "Swiss knife".

President LYNDON B.JOHNSON of the United States once presented 4,000 pocket knives engraved with his initials to his guests at the White House. This tradition was later followed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.