In 1891, Swiss Karl Elsener was the first person to make the Swiss Army Knife. The Swiss Army knives at that time had wooden handles (mostly plastic and metal today) and only two tools, a screwdriver and a can opener. In 1897, Karl Elsener invented a new spring, and the Swiss Army Knife began to be able to hold more tools. The 1890s was the era when the Swiss military began to use Swiss-made knives. In the past, they all used German-made knives.

In 1909, Karl Elsener began to engrave a white cross shield on the red handle of the Swiss Army Knife as a trademark, and named the product after his mother, Victoria, and founded Victorinox. In the 1940s, the U.S. military stationed in Europe loved this multi-purpose knife. However, because they could not pronounce the German word Offiziermesser (the original meaning of German was "officer's knife"), they called this knife the Swiss Army Knife. As of 2013, Victorinox is still supplying this type of knife to the Swiss military. Another company that supplies Swiss Army knives to the Swiss military is Wenger. In addition to these two companies, there are many manufacturers that produce similar multi-purpose knives. But generally only Victorinox and Wenger products are considered authentic Swiss Army knives. Victorinox merged with Wego in 2005. In February 2008, the Swiss Arms Office evaluated new military knives provided by seven domestic and foreign manufacturers, including Victorinox. In July, after the relevant departments analyzed the quality and technical performance of the saber, they believed that the saber produced by Victorinox was the best value for money. Charles Elsener, the fourth son of the hatmaker Balthazar Elsener Ott, was determined to become a 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 in 1884 settled in the town of IBACH in the Swiss canton of SCHWYZ. Yixi Town) opened a tool factory of his own.

At that time there was almost no industry in the SCHWYZ area, so many young farmers were forced to immigrate to North America, Australia or New Zealand. In order to create new employment opportunities, Carl Elsener initiated and created the Swiss Master Knifemakers Association in 1891. Its main purpose was to unite all Swiss knifemakers to manufacture soldiers that the Swiss army at that time had to purchase from SOLINGEN, Germany. Use a knife. 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 heavy, so Carl 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, this knife also had 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 June 12, 1897. 1. Metal inlaid type, this is the production method preferred by most saber enthusiasts. It uses optical technology to embed chromium metal into the plastic handle and then tighten it with pressure. This kind of logo is particularly beautiful and sparkles in the sun. Most sabers numbered in the 0.6 series, 0.3 series, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.6 series have this logo. 0.6 series with lights and some 1.4 series exceptions.

2. Hot pressing type uses copper molding, occlusion of metal foil, temperature and pressure for engraving. The engraving is relatively deep and will not rub off easily. Some batches of 1.4 series sabers such as 1.4733.72, 1.3653.72, and some batches of 0.6910 are marked like this.

3. The engraving type is basically what we often call the economical version.

That is to say, a machine is used to first make a shield-shaped dent on the front of the knife handle, and then a special silver paint is sprayed inside. This paint will be worn away over time, leaving only a shield-shaped dent. of pits. Most sabers with engraving marks are frosted, such as 3.3703, 2.3803, etc. The exception is the 2.6223, which has a smooth handle and an etched logo. Careful buyers will find that the logo of the economy version is not exactly the same as the logo of the standard version. The cross in the standard version of the logo is connected to the shield-shaped frame, while the cross and shield-shaped frame of the economy version are not connected. Yes, the reason is because the logo of the metal version is a whole piece of metal embedded in the handle. If the "cross" is separated from the "shield-shaped frame", it will not be easy to align when inlaying. Therefore, the standard version The cross mark is connected to the shield-shaped outer frame.

4. The rolling type is what we often call printing. Most 111mm sabers are like this. This kind of saber mark is more wear-resistant, but it will fall off if it is used for too long or if it is scratched with a sharp object. The knife logo on the knife card is also rolled. The "German Army Knife" model is an exception. Its logo is an eagle integrated with the handle. Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox) was first founded in 1884. At that time, it was just a small knife workshop. Today, Victorinox has become a large-scale knife manufacturer with more than 1,000 employees. It produces about 30,000 Swiss Army knives every day, and demand still exceeds supply. People say that the only problem with the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife is how to improve production efficiency and produce more military knives every day.

Today, we will enter the Victorinox factory and see how a Swiss Army knife is produced. Victorinox's headquarters is located in Ibach, Switzerland. You can see a white building in the distance. The most eye-catching thing is a huge red Swiss Army knife printed on the building. In the distance is the majestic snow covered all year round. The foothills of the tall Alps: A Swiss Army knife contains dozens of parts. Each part has a separate production line, and below it is a blade production line. Workers wearing special gloves inspect the newly forged blades one by one and then put them on the assembly line: After inspection, the blades with no problems need to undergo a series of processing to improve toughness, hardness, and anti-rust treatment: After the final The processed blades are already shining, but they still need to pass the final inspection, and defective products with any defects will be eliminated. It is precisely because of the many levels of inspection that the quality of each Swiss Army knife can be guaranteed: after each individual blade passes the final inspection, it will be gathered together and sent to the assembly workshop. Below is the finished product of another blade. On it we can see the familiar bottle opener. It is so many scattered parts that are finally combined into a Swiss Army Knife with powerful functions: This is the inspection workshop of the Swiss Army Knife shell, which is completed. Every piece of shell needs to be strictly inspected by professional inspectors to ensure that there are no cracks or scratches: This close-up photo can see the serious expressions of the inspectors, who inspect thousands of the same shells every day, They have not slackened off year after year. It is their efforts that allow us to use every Swiss Army knife with confidence. We sincerely pay tribute to these unknown people: The tested red shell can be seen with the familiar shield printed on it. Logo: Most of the Swiss Army knives we see on the market have red plastic casings, and there is also another less common white aluminum casing: After all parts are inspected, they will eventually be sent to the assembly workshop, where several Ten scattered parts will be cleverly compressed into a small space. The picture below shows an assembler’s workbench. Surrounded by various parts, the assembler only has a palm-sized space to work. It is here that through their deft hands, Swiss Army knives will magically was born. Below is a mover who is moving dozens of newly assembled Swiss Army knives out of the assembly workshop. Seeing so many shining red knives, his mouth is watering: Every assembled knives needs to go through a test. Close it to ensure that no part is missing and that every part is installed correctly and firmly.

Finally, wipe the knife clean: Below is a Swiss Army knife customized for the German army. We can see that, unlike ordinary civilian Swiss Army knives, its shell is made of specially treated gray aluminum material to ensure that it will not be exposed due to reflection. The position of the soldier, at the same time, its logo is an eagle with spread wings: Victorinox has a dedicated product showroom, where we can see a series of Swiss Army knives produced by Victorinox from 1891 to 1994. Careful observation can reveal that although more than 100 years have passed, the current Swiss Army Knife is not much different from the original Army Knife. Although the material of the outer casing has changed from wood to plastic or alloy, the structure of the overall knife has remained almost unchanged: the only problem encountered by the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife factory employees is how to speed up production. The whole process starts every Monday morning when the steel sheets are delivered. When it arrived, it was a large coil of steel weighing one ton, ready for technician J?rg Heisser to turn it into 100,000 blades. J?rg said: "I have been working in this company for 10 years. I really like this job, I have handled millions of parts, the actual number is unknown.” There are about 250 kinds of accessories, including the main knife, almost all of which are made by stamping, and each machine can produce it every hour. About 20,000 components are produced and stamped on steel sheets using 160 tons of pressure. But the stamping process leaves a burr on the edge of the blade. You might think that you can just file the burr smooth, but in fact they use a strange machine called a centrifugal drum grinder. In this kind of machine, the parts are mixed with thousands of small ceramic balls. After strong vibration, the burrs of the metal are gradually smoothed. A mobile magnetic conveyor belt will easily pick up the polished parts from the machine, but The blades are still too soft to cut only warm, soft butter, so like Swiss army recruits, they need to be strengthened: they undergo a heat treatment process called tempering. 2,000 blades are baptized by flames in the furnace every hour. This process requires careful balance. The harder the steel, the more brittle it is, so it must be heated at a precise temperature to make the best blade. The blades then have to be ground to a precise thickness, otherwise the finished Swiss Army Knife will not be able to open and close, so they are ground to a thickness of 2.3 centimeters on a slowly rotating machine. The remaining step is to add the most important blade, but unfortunately, this part of the manufacturing process is a closely guarded trade secret. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the blades that Jorg had stamped in the morning were sharpened and being assembled by assembler Elize Ayton. Eliz's work is very complex. She has to assemble more than 64 parts, including blades, various tools and many washers and pins. Every small part must be assembled in order. "Assembling a Swiss Army Knife correctly requires concentration and patience," says Eliz. But as the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and Eliz can complete a new Swiss Army Knife every two minutes. All that's left is the final finishing touches, including the unique red shell, the Swiss Army Knife's LOGO, a pair of small pliers and the most important toothpick. Finally, each Swiss Army Knife is manually cleaned and inspected to ensure the satisfaction of even the most meticulous Swiss military officer.