On December 6th, 189, Switzerland adopted the soldier's knife as the official individual equipment of the Swiss army. In 1891, the 189 soldier's knife was officially produced in Germany. At that time, the handle used was oak, and the functional components were basically the same as those in the following photos: main knife, screwdriver, can opener and awl. The size is that the handle is 1 cm long, and the degree of completion is low. In October of the second year, it was produced in Switzerland, and the handle was changed to hard rubber. Until 1951, stainless steel was used, and the knife rope hole was provided, so that the whole knife could be used as a lead pendant. In 1954, the handle material was changed to bakelite. In 1957, the soldier's knife produced by WENGER used improved celluloid, and ELSENER (today's VICTORINOX) never used this material as a soldier.
The soldier's sword after p>61 years is completely different from its previous version, and its improvement can be said to be revolutionary. First of all, the shape of the knife has changed into the long oval that we are familiar with now, the handle material has been changed to red aluminum alloy, a beer bottle screwdriver has been added to the screwdriver, and the can opener has been redesigned, and a small screwdriver has been added to the tip, which is basically the same as the current version, and has changed its position with the screwdriver with beer screwdriver. This is a revolutionary design, so that the awl and screwdriver can be opened and used at the same time when disassembling the gun. After the 65th edition, the red color of soldiers' knives was changed to silver, while the familiar Swiss cross emblem was added in the 77th edition. Since then, the Swiss soldiers' knives have not been greatly improved.
Let's take a look at the 54-year-old Swiss soldier knife. It is made by Vickers, with stainless steel functional components, stainless steel pillow, bakelite handle and nickel-silver lining. There are already strengthened rope holes.
There are not many opportunities for Swiss soldiers' knives to really go to war with Swiss soldiers in history, and soldiers' knives, as soldiers' individual equipment, need to be tested by war just like other equipment.
In World War I, the knife in the photo below was brought into the battlefield. Yes, it was rough. It is difficult for Swiss people who no longer need to fight to forget that precision equals life, but Germans who are reliable, practical, logical and economical are not like this. So I got this stupid, black and thick German version of the soldier's knife.
But at the end of the war, its later version was quite different from it. The portability of a portable tool with a handle of 5 inches is worth considering. In fact, its length was reduced to 4 inches in the later period. The black hard rubber handle was often melted in the war, so it was also removed. How many functions like cork cone can be used in the battlefield? Instead of waiting for it to be incompetent and broken when it is assigned for other purposes, let's simply simplify it.
how streamlined was it? I don't know for what reason. Anyway, it was still there in the early days of World War II. Later, in the post-war 196s, it was simply streamlined, deleted and replaced with Swiss ones.
Need to decide the function
In the second half of the 19th century, the luxury trend in Europe can be said to have reached its peak, during which modern people with extremely rich materials such as sterling silver blades, Fritillaria handles, tortoiseshell razors, etc. were amazed, and so were multifunctional folding knives.
The following ivory handle folding knife is used by glassworkers. The shape of glass cutter is not very different from the present one. The putty knife has two notches for trimming, and the pointless concave blade is used to cut the rope for binding glass. When each blade is opened, it is opened to the end, unlike the modern multifunctional folding knife, which has a pause at a 9-degree angle with the blade to ensure the safety of closing the blade, because this century was not invented by CASE in the United States until the middle of last century.
The curve of the hilt tells us that it was made in the Victorian era, with a coat of arms on one side to distinguish it from a long name tag, because its owner is a craftsman, but he is rich. Because at that time, it was not only the church that had colored mosaic windows, but many nobles used this once sacred religious decoration method in their own palaces. Therefore, due to the difficulty of processing, artistic requirements and the identity of customers, glassworkers were rich at that time and could afford Seiko high-grade working tools from Schaefer.
after all, the product of an era belongs to the era in which it existed, and the surface processed by Swiss watch milling machine with accuracy enough to challenge CNC milling center is soft and smooth, which makes people understand why the British are so arrogant that they force the Germans who are famous for their preciseness to put MADE IN GERMANY on their knives to show low-grade quality. But daily use is the opposite of luxury after all. When that era died, Its products not only became a collection to be enjoyed by later generations, but also its original excellent use function disappeared.
The German multifunctional folding knife in the mid-18th century
The role of fire in human history can be said to be immeasurable, just like that of a knife still in use today. For a long time, the tools for obtaining fire were the same all over the world, flint, carbon steel with hardness over 62. So a busybody combined the two, together with a pen knife, a cork cone and an awl, to form the earliest multi-functional folding knife in Germany, which is the best preserved in the literature.
Brass pillows, steel rivets, steel linings and ox bone patches represented the typical styles at that time.
Since it is a multifunctional knife, not a pliers or something, that main knife is naturally essential. In my opinion, the knife type of the main knife should be stable after being competent for various jobs, in other words, it may not be particularly suitable for a certain job, but it can be done. No matter what it has cut, it should not change much after polishing and trimming compared with the blade shape when it leaves the factory. The tip of the knife is sharp enough, but it is not easy to break when piercing common cutting objects. The blade belly leaves a margin, and the blade root also leaves a margin. The design style and cultural background may be different, but from a practical point of view, no matter when the purpose is the same, the shape will not change much.
A practical multifunctional folding knife, instead of displaying all the knife types made by the knife maker in the window, is also thrown in the bag for unforeseen needs. Its function must be the most basic and commonly used. Then let's take a look at what an ordinary German did every day 25 years ago, cutting meat, ham, bread and buttering. These jobs decided that the main knife didn't need to be too long or too thick. The quill pen needs to be re-cut or re-made for a period of time, so he needs a flat-edged knife that can be directly cut on a small board, and the tip must be sharp so as to open the ink guide groove of the pen tip. It will be better to tie a round hole at the bottom of the ink guide groove. First, it can prevent the ink guide groove from cracking, and he also needs an awl. At the same time, it is also used when cleaning up machinery used at that time, such as guns and boots. Good wine in France doesn't mean that German grapes are not good. Germans are not farmers who match beer with dinner. The famous wine avenue might as well be the top producing area. Although he may be very dissatisfied with his cork cone and it is not easy to use at one end of the handle, I'm afraid there is no other way but to endure it. It will be 1 years before it is modified in the middle of the handle and invented by French people who are more obsessed with wine than him. The back of the knife is used to strike a fire. Germans, it is not a problem to toss steel, steel and iron for heat treatment or something.
Now, turn around and look at the standard equipment in the theme post in the hands of a soldier's child in a Swiss neighbor's house 2 years later, and then look at the 2 version of the soldier's knife in my hand, and see how much our daily life has changed in these 25 years. I believe I can understand the reason why I am obsessed with these old guys who are not always rusted with powder steel. Ha ha.
Because the high-hardness carbon steel on the back of the handle is not tempered to meet the function of striking fire, it may be damaged if it falls on the hard ground, and fire is a daily necessity, which is badly worn or annealed after a long time. Therefore, there are not many multi-functional striking knives that have spread to the present, and a collector with 6, collections has only 35 as much as he can. Time flies by, and it takes away many cultures and classics, but it also occasionally leaves some traces. I don't know if aliens have been here or left anything behind, but I am very satisfied with what the earth people left behind.
For the bottle-opening cone on the multifunctional folding knife, at an early stage, the die is punched with an acute triangular steel sheet, then heated until it is red and transparent, and one end of the acute angle is freely forged into a thin strip, then drawn into silk, then burned red, and wound on a thick iron wire or a large nail for molding.
according to the experience of the above-mentioned collectors and drinkers for many years, the corkscrew manufactured by this method is not smooth when screwing the drill. When drawing, it is necessary to exert force instantly and pull it out at once. If the force is slow, it may be pulled out and then hit it twice, and we will have a wire.
from the examples I have seen, the wooden screw bottle opener mentioned by Brother BLADEMASTER appeared after age of steam. This cone is fired to red heat and then rolled by a rolling machine. Not only the strength is greatly improved, but also the spiral cross section of its acute triangle is easier to invade cork. Because of its large contact surface, it is fully exerted when drawing.
its predecessor was indeed a wood screw, but the wood screw is a product of cold working of the thread rolling machine, and its thread is shallow, so it is not easy to exert force, so the substitute in the following photo appeared after the mechanical equipment matured.
the origin of Swiss army knife
the origin of Swiss army knife: Karl elson, the founder of Karl-Swiss army knife
the fourth son of shoemaker Baltehasha-elson Na-Ott, made up his mind to be a tool worker. So, in 1884, after he graduated as an apprentice in southern Germany and Paris, France, he returned to Yixi Town on the Tuobao River to open a tool workshop. Many young farmers were forced to make a living in the United States, Australia and New Zealand because there was no industry in Schwyz, which was located in central Switzerland at that time. In order to create new employment opportunities, Karl-elson initiated and founded the Swiss Army Knife Industry Mutual Aid Association in 1891. The primary purpose was to make the soldiers' knives that the Swiss army had to buy from Solingen, Germany, be produced in China. After the initial test was successful, in October 1891, the association produced a wholesale army knife for the Swiss army. Then, because of its relatively heavy weight, Karl-elson developed a portable and more exquisite knife, which not only has the functions of main knife, drilling cone, can opener and screwdriver for soldiers' knives, but also adds two small scrapers and a corkscrew. This six-fold knife with only two springs was named "officer's knife" and was patented on June 12, 1897. In the short time after its birth, the Swiss military officer's knife caused a great sensation, and there was an endless stream of door-to-door buyers from abroad. Since then, the Swiss military officer knife has begun its successful course of continuous exploration and innovation for more than 1 years.
Birth of "Swiss Champion"
Facing more and more orders, the functions of Swiss Army Knife have been continuously improved. Soon, tools such as wood saw, scissors, nail file, toothpick, clapper, metal saw with metal file, cross screwdriver, key and magnifying glass were added to the knife, so that the present Swiss Army Knife has more than 1 functions. Among all kinds of sabers, "Flagship" is the "Swiss Champion" with 31 functions. Its production process is more than 45, and it consists of 64 independent parts. The total weight of all kinds of tools and tool boxes of this knife does not exceed 95 grams (6.5 ounces), which is relatively easy to carry. Both the Museum of Modern Art and the German Museum of Practical Art in Munich regard Victorinox's "Swiss Champion" as a collection of industrial design masterpieces.
Victoria's memorial to his mother
In p>199, after Karl elson's mother died, he took his Christian name Victoria as her trademark. In 1921, stainless steel was invented, so stainless steel was made in Ibach, and the word Inox was combined with Victory to form the trademark of Victorinox, which has been used to this day.
with more than 95 employees, Victorinox is the largest industrial enterprise in Schwyz area and the largest tool manufacturer in Europe. In 1945-1949, Victorinox pocket knives were sold in large quantities to special shops of the US Army, Navy and Air Force, which made Swiss army knives famous all over the world. For American officers and soldiers, the name "Offiziermesser" is too difficult and too evasive, so they call it "Swiss army knife" for short. Now this name has been recognized in English-speaking countries and regions.
World-recognized quality trump card
Swiss diplomats and senior military officials often present Swiss army knives to the countries and officials they visit. In addition, Swiss army knives are particularly attractive to pilots. In 196, after Francis Gray Powers, the pilot of the U.S. UZ reconnaissance plane, successfully landed over Russia, the Russians made all the articles he had with him public, including the famous little red Swiss army knife. The Nigerian Air Force has ordered a large number of Swiss army knives with curved blades, which can cut off the ropes that bind parachutes and escape when the tide is gone. Since the German army also bought this kind of Swiss army knife from Ibach in 1976, the Swiss "Ten" was printed on the olive-green scabbard with the German eagle. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States has also scheduled the Swiss Army Knife as the standard equipment on the space shuttle Columbia. Therefore, "Swiss Army Knife" is often copied in foreign countries such as Germany, France, Spain, the United States, Japan and China, but the quality is not as good as the original. Unfortunately, however, many foreign replicas were printed with Swiss crosses. Although this situation was tried to stop through the mediation of Swiss ambassadors and court orders, criminals still put a cross on the saber to confuse the real with the fake. At present, only two Swiss manufacturers, Victorinox and Wenger, have been officially authorized to use crosses on knives.
distinguished quality lifelong companion
The quality of Swiss army knife can be described in three sentences, namely "sharp, strong and durable". For more than 1 years, Swiss army knife manufacturers have been pursuing perfect products, from material selection (special high-quality stainless steel) to every process, from shape design to overall combination, from traditional technology to the application of advanced technology, etc., all of which reveal their pursuit of quality. Steel selection of Swiss army knife