Swiss Army Knife – a brief history

Reader request

Oct 06, 2024

This newsletter was requested at least a year ago, I feel. Anyway, I was busy writing a book. That’s gonna be my go-to excuse for everything for a long time.

So, here’s how I’m going to approach this one. First, I’ll write down some questions I have myself and also what I think I know about the topic. Okay, before “first” I will take out my own Swiss Army Knife.

Here’s a picture of it. Two blades – small and smaller, then a toothpick and tweezers, and can/bottle openers and screwdrivers (big and small). And that little round indentation/notch on the left does something too.

Okay, so here’s what I think I know.

I think it used to be called an officer’s knife and then the American soldiers started calling it Swiss Army Knife in WWII. That kind of rings a bell. They were issued to Swiss soldiers. I think Victorinox is the only manufacturer now, but I seem to remember there being others. I don’t think we invented that kind of multifunctional knife, but we certainly took it to the next level.

I remember growing up that all the kids (even in primary) school – or at least all the boys, because that was an actual thing back then, had one in their pocket. We call them “Sackmesser” (pocketknife). In Swiss German I would never call it an army knife. But anyway … real men or real boys had one of them in their pockets. That’s how I grew up. Of course, I wanted and got one too. I used it to carve wood and stuff. Very handy.

So, there is a personal history there. But as a child I never wondered who invented it. I just liked the fact that I had one. Recently I’ve seen Americans on social media acting all surprised that you can buy these knives nearly everywhere. And that’s true. They are sold all over the place, not just in touristy areas. And it’s one of those things that Swiss people will buy as well. Other things, like overpriced chocolate (Lindt and such), we leave to tourists.

These knives are great quality, and you can have them for many years. The one I took a picture of comes with me on all my hikes. I went for a small one because of the weight, but I’m now thinking that I need one with a saw. That could come in handy.

Now, how did this all start? Let me go look that up. Everything up to here was just what I think I know or remember. So, we’ll see.

Ha! Sorry, Martin, but this (https://www.gearpersonal.com/victorinox-history/) is basically all you need. Somebody already wrote the perfect newsletter. Sounds like a real fan who knows what they’re talking about.

Okay, I did a bit more digging, before I found this perfect blogpost above. Looks like I was right on a lot of things. I never realized that the Swiss Army Knives I had growing up were manufactured by Wenger and not Victorinox, but I guess they kinda looked the same to me.

Both companies manufactured very similar knives, and both were contracted by the Swiss Army to manufacture them as early as the late 19-hundreds. Similar idea, similar quality, similar look and feel. Both equally nice, I’d say. So, what happened? Well, along came 9-11 and you were no longer allowed to bring knives on planes etc. Sales took a nosedive. And in 2005 Victorinox acquired Wenger – the kept the brand and it now focuses more on watches and travel gear.

If anybody is interested in the biggest knife they ever made – check out this video. The sound annoyed me and it’s too long, but I’m grumpy and you might like it.

Now I said that the army commissioned these knives – hence Swiss ARMY Knives. They wanted to give their soldiers folding pocketknives that could also be used to open canned food. And who of you has not tried to use the blade of a knife as a screwdriver? I know I have. So those were the three functions that were expected.

If you have a larger Swiss Army Knife than I do, you’ll know that because of the super cool design you can have tools on either side of the handle. There is a special spring used. It’s really very cool and was patented in 1897.

This is where I share a picture of a medium-sized Swiss Army Knife with all its tools. All very useful, you’ll agree. It’s no wonder that they are very popular. I might have to get me one of these. They are still very much manufactured in Switzerland which explains the price, I guess. In this case I do feel it’s totally worth it.

I put the link to their products in the notes. This is not a sponsored newsletter; I just think it’s fascinating to see what’s out there.

I should have probably mentioned the founder of Victorinox. His name was Carl Elsener. He named his company after his mother “Victoria” and when stainless steel was invented a few decades later he added the “-inox” ending (from French “acier INOXydable”). Et voilà, you get Victorinox. I thought that was a nice story.

The original Swiss Army Knife (or Officer’s Knife) is 127 years old. I was a bit surprised that it wasn’t older than that. Then again – that’s pretty old for something that’s still in use and the design of which has not changed that much over time.

Thanks Martin for requesting this. Sorry, that somebody else wrote the perfect blogpost on the same topic and that I kind of let him tell the story. Lazy me.

There are a few links below to go check out – if anybody is interested.

Have a lovely rest of your Sunday everyone.