Looking for a classic Swiss Army Knife? Perhaps you want one of the the new USB Swiss army knives? Our guide to Victorinox Swiss army knives gives you the facts & information you want to know.
I was in a predicament. I mean, it wasn’t something serious, but I was in a fix. Here I was in Switzerland, on a tight business schedule, so tight that I hadn’t even gone sightseeing, let alone shopping, and there was my friend’s birthday just around the corner. Not an ordinary friendship, mind you, but one that had lasted for close on four decades. As friends we had met regularly, even two or three times a year and had exchanged gifts on every conceivable occasion and now I was at a loss with no time to shop around to find just that something for him. Not that Switzerland doesn’t have much to offer, but it had to be something unique and belonging to Switzerland.
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife
That was when my counterpart in the business negotiations suggested that I get my friend a “Swiss Army Knife”. Now, I asked him, “What’s so special about a Swiss Army Knife”? Well, the next day he brought over one. There are knives and there are knives, but this is not just an ordinary knife. It is actually a multi-functional knife, a multi-tool. A versatile one and I found out that it is commonly known as the Swiss Army Knife, a name coined by the soldiers of the U.S. Army during the Second World War simply because they could not pronounce the original Swiss word, “Offiziersmesser”.
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife History
Originating in Ibach Schwyz, Switzerland in 1897 it is known as the Swiss Army Knife simply because it is standard Swiss Army equipment. The term “Swiss Army” is the trade mark of Victorinox A.G., one of the two very old suppliers of this type of knife to the Swiss Army and, since 2005, the sole dealer. An interesting fact as to how the name Victorinox came about is that, in honor of the mother of the founder, the name of the company manufacturing these knives was changed to “Victoria” in 1909. The suffix “inox” was added in1921 when stainless steel was introduced. The French term for stainless steel is “acier inoxydable”. Hence the “Victorinox”.
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Features
Obviously, as I could see, the knife is a multi-functional utility. The simplest model has only a single blade. The usual tools included are, in addition to the main blade, a smaller second blade, tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener, slotted/flat-head screwdriver(s), phillips-head screwdriver, nail file, scissors, file, hook, fish scaler and pliers all of which are stowed inside a knurled alox handle of the knife through a pivot point mechanism. A key chain is usually added for convenience. The Victorinox handle is usually red, and features a White Cross and Shield, the emblem of Switzerland. Various other combinations exist with additional tools and modern technology has included even a USB drive, a digital clock and an MP3 player to boot. Talk about functional design! A feature for which the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife is an exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and also equipment for NASA’s astronauts.
