The name “Swiss Army Knife” is a household term today. Interestingly, however, though the knife itself has been around since 1889, its famous name dates back only to the post World War II era. The origins of both the knife and its name make for an intriguing story.
In the Beginning
During the late 1880s the Swiss National Army decided its soldiers needed a folding pocket knife that would do at least two things. First, it had to be able to open canned food, and second, it had to facilitate the disassembling of the Schmidt-Rubin M1889 Swiss service rifle, which required a screwdriver for assembly. The Army designed a knife that had a blade, a “reamer,” a can-opener, and a screwdriver, and they designated the knife the “Modell 1890.”
The Swiss Army hoped to find a Swiss vendor to supply the knives, but unfortunately a manufacturer with the necessary production capabilities could not be found and the first order for 15,000 knives was awarded to a Company called Wester & Company in Solingen, Germany.
At about this same time a 30-year-old Swiss knife maker named Karl Elsener was making surgical equipment at his workshop in Ibach. His Company was called “Swiss Cutlery Guild.” Realizing that he had missed a golden opportunity with the Swiss Army, Elsener immediately went to work upgrading and equipping his plant to make the Modell 1890. Late in 1891 Elsener took over production of the Swiss Army knives, beginning a relationship that is now in its one hundred and twenty third year.
Evolution of the Swiss Army Knife
Elsener was not satisfied with the design of the Modell 1890, and he developed a spring mechanism that enabled him to attach tools to both sides of the knife handle, effectively doubling the number of tools that could be used. On June 12, 1897 Elsener introduced a new knife, which included a second, smaller cutting blade and a corkscrew in addition to the four original tools. He called it the “Schweizer Offiziermesser,” or “The Officer’s and Sports Knife.” Although this knife was never part of the military contract, it laid a foundation for what was to come.
Elsener used the now-famous cross and shield to identify his knives from the start. In 1909 his Mother died, and in 1921 the Company began using stainless steel to make all its blades. Elsener combined “Victoria,” his late Mother’s name, with “inox,” an abbreviation of the French term for stainless steel, to come up with “Victorinox,” the new name for the Company
Through the years hundreds of different Swiss Army knives have been manufactured, each with different combinations of tools for different applications. Among the many popular tools featured on the knives are tweezers, toothpicks, corkscrews, can openers, bottle openers, Phillips head screwdrivers, nail files, magnifying glasses, ballpoint pens, pliers, compasses, and rulers. Among recent technology-driven features are a USB flash drive, a digital altimeter, an LED light, a laser pointer, and an MP3 player.
Origin of the name “Swiss Army Knife”
Though the knives themselves have been around for more than a century, the name “Swiss Army Knives,” by which they are now commonly known world-wide, did not originate until after World War II. The knives first became well known to US Army troops during the war, when they were carried by virtually every German soldier. According to Carl Elsener, the son of the Company’s Founder, US soldiers purchased the knives in huge quantities at PX stores on military bases at the conclusion of the war. Because the German name for the knives “Schweizer Offiziermesser,” was far too difficult for the American soldiers to pronounce, they began calling them “Swiss Army Knives,” the name which has obviously stuck. The rest, as they say, is history.
