Travel, Leisure and Recreation

This is for all the MacGyver fans to know that Switzerland is not all about chocolate and astonishing scenery. It has another great invention which is the invention of Swiss army knives which has come from this beautiful country with snow capped mountains.

Swiss army knives are personalized totally and they are absolutely terrific. They have amazing features. The whole tool box can be packed into a small packet resembling like a large key chain and remain entirely practical.

The Year 1884 brought in a new dawn with the opening of the Victorinox factory. Its owner Mr. Karl Elsner served his apprenticeship in Germany and Paris, after which he started his own cutlery shop. In his factory he made use of the polishing and grinding machine which could be applied with the help of a waterwheel.

The Swiss army knife that we now so comfortably carry in our pockets was first designed for the army back in 1891. It was in this year that Karl introduced his invention to the Swiss army who went ahead and patented two of Karls creations, the Sports knife and the Swiss Officers knife.

Earlier only Karls company was legally permitted to provide the Swiss army with these knives but after some time the job was being shared by Wenger and Victorinox as well. Later according to the agreement between the two companies the rights to advertise the old school original Swiss Army Knife was given to Victorinox.

The emblem featuring the cross and the shield was acquired by Karl in 1909. To this date the symbol is a representation of the quality knives produced by Vitorinox. The company actually gets its name from Karl Elsners mother who was named Victoria.

The name Victorinox was given by Karl who named the product after his mother and added the French word for stainless steel inox to it. This was done by Karl in his mothers memory after her death.

The American soldiers were buying these Swiss Officers knives during the 2nd world war. The word officers was withdrawn from the name and as these knives were selling at a much faster rate, it was renamed as Swiss Army Knife and even today it is called so.

Victorinox was so productive that it took over Wenger after a period of time. These days their products are being used by astronauts, mountaineers and ocean explorers. They have also come up with ideas of many different products like professional knives, household knives, watches, clothing, luggage which has only added up to their popularity.