Karl Elsener (posthumously also known as Karl Elsener I) (9 October 1860 – 26 December 1918) was a Swiss cutler, inventor and entrepreneur.

[1] Karl Elsener completed an apprenticeship as a knife maker in Zug.

After some journeyman years he opened a factory in Ibach, Switzerland[2] in 1884 for the manufacture of knives and surgical instruments.

[citation needed] After him his son, Carl Elsener (1886–1950) [de], and his grandson Carl Elsener senior (1922–2013) and his great-grandson Carl Elsener Jr. (born 1958) led the Victorinox company.

This man's legacy later descended into the family of Frohnes'.