Swiss Army knife
The handle is traditionally a red colour, with either a Victorinox or Wenger "cross" logo or, for Swiss military issue knives, the coat of arms of Switzerland.
[3] The term "Swiss Army knife" has acquired usage as a figure of speech indicating a multifaceted skillset.
In 1851, in Moby-Dick (chapter 107), Herman Melville mentions the "Sheffield contrivances, assuming the exterior – though a little swelled – of a common pocket knife; but containing, not only blades of various sizes, but also screwdrivers, cork-screws, tweezers, bradawls, pens, rulers, nail files and countersinkers."
This knife was to be suitable for use by the army in opening canned food and for maintenance of the Swiss service rifle, the Schmidt–Rubin, which required a screwdriver for assembly and disassembly.
At that time no Swiss company had the necessary production capacity, so the initial order for 15,000 knives was placed with the German knife manufacturer Wester & Co. from Solingen, Germany.
[citation needed] In 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment, set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland itself.
While the Swiss military did not commission the knife, it was successfully marketed internationally, restoring Elsener's company to prosperity.
[6] In 1893 the second industrial cutler of Switzerland, Paul Boéchat & Cie, headquartered in Delémont in the French-speaking region of Jura, started selling a similar product.
[citation needed] In 1908 the Swiss government split the contract between Victorinox and Wenger, placing half the orders with each.
The press release stated that Wenger's factory in Delémont would continue to produce knives and all employees at this site will retain their jobs.
[8] Up until 2008 Victorinox AG and Wenger SA supplied about 50,000 knives to the military of Switzerland each year, and manufactured many more for export, mostly to the United States.
[10] After an initial hearing Victorinox agreed to cede the registration in the United States of the term "Swiss military" to Armasuisse in return for an exclusive licence to market perfumes under the same name.
Victorinox now sells an updated version called the Slim Jetsetter, with "a premium software package that provides ultra secure data encryption, automatic backup functionality, secure web surfing capabilities, file and email synchronization between the drive and multiple computers, Bluetooth pairing and much more.
On the hardware side of things, biometric fingerprint technology, laser pointers, LED lights, Bluetooth remote control and of course, the original Swiss Army Knife implements – blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver, key ring and ballpoint pen are standard.
"[15] In 2006, Wenger produced a knife called "The Giant" that included every implement the company ever made, with 87 tools and 141 different functions.
[17] The Guinness Book of Records recognizes a unique 314-blade Swiss Army-style knife made in 1991 by Master Cutler Hans Meister as the world's largest penknife, weighing 11 pounds (5.0 kg).
Some Victorinox 111 mm series knives have a double liner lock that secures the cutting blade and large slotted screwdriver/cap opener/wire stripper combination tool designed towards prying.
[18] Rivets and flanged bushings made from brass hold together all machined steel parts and other tools, separators and the scales.
[19] The martensitic stainless steel alloy used for the cutting blades is optimized for high toughness and corrosion resistance and has a composition of 15% chromium, 0.60% silicon, 0.52% carbon, 0.50% molybdenum, and 0.45% manganese and is designated X55CrMo14 or DIN 1.4110 according to Victorinox.
Since 2006 the scales on some knife models can have textured rubber non-slip inlays incorporated, intended for sufficient grip with moist or wet hands.
Modifications have been made, including professionally produced custom models combining novel materials, colors, finishes[26] and occasionally new tools such as firesteels[27] or tool 'blades' mounting replaceable surgical scalpel blades[28] to replacement of standard scales (handles) with new versions in natural materials such as buffalo horn.
[29] In addition to 'limited edition' productions runs, numerous examples from basic to professional-level customizations of standard knives—such as retrofitting pocket clips, one-off scales created using 3D printing techniques, decoration using anodization and new scale materials—can be found by searching for "SAK mods".
After the assembly of the metal parts, the blades on smaller knives are sharpened to a 15° angle, resulting in a 30° V-shaped steel cutting edge.
The wooden grips of the Modell 1890 tended to crack and chip so in 1901 these were changed to a hard reddish-brown fiber similar in appearance to wood.
[35] The soldier Knife model 1951 had fiber scales, nickel-silver bolsters, liners, and divider, and a spear point blade.
Victorinox won the contest with a knife based on the One-Hand German Army Knife as issued by the German Bundeswehr and released in the civilian model lineup with the addition of a toothpick and tweezers stored in the nylon grip scales (side cover plates) as the One-Hand Trekker/Trailmaster model.
The term "Swiss Army" currently is a registered trademark owned by Victorinox AG and its subsidiary, Wenger SA.
[citation needed] The term "Swiss Army knife" has entered popular culture as a metaphor for usefulness and adaptability.
[46] When U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Roger Benitez overturned California's 30-year-old ban on assault weapons in Miller v. Bonta, he compared the Swiss Army knife to the AR-15 rifle in the first sentence of his opinion, "Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment.
