Karl elsener swiss army knife biography

Herman Melville described it in Moby Dick, which he wrote in "Sheffield tools resembling an ordinary pocket knife, from which come not only blades of various sizes but also screwdrivers, corkscrews, tweezers Art shapes the future, needs drive production, and the entrepreneur's mind does the volleyball. In , the Swiss army needed a pocket knife, just like the one in Moby Dick, to open canned food and use it to maintain their rifles, which required assembly and disassembly.

Since Switzerland did not have the capacity to meet this need at that time, the Germans took the job. The first production takes place in Sollingen. He unearths his original Swiss army knife, branded Victorinox, named after his mother. It was in that Elsener made a breakthrough. He was able to patent a more refined version for officers, adding a razor blade and a corkscrew.

Another breakthrough he achieved was finding a way to put blades on both sides of the handle, using a shared spring to hold both sides in place. It allowed him to put in twice as many features as the previous multi-tool, allowing six tools to be locked by only two communal springs—which later became a standard for Swiss Army knives. Although the Swiss Army did not officially approve the invention, it became a popular purchase for army officers.

In , the Swiss government finally withdrew its contract from the Germans and gave manufacturing duties to Elzener and Wenger. The following year, Elzener introduced its iconic logo based on the Swiss coat of arms and its distinctive red grips to make it easier to spot once dropped. In , Elzener renamed his company Victoria in honor of his recently deceased mother.

Advertiser [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. The Telegraph. Retrieved Warfare History. External links [ edit ]. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karl Elsener. Authority control databases. Victorinox A. Swiss Army Brands, Inc. Precise is Wenger S. Today, the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers has over fifty members, and both businesses are still members thereof.

In the first order from the Swiss military for pocketknives with multiple utensils thereon was filled. It was in that Victorinox A. Wenger S. Today, Wenger S. Since then, Precise has been Wenger S. Arrow Trading Co. In Arrow ordered, inter alia, about 20, multifunction pocketknives from a company located in Hong Kong.