The Swiss have an extensive history of making the highest quality products in the world. The Swiss Army knife is synonymous with traditional Swiss quality and craftsmanship. First made in the late 19th century, the Swiss Army knife is still supplied to the Swiss Army today. In fact, Victorinox and Wenger, the producers of this favoured pocket knife, supply the Swiss Army with about 60,000 knives every year. Its worldwide popularity is due to its large variety of attachments and functions and for its reputation for outlasting other popular brands of pocket knives. They have shown to be so popular they are used by adventurers trekking and exploring the harshest climates known to man., and are even supplied as Basic issue to space shuttle crews.
The origin of the very first Swiss Army knife can be traced back to Karl Elsener. Elsener was a patriarch who was Alarmed to discover the knives issued to the Swiss Army were made in neighbouring Germany. It took Elsener approximately 5 years to produce the first knife utilized by the Swiss Army that was actually made in Switzerland. The cross and shield were also contributed by Elsener to identify them as his own. They are still used by Victorinox today.
Originally produced as 1 model, today’s Swiss Army knives are available in some 100 models with different combinations of attachments for various tasks. These range from a knife with only 1 blade to models featuring an supplemental blade, toothpick, pair of tweezers, corkscrew, flat-head and Phillips-head screwdriver, ballpoint pen, bottle and can opener, nail file, scissors, saw, file, magnifying glass, fish scaler, wrench, pliers, USB flash drive, digital clock, altimeter, optical laser pointer and a music player.