“Never leave the planet without it” – That’s what Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said about the Swiss army Victorinox knife in his book – “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”.
Partsolutions says this Swiss multi-purpose knife is a must-have “everyday carry” for millions of men and women around the world. Every engineer, scout, explorer, military, astronaut… everyone buys this “small but martial” knife.
The Swiss Army Knife always has a main blade, besides there are other “blades” with many functions such as screwdrivers, box openers, alkalis, scissors, saws, hole punches… Photo: Internet.
Watch Carl Elsener, Jr., CEO of Victorinox, reveal the manufacturing process and history behind this knife to understand why that nifty little tool remains the “hunted” pocket multi-tool. most popular” in the world.
Elsener’s great-grandfather, Karl, produced the first Swiss army knife in 1891. Today, the Elsener family still owns and operates Victorinox outside of Switzerland.
The first step of the manufacturing process is to stamp the material to create the different parts of the knife.
This is followed by a polishing process, where the metal blades are thrown into a container filled with ceramic stones and then pulled out with a magnet. To harden, the metal rests on a conveyor belt and passes through the oven.
“The temperature required to make a knife is 1,050 degrees Celsius. This temperature changes the structure of the steel,” says Urs Wyss, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Victorinox.
The metal rod is then ground to ensure sharpness and the assembly continues.
Swiss multi-purpose knife maker. Video: PM
The Swiss Army Multi-Purpose Knife always has a main blade, besides there are other “blades” with many functions such as screwdrivers, box openers, pliers, scissors, saws, hole punchers… All compactly built within reach.
Victorinox prides itself on its green efforts. Elsener said the company has been adopting eco-friendly methods to run the business since 1980.
“We have a system that allows us to use energy – heat generated during production – to warm water and even heat the entire plant. Victorinox also heats an additional 120 buildings,” says Elsener. house with a thermal by-product from the manufacturing process.
One of Elsener’s favorite parts of making such an iconic tool is hearing stories from people around the world about the most “hunted” knife in the world — from Scout born to the world of astronauts — who share their adventures and are indispensable in their journeys with the “little red knife”.
Fun Facst: The knife that entered the Guinness World Records
1. In Switzerland, there are only two companies licensed to manufacture multi-purpose knives: Victorinox and Wenger.
2. The name Victorinox is a combination of the late mother of Karl Elsener (the company founder) and the descriptive term stainless steel.
3. This is a picture of a “super versatile” knife called “The Giant” of Wenger (or another name is Wenger Giant).
Photo: Wenger
This versatile knife has set a Guinness World Record for its enormity: Weighing 3.25 kg, 25 cm thick with nearly 87 tools serving 141 different functions. Currently this multi-purpose knife is sold for 1,300 USD.