The Swiss Army knife is world famous for its durability, range of features and ease of use. The Swiss Army was originally supplied with the ‘Soldier’s Knife’. Victorinox and Wenger have supplied the Swiss Army with the famous brand of knife since the late 19th century. To this day they still issue the Swiss Army with about 50,000 of these knives annually. As well as the Swiss armed forces using the Swiss Army knife, it achieved massive popularity amongst adventurers, hikers, campers and even as a basic staple of many traditional homes.

The founder of Victorinox, Karl Elsener, was the first person to design and make the Swiss Army knife. After realising the Swiss Army were utilising knives made in Germany, he was determined to create his own product to ensure locally made products were issued to the military. In addition to Victorinox producing the knives for the Swiss Army, another Swiss company called Wenger was also allowed to manufacture these knives. These two manufacturers still own the trademarked term ‘Swiss Army knife’ and produce the knives for the public and Swiss Army today. The name ‘Swiss Army knife’ was actually first used by soldiers from the USA in the Second World War, as they couldn’t pronounce its Swiss name.

The Swiss Army knife is made in a variety of models, sizes and colours. Basic tools found on most of the knives include 2 blades, toothpick, and pair of tweezers, corkscrew, bottle open, scissors and nail file. Some more advanced models also feature both a Phillips-head and flat-head screwdriver, Biro, can opener, saw, magnifying glass, wrench, scaler and pair of pliers. With Swiss Army knives being utilised for a number of different applications, a large number of models are manufactured. Victorinox, for example, produces over 100 various sizes and models. Their most modern range, ‘Victorinox Cybertools’, feature the most modern technologically savy tools such as music players, digital clocks, laser pointer, altimeters and USB flash drives. The Common range of knives are approximately 9 centimetres long, however some of the more advanced knives range from just a few centimetres, to a knife produced by Wenger called ‘The Giant’, which was 22cm long. How to choose one?

One of the finest features of the Swiss Army knife, and the main reason for its durability, is that it makes multiple use of each spring. One knife featuring up to six blades can use as little as two springs. The Rockwell scale of hardness measures the blades on Swiss Army knives as level 56. The big blade is held within the knife with a force of 12kg, and the smaller blade is pressed into place with a 8kg of force, which ensures the knives can be utilised for a number of rugged uses.

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