Urban Bear Marketing

Switzerland has an extensive history of producing the highest quality products globally. The Swiss Army knife is renowned for Swiss quality and craftsmanship. First manufactured in the 1890s, the Swiss Army knife is still supplied to the Swiss Army today. In fact, Victorinox and Wenger, the manufacturers of this popular pocket knife, issue the Swiss Army with 50 thousand knives every year. Its global popularity is due to its large assortment of tools and uses and for it being more durable other popular makes of pocket knives. They have shown to be so favoured they are today utilized on expeditions to harsh climates such as the North Pole, Antarctica and Mount Everest, and are even issued as Basic issue to the crew of space shuttles.

Karl Elsener, a cutler from Switzerland, is accredited for producing the first Swiss Army knife. Alarmed that the Swiss Army was being issued with knives manufactured in Germany, he established the Swiss Cutlers’ Association. He later established the Victorinox Company. Wenger, another Swiss-based company, also won a contract for providing these knives to the Swiss armed forces. These two manufacturers continue to make these knives for both the Swiss Army and the public today. The first knife was named the ‘Officer’s and Sports Knife’. During World War II, US soldiers had a problem pronouncing its Swiss name, ‘Schweizer Offizer Messer’, so they called it the Swiss Army knife.

Common instruments on the Swiss Army knife include multiple sized blades, pair of scissors, tooth-picks, pair of tweezers, corkscrews and many more. Larger models contain a number of application-specific instruments such as screwdrivers, pens, saws, magnifying glasses, scalers, pliers and can openers. With Swiss Army knives being used for a number of different uses, a large number of models are made. Victorinox, for example, produces upwards of 100 unique sizes and models. Their latest range, ‘Victorinox Cybertools’, feature the most modern technologically savvy instruments such as music players, digital clocks, laser pointer, altimeters and USB flash drives. The Standard range of knives are about 9 centimetres long, however some specialty knives range from just a few centimetres, to a knife produced by Wenger called ‘The Giant’, which was 22cm long.

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 9:43 pm.
Filed under Blog Rollers, Stats Tips.
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