-
Victorinox - Swiss Army Knives by Derek Jackson
A fascinating, colorfully illustrated celebration of one of the great icons of Swiss culture: in France it's the Couteau Swiss, in Germany the Schweizer Messer, and to the English speaking world it's the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife - used by military programs the world over, given away as gifts to guests by the White House (Lyndon Johnson did it first), and even taken as part of the equipment on the Space Shuttle.
Charles Elsener, the fourth son of a hat maker, decided not to enter the family business but to become a cutler. After serving his apprenticeship in south Germany, he opened his own business near Schwyz in Switzerland. Soon after, in 1891, he formed the Swiss Cutlery Guild with the main aim of producing soldiers' knives for the Swiss Army, which had to date been bought from German sources. By the end of the year the first batch had been delivered and Elsener's plan proved a success - the first knife, known by name rather than type number - the Soldier's knife - had a blade, awl, can opener, and screwdriver.
Then the development started: as well as the simple Soldier's knife he quickly developed the Student Knife, the Cadet Knife and Farmer's Knife. Because the Soldier's knife was heavy, Elsener developed the lighter Officer's knife, with an added second blade and a corkscrew.
Today, Victorinox is the biggest cutlery producer in Europe, producing 34,000 Officer's knives in 100 different styles daily, along with 43,000 of 300 different styles of pocket knife, and the same number of kitchen knives. The biggest of the Swiss Army Knives, the Swiss Champ, has 31 different features, including a magnifying glass, but still only weighs 6.5 ounces.
Unprecedented access to Victorinox's archives allow this book to cover in detail:- The company history
- The product history
- Comprehensive model identification for collectors
- Hundreds of collectible examples illustrated
- Stories and anecdotes from military and other owners
Revised printing: 2009
192 pages
- WTWes T.12 months agoRated 5 out of 5 starsGreat book
Outstanding, finally got the book.
Its been 5 years looking for this book.
Thanks, Wes
- HHHugh H.1 year agoRated 5 out of 5 starsSwiss Army knife collector book
Great information book
- TBTerry B.2 years agoRated 5 out of 5 starsGood Intro!
His book is great introduction to Swiss
Army Knives.
- DKDeborah K.2 years agoRated 5 out of 5 starsGreat book and service!
This is a great shop for SAK in my area! Fast and great service!
- JGJeff G.3 years agoRated 3 out of 5 starsSwiss Army Knives
The book is just OK. I was expecting a lot more on the knives and less on the company history. I am not sure I would buy this again after seeing the book.
SKSwiss Knife Shop3 years agoThe section for model identification is certainly a valuable resource for the knives themselves, but it turns out that there is a whole lot to the history of the Swiss Army Knife and of the company that first manufactured them.
