Victorinox

- is a knife manufacturer based in the town of Ibach , in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland

Founder(s): Karl Elsener

Victorinox History

The company was founded in 1884. Since 1891, the company has delivered knives to the Swiss army. Their famous emblem—a cross in a shield—has been used since 1909.

Products: Swiss Army knives, cutlery, watches, travel gear, apparel, USB flash drive

Victorinox Trivia

1. In 1909, the mother of founder Karl Elsener died and he named the company “Victoria” in her honour. In 1921, with the introduction of “inox” (the French term for stainless steel isacier inoxydable) into their products, the brand and name of the company became the present “Victorinox(“Victoria”+”Inox”).
2. These knives have also been taken to Mt. Everest and the Arctic.
3. The “Champion”, their model flagship prior to the introduction of the “Swiss Champ” in 1986, is in the New York Museum of Modern Art’s Permanent Design Collection.
4. They also produce the bayonet for the Swiss Stgw 90 assault rifle.
5. Their logo , is on Bruce Willis’ helmet in the movie Armageddon. It is also clearly visible under the windshield of the Armadillos.
6. From 2002 to 2005 they also made a couple of Swiss Army Knives that featured built-in lighters. But, because the lighters only require a single action to ignite the flame, they were deemed too unsafe for sale in the United States.
7. The company’s Secure Pro drive is the first USB drive/ Swiss Army Knife that is supposedly “un-hackable.” To put that claim to the test,they actually offered a £100,000 prize to a team of “professional hackers” if they could crack the drive during the company’s launch event — they were unable to do so.