Notes

I grew up with Swiss Army knives at home. My father and grandfathers were all in the Swiss Army, so the knives were ubiquitous at home. But not the red plasticky type ones, the real Swiss Army knives with the handles made of aluminum and four basic tools. There were two of them, and they always came with us, be it for camping or walking. I think in all those years they were never once sharpened. The fancier knives, with a myriad of tools attached were never really a thing. Sure a corkscrew was nice for picnics, but it wasn’t really practical for anything else.

The soldiers version of the Swiss Army knife likely had its origins in the tools used to maintain and disassemble the Swiss Army’s Vetterli rifles, in use from 1869 to 1889. In 1889 they introduced a new rifle, the Schmidt–Rubin (M1889), which also required a screwdriver to disassemble for cleaning. So the Swiss Army decided to purchase a folding pocket knife for its soldiers as part of standard issue. At the same time, canned food was becoming a common ration, hence the need for a can-opener. The ubiquitous Swiss Army soldier’s knife