Thursday, April 14, 2005

There really are TWO swiss army knife manufacturers

Slashdot | New Mac System Specs

Amidst a Slashdot discussion of rumored apple systems, the answer to a longstanding mystery. There really are two different "authentic" swiss army knives.
The Compromise of 1908

The company from which Wenger emerged had been a supplier to the Swiss Army as early as 1893, and its competitor, Victorinox, since 1890. Wenger is in the French-speaking Jura region, and its competitor is in the German-speaking canton of Schwyz. To avoid friction between the two cantons, the Swiss government decided in 1908 to use each supplier for half of its requirements. So while Victorinox can lay claim to be the 'original', Wenger can state that its Swiss Army Knives are the 'genuine'. In any case, both have been manufacturing Swiss Army Knives for over 100 years and both must meet identical specifications laid down by the army.

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