Karl Elsener (9 October 1860 - 26 December 1918) was a Swiss cutler, inventor and entrepreneur. Karl Elsener completed an apprenticeship as a

knife maker Knife making is the process of manufacturing a knife by any one or a combination of processes: stock removal, forging to shape, welded lamination or investment cast. Typical metals used come from the carbon steel, tool, or stainless steel fami ...

Zug , neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri , twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina) Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...

. After some

journeyman years In a certain tradition, the journeyman years () are a time of travel for several years after completing apprenticeship as a craftsman. The tradition dates back to medieval times and is still alive in France, Scandinavia and the German-speaking c ...

he opened a factory in

Ibach, Switzerland Ibach is a village in the municipality of Schwyz, itself in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. It lies some to the south of the town centre of Schwyz, at the point where the road from Schwyz to Brunnen bridges the Muota river. A Swiss knife ma ...

in 1884 for the manufacture of knives and surgical instruments. He started production of the Swiss army knife in Switzerland in 1891 and developed his knife manufacturing company into what has become

Victorinox Victorinox () is a knife manufacturer and watchmaker based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is well known for its Swiss Army knives. The Swiss Army knives made by Victorinox are made of a proprietary blend stee ...

.Prestes a fazer 130 anos, canivete suíço abre vinhos, salva vidas e ajuda no parto de jumentas
Jornal Folha de SP From 1912 to 1918 Elsener was a member of the cantonal parliament of the

Canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...

. He was married three times. After him his son, Carl Elsener (1886-1950), and his grandson Carl Elsener senior (1922-2013) and his great-grandson Carl Elsener Jr. (born 1958) led the Victorinox company.

References

External links

Blog Victorinox Swiss Army watches

Victorinox - página oficial

External links

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Official website Victorinox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsener, Karl 19th-century Swiss inventors 20th-century Swiss businesspeople Cutlers 1860 births 1918 deaths