The Swiss Army knife is a pocketknife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by American soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing "Offiziersmesser", the German name.
Victorinox is a knife manufacturer 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 Swedish steel from Sandvik. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army. It is the biggest manufacturer of pocket knives in the world; in addition, the company licenses its logo for watches, apparel, and travel gear.
Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives. Based in Delémont, Wenger was acquired by rival Victorinox in 2005. Since 2013, Wenger Swiss Army knives are integrated in the Victorinox collection ; the brand Wenger remains for watches and licensed products.
A pocketknife is a foldable knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket. It is also known as a jackknife (jack-knife) or a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typical blade length is 5 to 15 centimetres. Pocketknives are versatile tools, and may be used for anything from opening an envelope, to cutting twine, slicing a piece of fruit or even as a means of self-defense.
The Opinel company has manufactured and marketed a line of eponymous wooden-handled knives since 1890 from its headquarters in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, France—where the family-run company also operates a museum dedicated to its knives. The company sells approximately 15 million knives annually. Opinel knives are made of both high carbon and stainless steel, the latter being the highest quality Sandvik steel from Sweden.
The Camillus Cutlery Company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the United States as its roots date back to 1876. The Company produced millions of knives until it filed for bankruptcy in 2007 due to fierce overseas competition and bad business skills. Its brand name and intellectual property rights were purchased by Acme United Corporation, which re-launched the Camillus brand in May 2009 using modern materials.
Ginsu is a brand of direct marketed knives that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch techniques. The ads fueled sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.
Hackman was a cutlery and cookware company founded in Finland in 1790. The Hackman brand is now owned by Iittala Group, which was acquired by Fiskars Corporation in 2007.
Cutlers' Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England, that is the headquarters of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire. It is located on Church Street opposite Sheffield Cathedral.
Sabatier is the maker's mark used by several kitchen knife manufacturers—by itself it is not a registered brand name. The name Sabatier is considered to imply a high-quality knife produced by one of a number of manufacturers in the Thiers region of France using a fully forged process; the knives of some of these manufacturers are highly regarded. However, the name "Sabatier" came into use before intellectual property laws and is not protected; knives legally bearing the name range from high-quality knives made in France to cheap mass-produced products of poor quality from France and other countries; a registered logo or full name, or both, such as "65 Sabatier Perrier", is necessary to establish origin and quality.
Global is a Japanese brand of Kitchen Knives owned and manufactured by the Yoshikin factory of Japan. Global knives were famous for their iconic design, new manufacturing methods and their cutting performance. The Yoshikin Factory, is owned by the Watanabe family and located in Tsubame, Japan.
Kershaw Knives designs and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States.
Korin Japanese Trading Company provides expensive kitchen knives from Japan. In addition to their own brand, they sell Masamoto, Misono, Glestain, and Suisin, at prices from under $50 to over $3,000. Founded in 1982 by Sakai, Osaka knife maker Chiharu Sugai and waitress Saori Kawano as a wholesaler to the food service industry, Korin began selling to the public in 2001 and has become popular among celebrity chefs as well as serious cooks and collectors of fine cutlery.
Füritechnics Pty Ltd is an Australian manufacturer and developer of kitchen knives that sells under the abbreviated name Füri.
Cutco Corporation, formerly Alcas Corporation, is a direct sales company that sells knives, predominantly through multi-level marketing. It is the parent company of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., Vector Marketing, Ka-Bar Knives, and Schilling Forge. Its primary brand is the name Cutco.
Friedr. DICK is a German cutlery manufacturer founded 1778 in Esslingen, Germany. Known by their logo name of F.Dick, the company has three lines of business. F. Dick specializes primarily in butcher's knives and tools, where it is regarded as a market leader in both Europe and North America. The company is known for its wide range of high quality sharpening steels and is also renowned for its chef's knives where it is a respected manufacturer in the professional sector, but less established for the casual user. Although F. Dick cutlery is available for purchase in the American market, the brand has not caught-on with mainstream American consumers. As a result, the brand is limited in its availability, and is generally only available at cutlery specialty-stores in the American market.
Imperial Schrade Corp. was an American knife manufacturer of hunting knives, pocketknives, utility knives, and bayonets during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The consolidation of five forerunner companies, including its namesakes, the Imperial Knife Company, founded 1916, and the Schrade Cutlery Company, founded in 1904, Imperial Schrade manufactured its products in the United States and Ireland and sold through hardware stores, department stores, and on military bases. The original company's fortunes declined and in 2004 it entered into bankruptcy where all equipment and intellectual property was sold off to reimburse creditors. The name and intellectual property was bought by Taylor Brands and used for marketing purposes.
A skeleton knife refers to two different types of knives, a kitchen knife and an unadorned penknife.
Böker was one of the first companies to offer ceramic knives as a featured product line.
Shun Cutlery is a kitchen knife brand of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In the United States, Shun is sold by Kai USA in Tualatin, Oregon — alongside the Kershaw Knives and Zero Tolerance Knives brands.
