# Now \*that's\* a (Swiss Army) knife... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654 "2006-12-26T20:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/1 "2006-12-26T20:02:18Z")
[I don’t think it’ll fit in your pocket, though](http://www.wengerna.com/browse/product.jsp?prod_id=1260&cat_id=1&cat_name=Knives&sub_cat_id=23). ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/2 "2006-12-26T20:13:40Z")
Hmmph. 85 implements Price: $1,200.00 Seems they really don’t want to sell them. All the blades would come from their regular bins, so only the housing is specially made. Ought to come in under $1,100 easy 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/3 "2006-12-26T20:13:55Z")
God, what a thing of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/4 "2006-12-26T20:22:16Z")
I refuse to have Knife envy. I will not feel inadequate that my Swiss Army knives are much smaller, it just make them easier to handle and fit more covieniently and… Ohh damnit who am I kidding, I want one! I want one now! ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/5 "2006-12-26T20:27:10Z")
Oh come on people, it’s not the size of the knife but how you use it. At least that’s what I tell myself. ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/6 "2006-12-26T20:31:57Z")
You fold it all in and I’m sure it sits happily in the back pocket of your jeans, staring down your wallet daring it to make a move. I don’t envy it, though it sure would be fun to have! – IG ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/7 "2006-12-26T20:33:17Z")
Where’s the 1920’s Style Death Ray attachment? ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/8 "2006-12-26T20:34:50Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Where’s the 1920’s Style Death Ray attachment? [/QUOTE] The photographer was killed before he could get a photo of it. – IG ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/9 "2006-12-26T20:45:14Z")
I wonder if Victorinox has been goaded into making anything so foolish? How do you actually employ a device with a handle that is 8 3/4 inches (22.23 cm) WIDE and weighs 2lb. 11 oz (1.25 kg)? Set a fixture with screw on top of the tool and turn the object to be fastened? Set the tool on the floor, blade up, and shove the object to be cut down onto the blade? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/10 "2006-12-26T20:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] I wonder if Victorinox has been goaded into making anything so foolish? How do you actually employ a device with a handle that is 8 3/4 inches (22.23 cm) WIDE and weighs 2lb. 11 oz (1.25 kg)? Set a fixture with screw on top of the tool and turn the object to be fastened? Set the tool on the floor, blade up, and shove the object to be cut down onto the blade? [/QUOTE] Victorinox **owns** Wenger. > **[Swiss Army knife | Victorinox and Wenger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Army_knives#Victorinox_and_Wenger)** > > In 1891, Karl Elsener, owner of a business in Ibach, Switzerland that made surgical equipment (which later became Victorinox) set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland. In late 1891, Elsener began production of the Modell 1890 knives, in competition with the German manufacturer. He incurred financial losses doing so, as Wester & Co was able to produce the knives at a lower cost. In 1893, the Swiss cutlery company Paul Boéchat & Cie of Delémont in the French-speaking Canton of Jura, receive... ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/11 "2006-12-27T01:04:17Z")
That’s been available for a year or two. I remember seeing it some time back (around the time they also released the Swiss Army knife with the built-in thumb drive) and thinking “how in the name of Og is one person supposed to operate it?” I mean, you open one knife but you’ve got a handle that’s like half a foot _wide_ with which to work it. Now, if you open all of the implements at once and then throw it at someone, you’re pretty much guaranteed to sever something – assuming you can find a piece of handle left with which to grip and throw without severing something of your own. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/12 "2006-12-27T01:09:43Z")
It’s the perfect knife for drivers of the International CXT. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/13 "2006-12-27T02:13:29Z")
1,200 bucks seems a bit steep for a sight gag. How many prop comedians are going to be able to afford one, anyway? On the other hand, it does fill a certain niche, since previously there was no variety of Swiss Army knife designed specifically for clowns. It’d be awesome to be there when the guy who paid good money for one of these things finally gets the chance to use it. There he’d be, out on the golf course, when suddenly he realizes that one of his golf shoe spikes needs adjusting! Yes! At last the knife pays off! He’s got the perfect tool right there! Calmly, he reaches for his special knife holster and draws out THE Knife. As the other players watch in awe, he searches through the 85 blades and implements for the “golf shoe spike wrench” tool… and searches… and searches… I remember at the cutlery store in the mall a few years back, there was this huge window display model of a Swiss Army knife, about two foot tall, with big shiny blades that kept folding in and out repeatedly. Now that was a cool knife. I so wanted that thing; it would have been like a knife-lover’s lava lamp. I bet it probably didn’t cost $1200 either. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/14 "2006-12-27T02:34:53Z")
Can you imagine the look on the TSA guy’s face when that shows up on the X-Ray? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/15 "2006-12-27T02:42:53Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] I wonder if Victorinox has been goaded into making anything so foolish? [/QUOTE] When in the middle of your bike ride to the golf course you realize you need to adjust a bike spoke before cleaning the face of your golf club, but decide that first you want to sit down and cut the end of the fine cigar you will enjoy as a break between the two activites, you will be glad you have this knife in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/16 "2006-12-27T05:27:04Z")
I just want to see my supervisor whip out the telescopic pointer the next time we have a meeting. At least he’ll be able to keep our attention for a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/17 "2006-12-27T06:03:36Z")
[QUOTE=Fiddle Peghead] I just want to see my supervisor whip out the telescopic pointer the next time we have a meeting. At least he’ll be able to keep our attention for a few minutes. [/QUOTE] I whipped out my telescoping pointer at a meeting once. Then I was escorted off the grounds by security. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/18 "2006-12-27T08:32:27Z")
[QUOTE=Improv Geek] You fold it all in and I’m sure it sits happily in the back pocket of your jeans, staring down your wallet daring it to make a move. [/QUOTE] I’m guessing both would slither downwards together as a result of the two-pound load hauling your trousers off. This assumes that you have, instead of a normal jeans pocket, a kangaroo-like pouch in which to stow it. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/19 "2006-12-27T10:37:34Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] How do you actually employ a device with a handle that is 8 3/4 inches (22.23 cm) WIDE and weighs 2lb. 11 oz (1.25 kg)? [/QUOTE] Seriously! That thing is an expensive piece of junk. If you want a real tool, get a [Leatherman.](http://leatherman.com/products/tools/default.asp) I have two; they’re awesome. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654/20 "2006-12-27T14:53:01Z")
Twelve hundred bucks and \*no \*USB flash memory stick? 😕 Count me out. . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-a-swiss-army-knife/385654.md?page=2)