Swiss Army Kinife

Design Classic

The Swiss Army Knife, every schoolboy’s dream, was first manufactured in the late nineteenth century. The knife is more than a simple pen knife, with its distinctive bright red body bearing the trademark white cross: it is a compact household tool kit.

Carl and Victoria Elsener created their high-quality cutlery in their small Swiss Alps factory. Their reputation multiplied, and in 1891 they were awarded a contract by Switzerland’s tiny army to supply soldiers with a sturdy knife. The straightforward design was well received, and they were awarded a second contract the following year. This time, they created the elegant, multi-purpose “Officer’s Knife” — the first million-selling version of the Swiss Army knife.

The legendary knives have now been produced by four generations of the family, based on the three original principles of high quality, versatility, and design excellence. Despite being manufactured in a variety of styles, the basic knife remained the same. The basic model is merely a collection of foldaway blades. In contrast, models like the monster “SwissChamp” include a corkscrew, can and bottle openers, nail files, screwdrivers, wood saw, pliers, scissors, toothpicks, and chisel. The knife’s long-standing popularity among scouts, campers, travellers, explorers, and fans of compact gadgetry stems from its simple premise: a miniature toolbox that folds away and fits into the palm of your hand.

Sources

McDermott, C. (1997). Twentieth-century design. Carlton.

More Classic Designs

  • Chefman Single Serve Coffee Maker

    Chefman Single Serve Coffee Maker

    Chefman Single Serve Coffee Maker espresso pod machine is an ideal gift for small kitchens, offices, or dorm rooms, offering convenience, convenience, and easy cleaning. It is cETL approved with advanced safety technology and a one-year warranty.Read More →

  • Sofa, Borge Mogensen, 1945

    Sofa, Borge Mogensen, 1945

    This sofa’s straightforward execution and regular silhouette reflect characteristics that were considered essential for advanced design at the time. Nonetheless, the turned spindles, stretchers, and exquisite details owe a lot to Borge Mogensen’s use of the lexicon of traditional furniture forms—especially American Shaker and English Windsor—in his wRead More →

  • Rolodex 500-Card Rotary Card File | (Design Classic)

    Rolodex 500-Card Rotary Card File | (Design Classic)

    There are few office equipment products more iconic than the Rolodex (the name comes from a combination of the words rolling and index). In the past, companies organised their contacts in Rolodexes. Rolodex is constructed as a cylindrical rotary card file on a tubular metal frame that contains A-Z index cards to store business contacts.Read…

  • Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future

    Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future

    Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future which features a close-up photo of the famous face.Read More →

  • Parola Telephone (1979) Soft and Inviting

    Parola Telephone (1979) Soft and Inviting

    Fausta Cavazza’s Parola Telephone was a groundbreaking design that changed the way people thought about telephones. It was made out of Santoprene, a soft substance developed by Monsanto that resists scratches and dirt. It was an instant hit with consumers and was a symbol of innovation and creativity. Cavazza patented the design in 1979 and…

  • The London Underground Map – Design Icon

    The London Underground Map – Design Icon

    The London Underground is the world’s oldest subway, most people know it colloquially as the Tube. An engineering marvel and just as almost as famous is the map. The Tube map is instantly recognisable all over the world. It is a simple and elegant diagram of the 400-kilometre subway network. It is considered by many…

  • The P40 Articulated Lounge Chair – Machine for Sitting

    The P40 Articulated Lounge Chair – Machine for Sitting

    Osvaldo Borsani Armchair (P40) 1955, articulated chaise longue. The rubber-armed chair was a sophisticated ‘machine for sitting’ that could it was claimed, assume 486 positions.Read More →

  • 1959 Cadillac Eldorado – Temple Rather than Automobile

    1959 Cadillac Eldorado – Temple Rather than Automobile

    The 1959 Cadillac is more of a temple than an automobile, a Gothic memorial to America’s glory years. It was overly long, low, and overstyled, and it’s the 50s’ final flourish. The 59’s outlandish space-age appearance, weird fins, and lavish 390 cubic inch V8 are fascinating, but the most striking aspect of the car is…

  • Alpine Eagle XL Chrono – Design Classic 🥇

    Alpine Eagle XL Chrono – Design Classic 🥇

    The Alpine Eagle collection of sporty-chic timepieces stretches its wings, embracing a flyback chronograph in a new 44 mm diameter case for the first time. The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono clock with the integrated bracelet is inspired by the might of the eagle and the beauty of the Alps, as is the complete series.Read More…

  • Pk22 Chair – Poul Kjaerholm’s Classic of the Design World

    Pk22 Chair – Poul Kjaerholm’s Classic of the Design World

    Poul Kjaerholm’s Pk22 lounge chair is a classic in the design world, made of spring steel legs, crossbars, and side frames attached with machine screws and covered in canvas, leather, or cane. Poul Kjaerholm was a Danish designer known for his PK22 chair, which was awarded the Grand Prize at the Milan Triennale in 1957…

  • Concorde a design classic

    Concorde a design classic

    Concorde was developed jointly by British Airways and Air France. Concorde was the first and remained the only supersonic civilian aircraft to be put into commercial service. Read More →

  • Swatch Watch a Design Classic

    Swatch Watch a Design Classic

    Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.Read More →

  • Penguin Book Covers (1946 – 1949) Designer: Jan Tschichold

    Penguin Book Covers (1946 – 1949) Designer: Jan Tschichold

    Tschichold created new standards of text arrangement and style that inspired all of the British postwar graphic design, although only working for the publication for three years. Then, with the formulation of the “Penguin Composition Rules,” he was able to apply Modernist theory to the requirements of book manufacturing.Read More →

  • Longines Pilot Majetek Watch – Timeless Design

    Longines Pilot Majetek Watch – Timeless Design

    Longines Pilot Majetek is a modern update to its landmark timepiece from 1935. With a fluted bezel, and triangular indicator. READ MORERead More →

  • Million Mark Note – Design Classic

    Million Mark Note – Design Classic

    The Bauhaus was the most well-known design school of the 20th century. Herbert Bayer created notes in denominations of one million, two million, and two billion. The designs exemplify the ideology of hardline Modern Movement graphics.Read More →

  • Sydney Opera House – Design Classic

    Sydney Opera House – Design Classic

    The design of the Sydney Opera House (1956-73), which he won in an international competition, was Utzon’s crowning achievement. He envisioned a solid sculptural building made of a series of giant interlocking billowing white ‘sails’ inspired by the ships of Sydney Harbour.Read More →

  • Alessi PSJS Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer (Design Classic)

    Alessi PSJS Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer (Design Classic)

    Alessi PSJS Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer designed by Philippe Starck On a sunny day in the spring of 1989, PhilippeRead More →

  • Poster for Nikon (1957) by Yusaku Kamekura

    Poster for Nikon (1957) by Yusaku Kamekura

    Yusaku Kamekura’s poster emphasises the brilliance and clarity attained with the Nikon lens and the technical perfection of his client’s camera by using brilliant optical patterns and powerful, white letter-forms against an intensely dark background. Read More →

  • The Osterizer is a retro classic

    The Osterizer is a retro classic

    The Osterizer from 1953 is still a popular classic blender. Even though they were originally designed for home use, they now feel like high-tech caterers’ equipment. Read More →

  • The Moka Express (Design Classic) – simple ☕ coffee making machine

    The Moka Express (Design Classic) – simple ☕ coffee making machine

    Designed and Made in Italy The Moka Express is a straightforward stovetop coffee maker. It unscrews in the centre, and water is poured into the bottom compartment. Read More →

  • Parker 51 Fountain Pen – The World’s Most Wanted Pen

    Parker 51 Fountain Pen – The World’s Most Wanted Pen

    This sleek, aerodynamic design with its recognisable hooded nib was the result of a research programme finished in 1939, and it was promoted as “a pen from another planet” and “ten years ahead of its time.” It was released to mark the Parker Company’s 51st anniversary in the United States and quickly rose to the…

  • Sardine Collector’s Cabinet by Michael Marriot

    Sardine Collector’s Cabinet by Michael Marriot

    This humorous, simple, and elegant approach proposed a different design agenda, harkening back to Victor Papanek and the Whole Earth Catalogue in the 1960s.Read More →

  • Cylinda Line Teapot by Arne Jacobsen

    Cylinda Line Teapot by Arne Jacobsen

    The Cylinda Line featured a close design connection among all aspects and the consistency of features throughout, including logo and packaging. It was designed over three years by International Style architect Jacobsen in collaboration with its manufacturer, Stelton. Read More →

  • Design Classic – Swiss Army Knife

    Design Classic – Swiss Army Knife

    The Swiss Army Knife, every schoolboy’s dream, was first manufactured in the late nineteenth century. The knife is more than a simple pen knife, with its distinctive bright red body bearing the trademark white cross: it is a compact household tool kit.Read More →

  • Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen (1957)

    Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen (1957)

    Saarinen faced the problem of trying to treat the leg structurally and visually as part of the reinforced-plastic moulded seat shell with the help of a research team from the Knoll firm led by Donald Petit. This issue had plagued him since he and Charles Eames conducted their first experiments with moulded seat shells.Read More…

  • Bloemenwerf Side Chair (1895) designed by Henry de Velde

    Bloemenwerf Side Chair (1895) designed by Henry de Velde

    Bloemenwerf, Henry Van de Velde’s property outside Brussels, is the inspiration for this chair. Van de Velde planned and built the house and the interior—from the furniture to the wallpaper—resulting in a holistic design that exemplified the concept of a Gesamtkunstwerk “total work of art”. Read More →

  • Fiskars – Oldest Industrial Company in Finland

    Fiskars – Oldest Industrial Company in Finland

    Fiskars – Oldest Industrial Company in Finland. It was formed in 1649. Fiskars can be traced back to Peter Thorwéste’s ironworks. READ MORERead More →

  • Predicta the World’s First Swivel Screen TV

    Predicta the World’s First Swivel Screen TV

    Advertised as the “world’s first swivel screen television,” Philco’s Predicta was the first American model to break away from the standard cabinet format of a box with a window in it—a bold step for such a corporation. However, a similar idea had already been produced in Italy by Phonola (no. 249) and in France by…

  • Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were not the first twentieth-century designers to consider the tractor seat in relation to sophisticated furniture production: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used it for the Conchoidal chairs he conceived during the early 1940s. Read More →

  • Staub Cookware – Benefits of Cast Iron Cooking Pots

    Staub Cookware – Benefits of Cast Iron Cooking Pots

    For over 2000 years, cast iron cooking pots have been used. They have long been valued for their durability and heat retention capacity, and it is not uncommon for these valuable items to be passed down from generation to generation. The addition of enamelling is now a significant advancement in this traditional material.Read More →

  • Safety Bicycle for 19th Century Women

    Safety Bicycle for 19th Century Women

    The “safety” bicycle, initially introduced in 1887, propelled the late-nineteenth-century bicycling mania to new heights. While the regular bike needed great skill due to its giant front wheel and small rear wheel, safety bicycles could be ridden by anyone.Read More →

  • Tea and coffee set by Marguerite Friedlander

    Tea and coffee set by Marguerite Friedlander

    She designed the Hallesche Form tea and coffee set for KPM in 1930, which was a huge commercial success, especially with Trude Petri’s gold rings (1931) decor.Read More →

  • Paul Getty Center designed by Richard Meir

    Paul Getty Center designed by Richard Meir

    Paul Getty Center was designed by Richard Meir. It uses cutting-edge technology for book conservation, storage, and retrieval. READ MORERead More →

  • Robo-Stacker early example of ‘Recycled Design’ Movement

    Robo-Stacker early example of ‘Recycled Design’ Movement

    Robo-Stacker early example of the ‘Recycled Design’ Movement. Whirlpool washing machine drums were used to create general-purpose storage.Read More →

  • No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia

    No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia

    No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia. Many would argue that this is more of a sculpture than a chair. READ MORERead More →

  • How High the Moon armchair (1986) by Shiro Kuramata

    How High the Moon armchair (1986) by Shiro Kuramata

    Shiro Kuramata’s inventive transformations of everyday industrial materials, including steel mesh, terrazzo, corrugated aluminium, and steel cables, pushed material technology to new design limits. Read More >Read More →

  • Red and Blue Armchair by Gerrit Rietveld

    Red and Blue Armchair by Gerrit Rietveld

    The Red and Blue Chair’s visual impact has ensured that it will always be a staple image in any history of twentieth-century design. It has become a metaphor for the Modern Movement along with the Schröder home.Read More →

  • Treforchette Table Lamp (1997) Designer: Michelle de Lucchi

    Treforchette Table Lamp (1997) Designer: Michelle de Lucchi

    This sofa is designed in a so-called minimalist style that is basic and unadorned. Throughout the late 1980s, this emergent style had a significant impact on design in Europe. The sofa in question results from a significant collaboration between a talented young designer and a manufacturer committed to promoting new design.Read More →

  • Sofa (1988) Designer: Jasper Morrison

    Sofa (1988) Designer: Jasper Morrison

    This sofa is designed in a so-called minimalist style that is basic and unadorned. Throughout the late 1980s, this emergent style had a significant impact on design in Europe. The sofa in question results from a significant collaboration between a talented young designer and a manufacturer committed to promoting new design.Read More →

You may also be interested in

Le Corbusier Swiss born architect designer and theorist

Born Charles Édouard Jeanneret, Swiss-born architect, designer and theorist, Le Corbusier was one of the most influential artistic figures in 20th-century architecture, publisher of the Esprit Nouveau Modernist newspaper in 1920, author of several influential books including Vers une architecture (1923), L’art décoratif d’aujourd’hui (1925) and Les 5 points d (CIAM).

Hans Gugelot (1920 – 1965) Dutch-Swiss Product Designer

Hans Gugelot (1920 – 1965) began his career in engineering (1940-2) and architecture (1940-6) in Switzerland and was closely associated with the radical Hochschüle für Gestaltung (HfG) in Ulm, Germany, and the clean, systematic, and practical styling of Braun products in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.