There's no doubt the Swiss Army Knife is no ordinary kitchen knife. It's been to battlefields and homesteads. It has seen campfires and bloodshed. It has lain in the hands of settlers, generals, and boy scouts. In fact, it has roots so firmly entrenched in human history you can't hack it off. More importantly, it remains as popular today as it had been more than a hundred years ago.

Two companies produce the Swiss Army Knife: Victorinox and Wenger. These two were awarded contracts to supply knives to the Swiss army. Victorinox knives are known as The Original Swiss Army Knife while Wenger versions are identified as The Genuine Swiss Army Knife.

In 1891, Victorinox delivered its first batch of pocket knives to the Swiss army. Two years after, Wenger followed suit. In those days, the Swiss army had just syatyed using a new rifle that can be dismantled with the use of a screwdriver. If you're a soldier, and you have mortars and gunfire pounding at you from all sides, a screwdriver is the last thing you would ever lug around with you in battlefields and on missions. A pocket knife, on the other hand, is an object that will come in handy to you, not just to cut ropes and clothes, but also to maim and kill should you run out of ammunition. So, why not incorporate screwdrivers into pocket knives? And while you're at it, why not throw in a can opener and a reamer for good measure? This was precisely what Swiss Army Knife manufacturers did, and that year, the Swiss Army Knife that we know today was born.

In recognition of the Swiss Army Knife's role in countless battles, the Swiss army conferred upon the blade Switzerland's national symbol, the white cross. Swiss Army Knives today still sport this very striking mark, and whether you're buying an original or a genuine Swiss Army Knife, expect this white cross to come with your blade.

Swiss Army Knives are made of stainless steel. They are very sharp and strong. It doesn't matter how small the blade, can opener, screwdriver, and reamer are. They not only serve their functions, they do so well.

Today, you need not become a member of the Swiss army to lug a Swiss Army Knife around. People from different walks of life from various parts of the world get their own Swiss Army Knife because it is singularly one of the handiest tools known to humankind. It contains a multiple layer of tools, and always comes with at least one blade. Moreover, a Swiss Army Knife's tools can be easily rotated in and out of its distinctive red casing.

A Swiss Army Knife is so handy and portable, in fact, many see it not as a knife, but as a survival kit. With a Swiss Army Knife in your hand, you can slice your way through life's many complications.