An interesting article on the near-demise of the Swiss Army Knife market since 9/11/01 and the increase of airline security world-round.
Over the past century, the Elsener family has transformed the Swiss army knife into an iconic global brand, beloved by American soldiers, small boys and stoical British campers struggling to open tins of baked beans. It became one of the 20th century’s most successful products – until 9/11. Almost overnight, the business collapsed.
“It was an absolute catastrophe for us,” Elsener says. “Until then our knives had sold very well both in duty free shops and on board planes. Most airlines sold them, including British Airways. Then suddenly this distribution was closed. It was zero. The merchandise came back to us. This was really very hard.” Under new airline regulations, passengers could no longer carry the Swiss army knife in their hand luggage. Those who didn’t comply had their knives confiscated – and they weren’t returned at the other end.
The effects were sudden, and devastating. Sales of Swiss army knives dropped by 40% almost immediately. Finally, in April, Wenger SA – the only other Swiss firm allowed to produce Swiss army knives – went bust. Elsener’s company, Victorinox, named after the mother of the founding Elsener, decided to rescue its rival, buying it for an undisclosed sum.
I used to carry a small SAK on my keychain, and, like everyone else, had to give it up. A pity.
Victorinox has also introduced a host of new products – a kids’ Swiss army knife; a blade-free air-travel version; and – most successfully- one with a USB port that allows you to link your knife up to your computer. “We are not giving up,” says the firm’s spokesman Hans Schorno. “We are going to fight.”
I would be interested in seeing more about the “blade-free” version. While the knife blades are damned handy, so are all the other widgets. Hmmm.
The 9/11 hijackers could not have commandeered the planes without policies of compliance. Imagine four guys with knives against 200 enraged passengers! It is safe to say no airliner will ever be commandeered again by anyone with a knife. The problem will be reassembling the miscreant into a recognizable whole for identification.
A gun is a weapon – it has no other purpose than harm and has a circle of danger extending out over a mile. Some knives are designed as weapons but most pocketknives (especially the SAK) are designed as multipurpose tools.
This whole thing really bothers me because carrying a pocketknife is our family tradition. I can work wonders of fabrication and repair with a common pocketknife. Yet, some people still recoil when I use it, as if I were swinging a machete over my head.
If the knee-jerk, idiot restrictions currently on plane flights ever extend to the street in the name of “safety,” I will start publishing subversive information on creating real weapons from common objects.
As you say; “Rrg!”
It certainly seems unlikely that another airline hijacking with knives and box cutters will succeed — though I wouldn’t necessarily count on that, and a variation on the theme (“Stay back, or I slit her throat”) might still give folks pause.
Still, I agree, it’s pretty goofy. I could threaten someone’s life with my disposable rolling ball writer. I could start a fire in any number of ways without a lighter. Small, smotherable blades do not seem to be a real threat — but, I suppose, they fulfill the bureaucratic and political need to be seen to be Doing Something.
(I had no idea that “Rrg!” had become a trademark of mine. Hmmm. If I ever start up a bitter, cynical, ranting blog, I shall call it “Rrg!”)
WHERE CAN I FIND THE BLAD-FREE SWISS ARMY KNIFE? I’VE SEARCHED ALL OVER THE WEB! IF YOU CAN HELP, I’D LOVE IT! THANK YOU!
WHERE CAN I FIND THE BLAD-FREE SWISS ARMY KNIFE? I’VE SEARCHED ALL OVER THE WEB! IF YOU CAN HELP, I’D LOVE IT! THANK YOU!
WHERE CAN I FIND THE BLAD-FREE SWISS ARMY KNIFE? I’VE SEARCHED ALL OVER THE WEB! IF YOU CAN HELP, I’D LOVE IT! THANK YOU!
No idea, unfortunately.