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117-450: The Swiss Army knife ( SAK ; German : Schweizer Taschenmesser, Sackmesser, Hegel, etc. ) is a pocketknife , generally multi-tooled , now manufactured by Victorinox . The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by American soldiers after World War II after they had trouble pronouncing the German word " Offiziersmesser ", meaning " officer’s knife". The Swiss Army knife generally has

234-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it

351-402: A second language , and 75–100   million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220   million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90   million people, or 16% of

468-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become

585-440: A 24° angle, resulting in a 24° asymmetric-shaped steel cutting edge were only one side is ground and the other is deburred and remains flat. The blades are then checked with a laser reflecting goniometer to verify the angle of the cutting edges. Finally, scales are applied. Slightly undersized holes incorporated into the inner surface enclose the bushings, which have truncated cone cross-section and are slightly undercut, forming

702-542: A Master Craftsman knife after seeing the one his brother used in space. There are other stories of repairs conducted in space using a Swiss Army knife. The Swiss Army knife has been added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Munich 's State Museum of Applied Art for its design. The term "Swiss Army" currently is a registered trademark owned by Victorinox AG and its subsidiary, Wenger SA. In both

819-505: A composition of 15% chromium , 0.60% silicon , 0.52% carbon , 0.50% molybdenum , and 0.45% manganese and is designated X55CrMo14 or DIN 1.4110 according to Victorinox. After a hardening process at 1040  °C and annealing at 160 °C the blades achieve an average hardness of 56 HRC . This steel hardness is suitable for practical use and easy resharpening , but less than achieved in stainless steel alloys used for blades optimized for high wear resistance. According to Victorinox

936-451: A corkscrew and scissors was produced as an officer's tool, but was deemed not "essential for survival". Officers were free to purchase it individually on their own account. The Soldier Knife model 1890 had a spear point blade , reamer , can-opener , screwdriver and grips made out of oak wood scales (handles) that were treated with rapeseed oil for greater toughness and water-repellency, which made them black in color. The wooden grips of

1053-519: A double liner locking system, one-hand 86 mm (3.4 in) long locking partly wavy serrated chisel ground (optimized for right-handed use) drop point blade sharpened to a 24° angle, wood saw , can opener with small 3 mm (0.12 in) slotted screwdriver, locking bottle opener with large 7 mm (0.28 in) slotted screwdriver and wire stripper/bender, reamer sharpened to a 48° angle, Phillips (PH2) screwdriver and 12 mm (0.47 in) diameter split keyring . The Soldier Knife 08 width

1170-450: A drop-point main blade plus other types of blades and tools, such as a screwdriver , a can opener , a saw blade, a pair of scissors , and many others. These are folded into the handle of the knife through a pivot point mechanism. The handle is traditionally a red colour, with either a Victorinox or Wenger "cross" logo or, for Swiss military issue knives, the coat of arms of Switzerland . Other colours, textures, and shapes have appeared over

1287-405: A flat steel spring. Once a layer of tools is installed, another separator and spring are placed for the next layer of tools. This process is repeated until all the desired tool layers and the finishing separator are installed. Once the knife is built, the metal parts are fastened by adding brass flanged bushings to the rivets. The excess length of the rivets is then cut off to make them flush with

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1404-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from

1521-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained

1638-521: A one-way interference fit when pressed into the generally softer and more elastic scale material. The result is a tight adhesive-free connection that nonetheless permits new identical-pattern scales to be quickly and easily applied. Victorinox models are available in 58 mm (2.3 in), 74 mm (2.9 in), 84 mm (3.3 in), 91 mm (3.6 in), 93 mm (3.7 in), 100 mm (3.9 in), 108 mm (4.3 in) and 111 mm (4.4 in) lengths when closed. The thickness of

1755-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In

1872-700: A purchase price of SFr 18.40, €12.12 , £11.13 in October 2009 per knife plus case. Victorinox won the contest with a knife based on the One-Hand German Army Knife as issued by the German Bundeswehr and released in the civilian model lineup with the addition of a toothpick and tweezers stored in the nylon grip scales (side cover plates) as the One-Hand Trekker/Trailmaster model. Mass production of

1989-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it

2106-469: A scraper arc on one edge. The knife was 93 mm (3.7 in) long, 13.5 mm (0.53 in) thick and weighed 90 g (3.2 oz). The Soldier Knife model 1961 has a 93 mm (3.7 in) long knurled alox handle with the Swiss crest, a drop point blade, a reamer, a blade combining bottle opener , screwdriver , and wire stripper , and a combined can-opener and small screwdriver. The knife

2223-526: A simple disk, now known as the Henshall Button, between the worm and the shank. The disk prevents the worm from going too deep into the cork, forces the cork to turn with the turning of the crosspiece, and thus breaks the adhesion between the cork and the neck of the bottle. The disk is designed and manufactured slightly concave on the underside, which compresses the top of the cork and helps keep it from breaking apart. A person who collects corkscrews

2340-593: A standard piezoelectric ignition system for easy ignition, with adjustable flame; they and were designed for operation at altitudes up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level and continuous operation of 10 minutes. In January 2010, Victorinox announced the Presentation Master models, released in April 2010. The technological tools included a laser pointer, and detachable flash drive with fingerprint reader. Victorinox now sells an updated version called

2457-556: A variation on the Swiss coat of arms to identify his knives beginning in 1909. With slight modifications, this is still the company logo. Also in 1909, on the death of his mother, Elsener used his mother's name Victoria , as a brand name, in her honour. In 1921 following the invention of stainless steel ( acier inoxydable in French), Karl Elsener's son renamed the company to be Victorinox combining Victoria and inoxydable . In 1893

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2574-403: Is 34.5 mm (1.36 in), thickness is 18 mm (0.71 in), overall length opened is 197 mm (7.8 in) and it weighs 131 g (4.6 oz). The Soldier Knife 08 was not manufactured by Wenger. The armed forces of more than 20 different nations have issued or approved the use of various versions of Swiss army knives made by Victorinox, among them the forces of Germany, France,

2691-412: Is a helixophile. In its traditional form, a corkscrew is simply a steel screw attached to a perpendicular handle, made of wood or some other material. The user grips the handle and screws the metal point into the cork , until the helix is firmly embedded, then a vertical pull on the corkscrew extracts the cork from the bottle. The handle of the corkscrew allows for a commanding grip to ease removal of

2808-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as

2925-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German

3042-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic

3159-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German

3276-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25   million speak it as

3393-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in

3510-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as

3627-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are

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3744-543: Is much bulkier, and typically much more expensive, than other styles, but is much faster. The mounted corkscrew was invented in the late 1800s for use in homes, hotel bars, and restaurants in an era where all bottles were stopped with corks. They are screwed or clamped to counters or walls. When beer began to be sold in bottles, bars required a speedy way to open them. Most early mounted corkscrews were designed to open beer bottles with short corks. Modern ones are made for longer wine corks. In 1979, Herbert Allen introduced

3861-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and

3978-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as

4095-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German

4212-564: Is possibly an English invention, due to the tradition of beer and cider, and Treatise on Cider by John Worlidge in 1676 describes "binning of tightly corked cider bottles on their sides", although the earliest reference to a corkscrew is, "steel worm used for the drawing of Corks out of Bottles" from 1681. In 1795, the first corkscrew patent was granted to the Reverend Samuel Henshall , in England. The clergyman affixed

4329-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c.  1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period

4446-776: Is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),

4563-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish

4680-433: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers

4797-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to

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4914-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as

5031-568: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German

5148-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share

5265-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language

5382-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout

5499-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in

5616-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c.  765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in

5733-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung

5850-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit.   ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this

5967-593: The Swiss Army decided to purchase a new folding pocket knife for their soldiers. This knife was to be suitable for use by the army in opening canned food and for maintenance of the Swiss service rifle , the Schmidt–Rubin , which required a screwdriver for assembly and disassembly. In January 1891, the knife received the official designation Modell 1890 . The knife had a blade , reamer , can opener , screwdriver, and grips made out of dark oak wood that some say

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6084-513: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and   Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German

6201-469: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from

6318-453: The "Screwpull" corkscrew. The device was meant to make opening wine bottles fool-proof. The Screwpull wraps around the top of the bottle, with a plastic screw that simply needs to be turned to remove the cork, without effort. The spiral is coated with Teflon, which reduces friction as it twists into the cork, ensuring it is removed intact without pulling. The Screwpull is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. The company

6435-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In

6552-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of

6669-463: The German ach so! , meaning "Now I understand!") , the twin-prong cork puller can extract a stopper without damaging it, to allow for sampling the wine before re-inserting the stopper. The stopper is removed by pushing the prongs between the cork and the neck of the bottle, and twisting the stopper out of the bottle. Replacing the stopper involves taking it between the two prongs, then twisting it into

6786-415: The German inventor's last name, Wienke, which is difficult for English speakers to pronounce. When ordering the product from catalogs, the meaning and origins of the new Wienke Corkscrew gradually became lost and it was simply referred to as a "Winekey" or wine key. Patent number 283,731, August 21, 1883, simply refers to it as "C.F.A. WIENKE LEVER CORKSCREW." Also known as butler's friend or "Ah-So" (from

6903-483: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of

7020-451: The German states; the invention of the printing press c.  1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of

7137-681: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by

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7254-655: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are

7371-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c.  thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c.  1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy

7488-502: The Modell 1890 tended to crack and chip so in 1901 these were changed to a hard reddish-brown fiber similar in appearance to wood. The knife was 100 mm (3.9 in) long, 20.5 mm (0.81 in) thick and weighed 144 g (5.1 oz). The Soldier Knife model 1908 had a clip point blade rather than the 1890s spear point blade, still with the fiber scales, carbon steel tools, nickel-silver bolster, liners, and divider. The knife

7605-569: The Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia and the United States ( NSN 1095-01-653-1166 Knife, Combat). The Swiss Army knife has been present in space missions carried out by NASA since the late 1970s. In 1978, NASA sent a letter of confirmation to Victorinox regarding a purchase of 50 knives known as the Master Craftsman model. In 1985, Edward M. Payton, brother of astronaut Gary E. Payton , sent a letter to Victorinox, asking about getting

7722-467: The Slim Jetsetter, with "a premium software package that provides ultra secure data encryption, automatic backup functionality, secure web surfing capabilities, file and email synchronization between the drive and multiple computers, Bluetooth pairing and much more. On the hardware side of things, biometric fingerprint technology, laser pointers, LED lights, Bluetooth remote control and of course,

7839-605: The Spanish industrial designer David Olañeta for his brand BOJ and was later adopted by others, such as the 1936 US Patent No. 98,968 by Richard Smythe marked HOOTCH-OWL. A sommelier knife , waiter's friend or wine key is a corkscrew in a folding body similar to a pocket knife . It was conceived by the German Karl Wienke in 1882 and patented in Germany, England, and America. An arm extends to brace against

7956-1036: The Swiss Army Knife. Since 2006 the scales on some knife models can have textured rubber non-slip inlays incorporated, intended for sufficient grip with moist or wet hands. The rubber also provides some impact protection for such edged scales. Modifications have been made, including professionally produced custom models combining novel materials, colors, finishes and occasionally new tools such as firesteels or tool 'blades' mounting replaceable surgical scalpel blades to replacement of standard scales (handles) with new versions in natural materials such as buffalo horn. In addition to 'limited edition' productions runs, numerous examples from basic to professional-level customizations of standard knives—such as retrofitting pocket clips, one-off scales created using 3D printing techniques, decoration using anodization and new scale materials—can be found by searching for "SAK mods". During assembly, all components are placed on several brass rivets . The first components are generally an aluminium separator and

8073-402: The United States. Commercial knives can be distinguished by their cross logos; the Victorinox cross logo is surrounded by a shield while the Wenger cross logo is surrounded by a slightly rounded square. Victorinox registered the words "Swiss Army" and "Swiss Military" as a trademark in the US and was sued at Bern cantonal commercial court by the Swiss Confederacy (represented by Armasuisse ,

8190-401: The Wenger company producing even more model variations. Common main layer tools: Other main layer tools: Back layer tools: Scale tools: Three Victorinox SAK models had a butane lighter: the SwissFlame, the CampFlame and the SwissChamp XXLT, first introduced in 2002 and discontinued in 2005. The models were never sold in the United States due to lack of safety features. They used

8307-420: The Wenger line-up will remain in production under the Victorinox brand name. Wenger's US headquarters will be merged with Victorinox's location in Monroe, Connecticut . Wenger's watch and licensing business will continue as a separate brand: SwissGear . Up until 2008 Victorinox AG and Wenger SA supplied about 50,000 knives to the military of Switzerland each year, and manufactured many more for export, mostly to

8424-550: The authority representing the actual Swiss military), in October 2018. After an initial hearing Victorinox agreed to cede the registration in the United States of the term "Swiss military" to Armasuisse in return for an exclusive licence to market perfumes under the same name. There are various models of the Swiss Army knife with different tool combinations. Though Victorinox does not provide custom knives, they have produced many different variations to suit individual users, with

8541-401: The body. The head of the central shaft is frequently modified to form a bottle opener , or foil cutter, increasing the utility of the device. Corkscrews of this design are particularly popular in household use. In 1880, William Burton Baker was issued British Patent No. 2950 for his double lever corkscrew, with both levers sliding onto the upper end of the shank. The first American patent

8658-413: The bottle and pulling out the prongs. It can also extract a stopper in bad condition. The lever or "rabbit" corkscrew is operated using a pair of handles which are used to grip the neck of the bottle, and a lever which is simply pressed down to twist the screw into the cork, then lifted to extract the cork. Expelling the cork from the device is done with a similar press/lift action. This style of corkscrew

8775-417: The bushings. Finally, the remaining length of the rivets is flattened into the flanged bushings. After the assembly of the metal parts, the blades on smaller knives are sharpened to a 15° angle, resulting in a 30° V-shaped steel cutting edge. From 91 mm (3.6 in) sized knives the blades are sharpened to a 20° angle, resulting in a 40° V-shaped steel cutting edge. Chisel ground blades are sharpened to

8892-402: The cork. The winged corkscrew, sometimes called a cork extractor, butterfly corkscrew, owl corkscrew, Indian corkscrew, or angel corkscrew, has two levers, one on either side of the worm. As the worm is twisted into the cork, the levers are raised. Pushing down the levers draws the cork from the bottle in one smooth motion. The most common design has a rack and pinion connecting the levers to

9009-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with

9126-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in

9243-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of

9360-556: The end of 1891 Elsener began production of the Modell 1890 knives, in direct competition with the Solingen company. He incurred financial losses doing so, as Wester & Co was able to produce the knives at a lower cost. Elsener was on the verge of bankruptcy when, in 1896, he developed an improved knife, intended for the use by officers, with tools attached on both sides of the handle using a special spring mechanism, allowing him to use

9477-474: The evaluation process. Functional models submitted by suppliers underwent practical testing by military personnel in July 2008, while laboratory tests were used to assess compliance with technical requirements. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted and the model with the best price/performance ratio was awarded the contract. The order for 75,000 soldier knives plus cases was worth SFr 1.38 million. This equates to

9594-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,

9711-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of

9828-533: The knives varies depending on the number of tool layers included. The 91 mm (3.6 in) models offer the most variety in tool configurations in the Victorinox model line with as many as 15 layers. Wenger models are available in 65 mm (2.6 in), 75 mm (3.0 in), 85 mm (3.3 in) 93 mm (3.7 in), 100 mm (3.9 in), 120 mm (4.7 in) and 130 mm (5.1 in) lengths when closed. Thickness varies depending on

9945-418: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Corkscrew The design of the corkscrew may have been derived from the gun worm , which was a device from at least the early 1630s used by men to remove unspent charges from a musket 's barrel in a similar fashion. The corkscrew

10062-431: The lip of the bottle for leverage when removing the cork. Some sommelier knives have two steps on the lever, and often also a bottle opener . A small hinged knife blade is housed in the handle end to be used in cutting the foil wrapping the neck of many wine bottles. A corkscrew of this type can be used more quickly (and with more "show" or panache) than a wing-type corkscrew. The term "wine key" came into existence due to

10179-498: The martensitic stainless steel alloy used for the other parts is X39Cr13 (aka DIN 1.4031, AISI/ASTM 420) and for the springs X20Cr13 (aka DIN 1.4021, but still within AISI/ASTM 420). The steel used for the wood saws, scissors and nail files has a steel hardness of HRC 53, the screwdrivers, tin openers and awls have a hardness of HRC 52, and the corkscrew and springs have a hardness of HRC 49. The metal saws and files, in addition to

10296-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted

10413-607: The new Soldatenmesser 08 (Soldier Knife 08) for the Swiss Armed Forces was started in December 2008, and first issued to the Swiss Armed Forces beginning with the first basic training sessions of 2009. The Soldier Knife 08 has an 111 mm (4.4 in) long ergonomic dual density handle with TPU rubbery thermoplastic elastomer non-slip inlays incorporated in the green Polyamide 6 grip shells and

10530-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from

10647-577: The number of tool layers included. The 85 mm (3.3 in) models offer the most variety in tool configurations in the Wenger model line, with as many as 10 layers. Since the first issue as personal equipment in 1891 the Soldatenmesser (Soldier Knives) issued by the Swiss Armed Forces have been revised several times. There are five different main Modelle (models). Their model numbers refer to

10764-528: The original Swiss Army Knife implements – blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver, key ring and ballpoint pen are standard. **Not every feature is available on every model within the collection." In 2006, Wenger produced a knife called "The Giant" that included every implement the company ever made, with 87 tools and 141 different functions. It was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most multifunctional penknife. It retails for about €798 or $ US1000, though some vendors charge much higher prices. In

10881-560: The original television series MacGyver as well as its 2016 reboot , character Angus MacGyver frequently uses different Swiss Army knives in various episodes to solve problems and construct simple objects . German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It

10998-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation

11115-413: The same spring to hold them in place. This new knife was patented on 12 June 1897, with a second, smaller cutting blade, a corkscrew , and wood fibre grips, under the name of Schweizer Offiziers- und Sportmesser ("Swiss officer's and sports knife"). While the Swiss military did not commission the knife, it was successfully marketed internationally, restoring Elsener's company to prosperity. Elsener used

11232-467: The same year, Victorinox released the SwissChamp XAVT, consisting of 118 parts and 80 functions with a retail price of $ 425. The Guinness Book of Records recognizes a unique 314-blade Swiss Army-style knife made in 1991 by Master Cutler Hans Meister as the world's largest penknife, weighing 11 pounds (5.0 kg). Some Swiss Army knives have locking blades to prevent accidental closure. Wenger

11349-412: The scales. The rivets are made by cutting and pointing appropriately sized bars of solid brass. The separators between the tools have been made from aluminium alloy since 1951. This makes the knives lighter. Previously these separating layers were made of nickel-silver . The martensitic stainless steel alloy used for the cutting blades is optimized for high toughness and corrosion resistance and has

11466-736: The second industrial cutler of Switzerland, Paul Boéchat & Cie , headquartered in Delémont in the French-speaking region of Jura , started selling a similar product. Its general manager, Théodore Wenger, acquired the company and renamed it the Wenger Company. In 1908 the Swiss government split the contract between Victorinox and Wenger, placing half the orders with each. By mutual agreement, Wenger advertised "the Genuine Swiss Army Knife" and Victorinox used

11583-686: The slogan, "the Original Swiss Army Knife". On 26 April 2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger, once again becoming the sole supplier of knives to the military of Switzerland . Victorinox at first kept the Wenger brand intact, but on 30 January 2013, the company announced that the Wenger brand of knives would be abandoned in favour of Victorinox. The press release stated that Wenger's factory in Delémont would continue to produce knives and all employees at this site will retain their jobs. They further elaborated that an assortment of items from

11700-450: The special case hardening , are also subjected to a hard chromium plating process so that iron and steel can also be filed and cut. Although red Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB) (generally known trade names are Cellidor, Tenite and Tenex) scaled Swiss Army knives are most common, there are many colors and alternative materials like more resilient nylon and aluminum for the scales available. Many textures, colors and shapes now appear in

11817-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,

11934-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in

12051-407: The two companies split the initial contract for provision of the knives and operated as separate enterprises from 1908. In 2005 Victorinox acquired Wenger. As an icon of the culture of Switzerland , both the design and the versatility of the knife have worldwide recognition. The term "Swiss Army knife" has acquired usage as a figure of speech indicating a multifaceted skillset. The Swiss Army Knife

12168-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during

12285-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching

12402-479: The year of introduction in the military supply chain. Several main models have been revised over time and therefore exist in different Ausführungen (executions), also denoted by the year of introduction. The issued models of the Swiss Armed Forces are: Soldier Knives are issued to every recruit or member of the Swiss Armed Forces and the knives issued to officers have never differed from those issued to non-commissioned officers and privates . A model incorporating

12519-553: The years. Originating in Ibach, Switzerland , the Swiss Army knife was first produced in 1891 when the Karl Elsener company, which later became Victorinox, won the contract to produce the Swiss Army 's Modell 1890 knife from the previous German manufacturer. In 1893, the Swiss cutlery company Paul Boéchat & Cie , which later became Wenger SA , received its first contract from the Swiss military to produce model 1890 knives;

12636-449: Was 100 mm (3.9 in) long, 16.5 mm (0.65 in) thick and weighed 125 g (4.4 oz). The contract with the Swiss Army split production equally between the Victorinox and Wenger companies. The soldier Knife model 1951 had fiber scales, nickel-silver bolsters, liners, and divider, and a spear point blade. This was the first Swiss Armed Forces issue model where the tools were made of stainless steel. The screwdriver now had

12753-482: Was 12 mm (0.47 in) thick and weighed 72 g (2.5 oz) The 1961 model also contains a brass spacer, which allows the knife, with the screwdriver and the reamer extended simultaneously, to be used to assemble the SIG 550 and SIG 510 assault rifles: the knife serves as a restraint to the firing pin during assembly of the lock . The Soldier Knife model 1961 was manufactured only by Victorinox and Wenger and

12870-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of

12987-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially

13104-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which

13221-483: Was in 1930 granted to the Italian Domenico Rosati who emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, to work as bartender before the prohibition. Rosati's design had an exposed rack and pinion mechanism. Such design was adapted by other brands as the wine-market grew in popularity. The winged owl version, with two side-plates covering the rack and pinion mechanism, was first designed and manufactured in 1932 by

13338-491: Was later partly replaced with ebony wood . At that time no Swiss company had the necessary production capacity, so the initial order for 15,000 knives was placed with the German knife manufacturer Wester & Co. from Solingen , Germany . These knives were delivered in October 1891. In 1891, Karl Elsener , then owner of a company that made surgical equipment , set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland itself. At

13455-462: Was not the first multi-use pocket knife. In 1851, in Moby-Dick (chapter 107), Herman Melville mentions the "Sheffield contrivances, assuming the exterior – though a little swelled – of a common pocket knife; but containing, not only blades of various sizes, but also screwdrivers , cork-screws , tweezers , bradawls , pens , rulers , nail files and countersinkers ." During the late 1880s,

13572-601: Was the first issued knife bearing the Swiss Coat of Arms on the handle. In 2007 the Swiss Government made a request for new updated soldier knives for the Swiss military for distribution in late 2008. The evaluation phase of the new soldier knife began in February 2008, when Armasuisse issued an invitation to tender. A total of seven suppliers from Switzerland and other countries were invited to participate in

13689-573: Was the first to offer a "PackLock" for the main blade on several of their standard 85mm models. Several large Wenger and Victorinox models have a locking blade secured by a slide lock that is operated with an unlocking-button integrated in the scales. Some Victorinox 111 mm series knives have a double liner lock that secures the cutting blade and large slotted screwdriver/cap opener/wire stripper combination tool designed towards prying. Rivets and flanged bushings made from brass hold together all machined steel parts and other tools, separators and

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