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A Swiss Army knife (SAK), (German: Schweizer Taschenmesser, French: Couteau suisse) is a brand of multi-function pocket knife or multitool. more...

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Generally speaking, a Swiss Army knife has a blade as well as various tools, such as screwdrivers and can openers. These attachments are stowed inside the handle of the knife through a pivot point mechanism. The handle is usually red, and features a Cross and Shield, usually featuring a white cross, the emblem of Switzerland. The knife model that is currently in use by the Swiss Army has a knurled alox handle with the Swiss crest, a blade, a reamer, a blade combining bottle-opener, screwdriver, and wire stripper, and a combined can-opener and small screwdriver. It originated in Ibach Schwyz, Switzerland in 1897. The term "Swiss Army" is a registered trademark owned by Wenger S.A. and Victorinox A.G., longtime suppliers of knives to the Swiss Armed Forces.

The term "Swiss Army knife" is sometimes used metaphorically to describe usefulness, such as a software tool that is a collection of special-purpose tools. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II, as they couldn't pronounce its original name, "Offiziersmesser". The brand "Swiss Army" has achieved near iconic status and connotes versatility, dependability, and quality. The "Swiss Army" knife has been added to the collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and Munich's State Museum of Applied Art for its design.

Features

Various models of Swiss Army knives exist, with different tool combinations for specific tasks. The simplest model sold includes only a single blade. The most common tools featured are, in addition to the main blade, a smaller second blade, tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener, slotted/flat-head screwdriver(s), phillips-head screwdriver, nail file, scissors, saw, file, hook, magnifying glass, ballpoint pen, fish scaler, hex wrench w/bits, pliers and key chain. Recent technological features include USB flash drives, digital clock, digital altimeter, LED light, laser pointer, and MP3 player. The official army 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 standard full-size SAK is approximately 9 cm (3.5 inches) long and 2 cm (0.75 inches) wide; smaller models are typically about 6 cm (2.25 in) long and 1.5 cm (0.5 in) wide. Thickness varies depending on the number of tools included. Although red celidor SAKs are most common, there are many colors and scales available. Many textures, colors and, in fact, shapes are now popping up in the Swiss Army Knife.

Read more at Wikipedia.org