Episode 1 of 2

Elsener Begins Production

When: 1891
Where: Ibach
Part of: Victorinox begins production of the Swiss Army knife at Ibach, 1891

Karl Elsener began manufacturing Modell 1890 knives in Ibach in late 1891, competing with German suppliers.

In 1891, Karl Elsener, owner of a business in Ibach that made surgical equipment, set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland. In late 1891, Elsener began production of the Modell 1890 knives, in competition with the German manufacturer. His workshop later became Victorinox.

Sources

Swiss Army knife Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-20
Ibach, Switzerland Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.