The multipurpose tool par excellence, mostly a pocket-knife, is the Swiss pocket-knife, the usual name for what recalls a military tradition as a Schweizer Offiziersmesser and in its Anglo-American version for the international Swiss Army knife market.

The object amplifies the performance of a normal pocket-knife, adding to the main blade more instruments in a reduced scale, which are mounted in the body of the utensil, a case covered with red plastic and a Swiss cross. This last symbol is considered a warranty of quality and authenticity, since only two Swiss companies (Victorinox and Wenger) are authorized to reproduce the so-called cross. The two companies produce millions of models every year.

The history of this multipurpose knife was born as an invention of a supply to the Swiss army, proposed by a Swiss craftsman, who had learned the art of being a cutler in southern Germany districts where that job was widespread. In 1884 Karl Elsener, the founder of the Victorinox company, opens his own laboratory in the Schwyz district and in 1891 starts his own company.

The first multipurpose knife was born this way, and dedicated to Swiss army's soldiers (Soldatmesser). Robust and heavy, it provided soldiers with a solid equipment which consisted of a blade, a drift, a tin opener and a screwdriver: it is produced still today with the proper updatings. From this, all the following versions of the knife were born.

The success of this multipurpose tool is huge and it imposes a continuous adjustment of performances. If the base-principle doesn't change, the versions are different in the number, typology and sizes of the miniature tools offered, adding and varying the composition to the standard equipment, little by little, small saws for metals and for wood, bottle openers, nail files (version for madams), tweezers, toothpick, magnifying lens, miniature watch, laser light and for mountain-bikers.

This way the most complete versions in the models' collection work as a pocket tool kit, suitable for any situation, from camping to extreme sports, or to the safety of a creative do-it-yourself, with a weight - a factor which can't be neglected for a pocket tool - which keeps under two-hundred grams even in 30 or 40 - purpose models.

This object can be considered an example of design and it is included in various collections, from the Modern Art Museum to the collections of applied art in Munich.