# Swiss Army



## phil hill (Jul 8, 2010)

There seems to be a lot of watches that say 'Swiss Army' - are they a particular make/brand or a style?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

phil hill said:


> There seems to be a lot of watches that say 'Swiss Army' - are they a particular make/brand or a style?


Yeah, it's the ones with a corkscrew, file, toothpick... no they're not, just taking the p*** 

What watches are you talking about? I can think of just two brands that fit what you are saying: Victorinox and Hanowa.

The first one has the Swiss Army just like their knifes. Hanowa has Swiss Military. I can almost bet that they went for "Military" because Swiss Army is some kind of Victorinox trademark.

Hey, stranger things have happened!! Panerai managed to copywrite the entire Italian War Navy! They can no longer call themselves Marina Militare or they risk getting a lawsuit! :dntknw:


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## phil hill (Jul 8, 2010)

Thanks. That answers it for me. Only one 'proper' make' other people just using the term in their adverts


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## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

were any of them used by the swiss army?


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2010)

As for the knives, half the Swiss army were issued with Victorinox ones, and the other half got Wengers.

Personally I think that the Wenger knives are better, because they have a separate dedicated "spring blade" to make the scissors work, rather than a bent around thin strip of springy metal used in the Victorinox versions.

Also, the saw blades on the Wengers have the teeth lying at an alternating left right slant along the saw, making them cut more effectively without clogging compared to the Victorinox models (in my personal experience of using each type).

In 2005 Victorinox acquired Wenger, although Wiki says that "Victorinox has stated that it intends to keep both consumer brands intact"...and this appears to have actually happened, as Wengers continue to possess these distinguishing design features.

As for the watches... ...God knows. :tongue2:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Om_nom_nom_Watches! said:


> As for the knives, half the Swiss army were issued with Victorinox ones, and the other half got* Wengers*.


Oh, forgot Wenger!! Not that I've seen any with "Swiss Army" lettering but they have a Swiss logo.


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## obsidian (Sep 3, 2005)

Om_nom_nom_Watches! said:


> As for the knives, half the Swiss army were issued with Victorinox ones, and the other half got Wengers.
> 
> Personally I think that the Wenger knives are better, because they have a separate dedicated "spring blade" to make the scissors work, rather than a bent around thin strip of springy metal used in the Victorinox versions.
> 
> ...


Interesting that the Wenger knives are better designed than the Victorinox ones, since the general opinion on the watches seems to be that the Victorinox "Swiss Army" models are the top of the line, while the Wengers are more the low end, budget models.


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## thomasaurus (May 31, 2010)

obsidian said:


> Om_nom_nom_Watches! said:
> 
> 
> > As for the knives, half the Swiss army were issued with Victorinox ones, and the other half got Wengers.
> ...


Yeah that's what i thought. I think they're pretty much the same company now, just low and higher end levels between them. Both do some really nice watches though.


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