This is the Rescue Tool by Victorinox, the company that made the Swiss Army Knife a global must-have item for many.
The Rescue Tool is designed for use in car accidents and other emergency roadside first responder situations. It has tools that allow you to break car windows, cutaway shatterproof glass, and cut seatbelts to extract people from the wreckage.
The Rescue Tool is designed for use in car accidents and other emergency roadside first responder tasks. It has tools that allow you to break car windows, cutaway shatterproof glass, and cut seatbelts to extract people.
History Speedrun: Victorinox
Victorinox started out back in 1884 when Karl Elsener I opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach-Schwyz, Switzerland, backed early on by an investment from his mother, Victoria. In 1891, Elsener helped establish the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers and perhaps more importantly, he won a major Swiss Army contract which brought production of Swiss soldier’s knives under his roof.
The company’s most important historic milestone came six year later in 1897, with the patenting of the “Original Swiss Officer’s and Sports Knife,” the design now widely known simply as the “Swiss Army Knife.”
Elsener adopted “Victoria” as the brand name in 1909, after his mother, and registered the Cross & Shield emblem as his trademark. In 1921, the arrival of stainless steel (“inox”) would change both the material used in the company’s knifemaking and in their name, with “Victoria” and “inox” now combining into “Victorinox.”
Over the decades the firm grew from mostly pocketknives and kitchen knives into a much larger Swiss manufacturing brand, later reorganizing as Victorinox AG in 1979. In 2000, the Victorinox Foundation became the majority shareholder, and in 2005 Victorinox acquired Wenger SA, consolidating the two historic Swiss Army knife makers under one name for the first time.
For much of the 20th century and into the 21st the Swiss Army Knife was seen as an essential everyday carry item for many, with the phrase “no man should be without one” often associated with the little red multi-function knives. They became such cultural touchstones that they have been displayed at the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
The Rescue Tool By Victorinox
The Rescue Tool by Swiss Army Knife maker Victorinox is designed primarily for use in emergency roadside situations like car accidents. It contains a series of tools that can help you extract someone from a crashed car including a seatbelt cutter, a knife designed to cut through shatterproof glass, and a punch designed to break car windows to allow you access.
The Rescue Tool by Swiss Army Knife maker Victorinox is designed primarily for use in emergency roadside situations like car accidents. It contains a series of tools that can help you extract someone from a crashed car including a seatbelt cutter, a knife designed to cut through shatterproof glass, and a punch designed to break car windows to allow you access.
The Rescue Tool has a bright yellow handle, the fold out tools include a large knife blade, a bottle opener, a wire stripper, a screwdriver, a rearmer/punch, a seat belt cutter, a window breaker, a saw designed to cut through shatterproof glass, as well as a pair of tweezers and a toothpick.
This is exactly the sort of tool you might want to keep in your glovebox in case you ever need it. It’s now being offered for sale on the official Victorinox Amazon store here with an MSRP of $115 USD.
Images courtesy of Victorinox
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