he not register his 'Officers' knife in 1897.At least thats what it says in the link embedded in the article
Carl Elsener developed a knife specifically for officers ... This new model with only two springs for the six blades he called the "Officer's knife". Its design was officially registered on June 12th 1897.
Not one to be a pedant but great man I am sure Mr Elsener was I am not sure that the 1890's soldier could be considered 'his' prototype, and did he not register his 'Officers' knife in 1897.At least thats what it says in the link embedded in the article tohttp://www.e-webtechnologies.com/sak/html/history.html