How do they do it?

[cbl51]

Being a life long knife nut, I've owned Buck knives, Case, Eye-Brand, Opinel, Boker, Camillus, Schrade, and most other brands on the market. Maybe not at one time, but at one time or another. Every brand I ever owned, you had to pick through what the dealer had in stock to make sure you got a good one with no major defects.

Except Victorinox.

Every SAK I ever had, was just like the last SAK I had as far as fit and finish. No major gaps, no lazy blades, no nail breaking springs to pull against. JUst a smooth opening easy to use pocket knife. Looking down inside, it seems like all the internal parts on view are polished unlike Buck and others. I can get on a plane and fly anywhere sans knife, and stop at any sports store, big box hardware store, and buy a SAK like a recruit or tinker, and I know that I'll get a 'good'  knife. If it has the Victorinox brand, I have faith all will be well.

So...how do they do it?

[ICanFixThat]

I'm sure most knife manufacturer's would like to know the answer to that question.

[J Mackrel Jones]

Because they care.
Victorinox and Wenger put a high value on: their reputation in the world, their long tradition (even with their desire to be innovative now and then) of craftsmanship (Swiss watches?), respect for both machine and man, and a belief in quality for its own sake (Swiss chocolate!).
Simple Swiss QC.  At Victorinox almost 100 people (of a workforce of 900) inspect the knives before they leave the factory
Materials.  Engineering.  Good workers and respect for the workers by the companies.  Factory machines they design and build themselves. 

"If James Bond had been Swiss, he would not have needed Q."

[Accujohn]

They have mastered what they do. Rather than constant redesign and change, they choose to master, modify and refine.

[North Man]

hi, yes most sad already precision and the ability to have the most cost reduced production and at the same time quality, tradition, iconic design and innovation, and the very long history...Would be very difficult to reach. i would like to mention most categories but if one look on the 111mm "liner lock services range most models" and the product you get  it could just as easy had double the price to buy and still be value for the money..

[nuphoria]

There is actually an episode of the show "How do they do it" at the Vic factory, showing the process.... but I know that's not exactly what you're asking

They just get it right and keep it right. There's no corner cutting and compromises which lower the standards, which seems to happen to many other companies who have got it right.

[MARIOS7319]

Because they care.
Victorinox and Wenger put a high value on: their reputation in the world, their long tradition (even with their desire to be innovative now and then) of craftsmanship (Swiss watches?), respect for both machine and man, and a belief in quality for its own sake (Swiss chocolate!).
Simple Swiss QC.  At Victorinox almost 100 people (of a workforce of 900) inspect the knives before they leave the factory
Materials.  Engineering.  Good workers and respect for the workers by the companies.  Factory machines they design and build themselves. 

This is the philosophy of every generation of the owners of Victorinox.

[North Man]

true , the workers is well looked after, and not to forget the factory in Ibach got the environment in mind and got a green factory....

[North Man]

not forget Wenger here aswell
http://www.wenger.ch/corporate-responsibility

[jeroen.thys.37]

Hi guys,

First post here....

My wife and me went to Ibach a few weeks ago to visit the factory and the brand store in Brunnen. It was an insane drive of 1400 km in 2 days, but it was worth every minute in that car! Beautiful nature, and offcourse my deeply desired goal... Victorinox!!! We stayed in a cosy hotel, about 7 km from Ibach. The owner saw me arriving with a Victorinox bag, and asked me if I was a Vic fan... After a few minutes, I was even more amazed by the Victorinox-brand... This guy tells me that Carl Elsener sr. still went to the board meetings at 86 years old! The guy is now 90 or so, and a true legend in the region. He didn't drove a bmw, or a big expensive car, but a simple bike, even at 86! Nobody ever got fired at the factory due to bad management or an economic crisis. I believe that quality starts with satisfied employees. Workers with a ceo that sends out the right motivation!

Nice thread... This shows that Victorinox is far more than a knife.....

[nuphoria]

Good to have you with us, and thanks for sharing that

[Currahee]

I can only echo the sentiments of the original poster and express the same sense of wonder. How do they do it!

As the owner of well over 100 knives, of which roughly 25% are SAK's, I am astonished that imperfections can be found in virtually every knife I own save for the Victorinox and Wenger knives. Not one of my Swiss Army Knives has any kind of defect at all!

I have often asked myself the same question: If Victorinox and Wenger can accomplish this degree of manufacturing excellence why can't other production knife makers do the same? Especially when these two Swiss companies sell their perfect product at a fraction of what the other big names in cutlery charge for their ofttimes imperfect and inconsistent quality knives?

It certainly makes ya wonder, doesn't it?

[gustophersmob]

As someone who works in a high-tech manufacturing environment, I have some semi-educated thoughts.

I've watched many videos of the Vic factory and one thing that stands out is the use of machines to perform most critical part fabrication steps. Other than the machine set-up, you only see humans doing the final assembly and check out.
Most of the other brands listed use (and proudly advertise) a much higher percentage of manual operations. This, by its nature, introduces a much higher degree of variability in each piece. These variable tolerances can "stack up" when all the individual pieces are assembled into the final product.

Its all what I like to call the "Myth of the Handmade."

[gustophersmob]

Also, the handmade processes are more expensive. People cost more than machines. This may have something to do with the observed price differences

[cbl51]

Its all what I like to call the "Myth of the Handmade."

What a wonderful way to put it!

I've very often though of the same thing, but not as elegantly put as you did. As a life long knife knut, I've done my share of colection in my younger days, when it seemed like I was in the grip of some kind of insanity. I had collected a number of very expensive Randall andother so called hand made custom knives. I believed everything the knife magazines said, and I spent too much money.

Then I really looked at what I was doing. The 200 and 400 dollar knives didn't wprk any better than my old tinker. In some c ases, not as good. I still needed to carry a SAK to deal with a loose screw on a rifles trigger guard, a malfunctioning fishing reel, a loose costive battery cable on a motorcycle. The whole thing came to a screatching halt when a Victorinix/Forschner  boning knife did a better job of dressing out a deer than a Randall hunter. I boxed up all my high end knives and sent them all off to A.G. Russell to be sold off. It's been 20 years since I did that, and I don't miss a one.

I still love knives, and for a while I just collected well made factory stuff. Case, GEC. But again I noticed a poor return on my money. Gaps in liners and springs, blade play, springs that were way too stiff and broke thumb nails, and springs that were way to soft and meant a lazy blade. And this on fancy pocket knives with price tags of a C-note!

Yet my 14.95 recruit from Lowes has impeccable fit and finish, as does all my other SAK's. And for way less money than the boutique brand pocket knives. And even better, when I have a loose screw on a battery cable or radiator hose clamp, or a small repair job, or need an awl, or a bottle opener, or tweezers to pick out a splinter or a tick off our dog, my SAK will do what the others won't. And with no flaws in the fit and finish. I know I can stop off at the very next Walmart, Target, Dick's or Lowes, and pick up a new SAK and it will be just like my other SAK. No shipping back tothe factory with 1/4 or better because of manufacture flaws.

[sawman]

Its all what I like to call the "Myth of the Handmade."

What a wonderful way to put it!

I've very often though of the same thing, but not as elegantly put as you did. As a life long knife knut, I've done my share of colection in my younger days, when it seemed like I was in the grip of some kind of insanity. I had collected a number of very expensive Randall andother so called hand made custom knives. I believed everything the knife magazines said, and I spent too much money.

Then I really looked at what I was doing. The 200 and 400 dollar knives didn't wprk any better than my old tinker. In some c ases, not as good. I still needed to carry a SAK to deal with a loose screw on a rifles trigger guard, a malfunctioning fishing reel, a loose costive battery cable on a motorcycle. The whole thing came to a screatching halt when a Victorinix/Forschner  boning knife did a better job of dressing out a deer than a Randall hunter. I boxed up all my high end knives and sent them all off to A.G. Russell to be sold off. It's been 20 years since I did that, and I don't miss a one.

I still love knives, and for a while I just collected well made factory stuff. Case, GEC. But again I noticed a poor return on my money. Gaps in liners and springs, blade play, springs that were way too stiff and broke thumb nails, and springs that were way to soft and meant a lazy blade. And this on fancy pocket knives with price tags of a C-note!

Yet my 14.95 recruit from Lowes has impeccable fit and finish, as does all my other SAK's. And for way less money than the boutique brand pocket knives. And even better, when I have a loose screw on a battery cable or radiator hose clamp, or a small repair job, or need an awl, or a bottle opener, or tweezers to pick out a splinter or a tick off our dog, my SAK will do what the others won't. And with no flaws in the fit and finish. I know I can stop off at the very next Walmart, Target, Dick's or Lowes, and pick up a new SAK and it will be just like my other SAK. No shipping back tothe factory with 1/4 or better because of manufacture flaws.

Well said!  And it is for this reason that most of my purchases are Victorinox these days over SOG, Leatherman, Gerber, etc.  I don't have money to spend on overpriced junk that is guaranteed to break - and I'd rather it not break in the first place no matter how good the repair warranty might be (*cough* Leatherman *cough*)...