Hoffritz ... What's the story

colt 1911 · **on:** April 28, 2014, 02:17:19 AM

I have no clue, can you guys educate me. Thanks

Swiss Army knives .

J Mackrel Jones · **Reply #1 on:** April 28, 2014, 02:25:24 AM

Hoffritz commissioned Victorinox to make many models of folders; some have Victorinox in the tang and some have only Hoffritz; and some with Hoffritz on the scale, printed or inlaid.

colt 1911 · **Reply #2 on:** April 28, 2014, 02:48:05 AM

Thanks for the info. Second question, are they common or rare or kind of rare ?

Swiss Army knives .

DMA1965 · **Reply #3 on:** April 28, 2014, 04:16:16 AM

Quote from: colt 1911 on April 28, 2014, 02:48:05 AM

Thanks for the info. Second question, are they common or rare or kind of rare ?

Swiss Army knives .

Hoffritz was a sort of boutique cutlery store. They sold knives, razors, scissors, etc. They sold items in the millions, but no longer exist (at least not as stores, that I know of), so the mark is not really used anywhere anymore. It is not exactly rare, but will certainly become rarer over time.

colt 1911 · **Reply #4 on:** April 28, 2014, 05:15:48 AM

Great info, thanks

Swiss Army knives .

ColoSwiss · **Reply #5 on:** April 28, 2014, 08:26:40 AM

Here's some translated info on Hoffritz. The US branch started out in New York, and had about three dozen stores in numerous states at the time of their bankruptcy. The name was bought by another company that still uses it to retail mainly kitchen products. The company at one time was a major importer of Victorinox into the US, but I don't have a firm date range.

http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmesser-hoffritz.de%2Fgeschichte.html&act=url

colt 1911 · **Reply #6 on:** April 28, 2014, 03:11:10 PM

Awesome, thanks

Swiss Army knives .

kkokkolis · **Reply #7 on:** April 28, 2014, 04:36:30 PM

Inlaid "Hoffritz" name under the fish gives an exotic impression though, regardless how rare it might or might not be that SAK.

ColoSwiss · **Reply #8 on:** April 29, 2014, 10:02:04 AM

Here's a write-up on Hoffritz Knives for the wiki. If anyone has any corrections, additions, etc, please post below.

------------------------

The U.S. firm of Hoffritz was loosely associated with the German firm of the same name. The company was established in New York City in the early 1930's. They were importers, retailers and wholesalers of a wide range of cutlery products, including knives, razors and scissors. Most of their products came from the better quality makers in Solingen, Germany.

Hoffritz was also a major importer of Victorinox Swiss Army Knives into the U.S. Hoffritz SAKs carry a wide variety of markings, with the company name on the tang, blade or handle. Most knives also carry the Victorinox name on the tang, though some don't. Most of their SAKs are standard models and are fairly common. They also commissioned several 'Limited Edition' models with unique blade combinations. These models are rare and expensive.

At one time Hoffritz had almost 200 stores in the U.S., but declining sales and other problems led to the company's demise in the early 1990s. The name 'Hoffritz' was sold to the firm of Lifetime Hoan in 1995, and is in continued used for a variety of kitchen knives and utensils.

#1 - An assortment of Hoffritz-marked Victorinox.

#2 & #3 - Front and back of a limited edition Hoffritz SAK (marked ****/2000).

colt 1911 · **Reply #9 on:** April 29, 2014, 03:22:58 PM

Very helpful thanks,

Swiss Army knives .

enki_ck · **Reply #10 on:** May 01, 2014, 05:47:06 PM

Sorry for the delay, Karl.

I was waiting for comments of added info but we can add it later if someone has anything to add.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Hoffritz

Available form the Company list. http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Company+List

colt 1911 · **Reply #11 on:** May 01, 2014, 06:08:20 PM

Awesome thanks

Swiss Army knives .

ColoSwiss · **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2014, 07:21:40 PM

Quote from: enki_ck on May 01, 2014, 05:47:06 PM

Sorry for the delay, Karl.

I was waiting for comments of added info but we can add it later if someone has anything to add.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Hoffritz

Available form the Company list. http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Company+List

Thanks, Nikola, it looks good.

Was also looking at the Aitor writeup. Someone needs to do a quick edit. Looks like the 'auto correct' was over correcting. "wheat or some other planet".

ColoSwiss · **Reply #13 on:** May 01, 2014, 07:39:43 PM

Nikola,

Here are a couple of photos you might want to add to the Richartz and Aitor write-ups.

enki_ck · **Reply #14 on:** May 01, 2014, 09:38:38 PM

Corrected the AITOR page, there were a few other things to correct, some format and a few missing pictures. I added a stock picture of the Gran Capitan for the main image, I associate the green scales more with the Aitor brand for some reason.

Also, RedRamage, if you have the original pictures you used for the page, that would be great.

I backtracked bit and dug out the shield picture from google cache and enlarged it a bit.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Aitor

and some cosmetic changes to the Richartz page.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Richartz

ColoSwiss · **Reply #15 on:** May 02, 2014, 12:41:08 AM

Nikola,

Under Aitor, you might include a comment that at one time their knives were very similar to Victorinox (photo 1). Most of their current production of pocket knives appears to be larger 112mm models (photo 2).
Photo 3 is an Aitor Fisherman's knife.

The web site given for Aitor appears to be a retailer rather than the company. I couldn't find a site for the company (not to say there isn't one). Here's a different retail site that seems to have a bit more info.

http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gb/infer.asp?ac=22&trabajo=listar&pa=navajas-aitor&sg=navajas-aitor&vista=cuadricula

ColoSwiss · **Reply #16 on:** May 02, 2014, 03:05:21 AM

On the Richartz photo, the two knives are Maple Picnic (or Picknick) 3; and Ultima Picnic (or Picknick) 5.

ColoSwiss · **Reply #17 on:** May 02, 2014, 09:06:08 AM

A correction: the large Aitors are 105mm, not 112mm.

enki_ck · **Reply #18 on:** May 02, 2014, 05:50:45 PM

That Grupo Pielcu appears to be the current owner of Aitor, it seems they bought Aitor in 2006. Regretfully only appears to be in Spanish and the English links are broken/404. $:-\$

ColoSwiss · **Reply #19 on:** May 02, 2014, 07:28:36 PM

Aitor's looking good!

ColoSwiss · **Reply #20 on:** May 03, 2014, 03:33:23 AM

Nikola,

A couple of additional makers you might add to the list with Aitor and Richartz.

Mercury (Italy) under their various 913 ranges offer a fair number of SAK-style knives. I own one older Mercury and it appears to be a decent knife.

http://www.mercurycut.it/en/category/38/pocket__multiuse_knives.html

Mikov (Czech Rep.) offers both its own line and the Adler line of multi-blade knives. From my own limited experience with them, I don't think they're that great of knife, but they do have an extensive range.

http://www.mikov.cz/en/67-knives--cutlery.html

enki_ck · **Reply #21 on:** May 03, 2014, 08:33:40 PM

I added them to the list but some write up on them would be nice if anyone has some more knowledge/experience with them.

Also we're missing write ups on Dovo and ISC. I think dks made a nice comparison of ISC and Vic a while back.

I'll try to find it.

enki_ck · **Reply #22 on:** May 03, 2014, 08:35:28 PM

Well that didn't take long.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,31439.0.html

ColoSwiss · **Reply #23 on:** May 04, 2014, 12:47:23 AM

About the extent of my knowledge of Mercury and Mikov.

The fork on the Mercury is a nice touch, but not as useful as a Richartz Picnic. Does anyone know of a source for Mercury; I'd like to pick up one of their olive-handled knives.

Some of the tools on the Mikov are nail busters; very hard to open.

TonySal · **Reply #24 on:** April 08, 2020, 01:33:50 AM

... just got one from the auction bay, grooved corkscrew, grey mag glass, crossbow on blade. And Hoffritz. Hot stamped on the front scale. Gold color is gone but it's there