Carl Elsener Sr. Carl Elsener Sr. Carl Elsener Sr. (also known as Charles Elsener, born 6 July 1922 in Ibach, † 1 June 2013 in Schwyz) was a Swiss entrepreneur. Carl Elsener was the grandson of Karl Elsener (1860-1918) and the son of Carl Elsener (1886-1950). Karl Elsener had opened a factory in Ibach for the production of knives and surgical instruments, from which the knife factory Victorinox developed. Carl Elsener led the company initially with his father and his brother Eduard Elsener (b. 1926). After the death of his father in 1950, he took over the management. The Swiss Army Knife is
Swiss Army knife 1891. In 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment, set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland itself. At the end of 1891 Elsener began production of the "Modell 1890" knives, in direct competition with the Solingen company. He incurred financial losses doing so, as Wester & Co was able to produced the knives at lower cost. Elsener was on the verge of bankruptcy when, in 1896, he developed an improved knife, intended for the use by officers, with tools attached on both sides of the handle using a special spring mechanism, allowing him to