I hate to steer our readers to Amazon but they are currently selling aSwissArmy Knife Owner’s Manual that will definitely be of some interested to many of you.  It contains a fully fleshed out history of the Swiss Army Knife, some really great stories about lives that were saved by this enduring icon and listings of all the cool tools that have ever been featured on a Swiss Army Knife.

I know a lot of you are fanatical about your Swiss Army Knives so I’m trying to do the right thing here.  Even though we don’t sell this book, I am gritting my teeth and sending you over to the evil empire, Amazon.  You’re welcome!

-Simon

I came across this product post on Gizmodo about the Caveman’s Swiss Army Knife . I’m not sure if its real or fake but I love it. The author says it best, its great to imagine that a caveman carried his Swiss Army Knife with him where ever he went too. It also reminds me that, since the beginning of man, we’ve probably been searching for the perfect gadget to carry with us!

-Simon

No self-respecting Boy Scout should be without his trusty Swiss Army Knife.  These ultra-handy must-have accessories have everything a camper and hunter needs to get by in the great outdoors. Most all Swiss Army Knives have a corkscrew, a serrated blade, a nail file, a straight blade, and a toothpick.  Swiss Army Knives are the ultimate survival tool and the more gadgets your knife has, the cooler it is.  But there has up to this time been one thing missing that would make the knife complete – a lighter.

No more!  The solution to this problem?  The Swiss Flame from Victorinox.  But before you break out your credit cards and start surfing the net be advised this model was discontinued in 2005 after being manufactured for only 3 years. Even worse, they were never made available in the United States because of concerns over safety.  Just exactly how this lighter is less safe than the run of the mill butane lighter is a mystery, but perhaps having a lighter in such close proximity to a sharp blade had something to do with it.  Or perhaps it was having a fire source contained in a pocket friendly package?

-Simon

The Swiss Army Knife may have the best name recognition of any product in the world and they do it on the barest of marketing budgets. Not to mention that they also have one of the most familiar logos on the planet. If you’re wondering just how they do it, take some time the next time you visit the picturesque country of Switzerland to take a tour of this unique low-tech factory that makes Swiss Army Knife parts in the central Swiss town of Ibach, which is about an hour’s drive from the capitol city of Zurich.

Recently, a CNET reporter named Daniel Teriman had the opportunity to do just that and see just how it is the Victorinox Company turns out over 17,000,000 individual Swiss Army Knife parts on an annual basis. They’ve been doing it in the same location non-stop since 1891. There is no labor or high tech outsourcing, globalization, or virtualization going on here. Workers sit at their desk, some surrounded by literally hundreds of tools as over 800 different tools are used to assemble the 350 different models the company makes. There are no large machines assembling parts here in one of the most low tech factories you’ll ever see that still cranks out such huge production numbers.

To this day the Swiss Army still purchases a knife for every man and woman in their army and it is one of the most popular gifts in the United States and other countries around the world. Sometimes high tech and outsourcing are not the best business practices you know?

-Simon

I found a couple of interesting news items showcasing the Swiss Army Knife design being used for other things.  The first news item is in the form of a post over at Gizmodo and it highlights a product called the Eatensil.  The writer, Adrian Covert,  doesn’t seem to be too crazy about this unique item, or really see the value in it at all.  I have to say, even though I’m a lover of any and all types of Swiss Army Knives, that I agree completely.  I mean, there’s a pizza cutter on this thing.  A pizza cutter!  While you could possibly argue that the rest of the utensils (a spoon, fork, knife, chopsticks, bottle opener and a wooden chip fork) might be of some value on a picnic, there really aren’t too many situations you’ll find yourself in food-wise where you won’t have access to any/all of the tools on the Eatensil.

The sec0nd Swiss Army Knife themed item that has nothing to with a Swiss Army Knife is the Swiss Army Bike.   The reviews on  this item seem to be a little better, at least in The Sun, where this article is published.    Andre Marcel and Eric Collombin took 5 years to design this folding bike that has a top speed of 15 miles per hour.  They say that they didn’t set out to replicate the Swiss Army Knife, but after completing their design, saw the obvious similarities.   Marcel and Collombin’s company, Voltitude, already has 1000 orders for the Swiss Army Bike.

What do you think of these 2 items?  Do you like them, dislike the or have absolutely no feeling one way or the other?

-Simon

Well, now I’ve seen it all, an App for your Android phone that replicates many of the features of your favorite Swiss Army Knife.   I stumbled across this post on the website Mobilputing: Swiss Army Knife for Android.  It talks about an App for your phone that has the following features: a flash light, a ruler, a stop watch, a timer, a compass, and a level.

While the article shows that some of these function better than others, I’m kind of blown away by the sheer technology of it and how far we’ve progressed.  Are we really able to replicate certain features of Swiss Army Knives on your mobile phone?  The answer is yes, and I think that’s about as cool as it gets.  What do you think?

-Simon

“Like” this post if you like review sites and review blogs!

If you want to find out about the latest gifts out there, review blogs are excellent places to check out. You can find product and service reviews on all types of things from Zippo lighters to Swiss Army knives, business card holders and lots of other gifts for men and women. And these reviews can often help you decide if you are sitting on the fence about ordering.  

To help you find review sites and ones with quality reviews, here are some tips:

-Begin by going to your favorite search engine. Type in keywords that describe which product you would like to read reviews about.

Add the word “review” in your search and several websites and blogs should show in the results.

-          Some may show little more than Google Adsense ads plastered all over areas with possible very brief paragraphs of text intermixed that mention the products you are searching for. You can just click on past these, moving on to others in your search results.

-          Look over the ones that boast plenty of real content, ones that even show photos of the items in question being used right inside home or office. Those are the best kind of reviews.

Quality reviews are the kind where you can tell someone took time to really evaluate the product. You read the good, bad and the ugly, not just a fluff piece about how totally awesome the item is. Now some items may actually be this great, but generally you’ll have something in there like the label arrived torn about due to the postal handler or something realistic to let you know you have a real review from a human who handled the product.

PS. Remember:

“Like” this post if you like review sites and review blogs!

-Simon

The new movie out now, “127 Hours” depicts the true story about a mountain climber who becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering by himself near Moab, Utah. Having left his good Swiss Army Knife at home, he has to use his cheap pocket knife when resorting to desperate measures in order to survive.

The story shares the account of Aron Ralston,  trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah, for over five days back in in 2003.  He actually amputates his arm with his dull knife and was still near death, about to not make it, when a rescue helicopter showed up just as he spotted his truck – parked on top a steep climb – out in the desert heat after not having water or food for days, plus having sever blood loss and then a missing hand at that point.

In a nutshell, he said something along the lines of having had a mishap and asked if he could catch a ride, the chopper pilot tells afterwards in an interview with media. So Ralston’s sense of humor and politeness shines through all the way. In fact, after he recuperates, he heads right back out – and onto solo mountain climbing and other adventures.

What if he had his Swiss Army Knife, though? Good questions to ponder. Let’s see, depending upon the type is was, he might have been able to cut his way out faster and with less blood loss and pain, as his duff knife wouldn’t cut through bone. Regardless, Ralston is better prepared now on his adventures. He is married today and has a young son, a child he’s seen in a vision while trapped, when he thought he was dying. This vision had given him hope.

While his adventures are closer to home now, since he’s a family man, he is still better prepared for life.

-Simon

If you head to popular sites like Yahoo Answers, you find questions abound for nearly anything and everything. Right now, a hot topic is Valentine’s Day and what gift ideas would be good for ladies and gents.

More specifically some lady shoppers are seeking special gifts that their military spouses or boyfriends might enjoy? And some of these military folks are female, so the gents are looking for ideas for these ladies?

A popular gift idea for all of the above is the Swiss Army Knife.  From the most basic model to the most advanced, these knives offer a variety of tools to tackle many tasks. Tools can include any of the following and more:

Classic SD Pink Camouflage Swiss Army Knife

-          Removable USB Flash Drive

-          Large Blade

-          Small Blade

-          Can Opener

-          Bottle Opener

-          Wire Stripper

-          Tweezers

-          Reamer with Sewing Eye

-          Toothpick

-          Scissors

-          Key ring

-          Wood saw

-          Nail file

-          Screw driver

-          Free Engraving

-          Lots More!

Available in red, pink, yellow and other colors, these make great Valentine’s Day gifts. Add a special engraved message to really set off your special gift. For help finding appropriate sayings, consider any of the following:

-          A special date (birthday, engagement, marriage)

-          Initials

-          Name

-          Nickname

-          Special saying the you two use in private like “cuddle bug” or “snuggle puss”

-          Famous quote

To find famous quote, head online to a popular search engine like Google, and search “famous quotes.” A bunch of sites come up in pages of listings where you can find all types of sayings like some from USA President Abe Lincoln, popular inspirational / motivational speaker Zip Ziglar, famous writer Shakespeare,  to all sorts of other people all around the world.

So choose your weapon of love. And get it personalized and gift wrapped! And hint: check out this awesome version for military ladies:  “Classic SD Pink Camouflage Swiss Army Knife” featured in the photo above – - neat!

-Simon

Neat gadgets are available for computer users today. One popular item is the Swiss Army Knife with USB flash drive, as discussed on Geek with Laptop online.

There are a variety of Swiss Army knives with the USB drive, and a popular one is the Victorinox Swiss Army Presentation Master Knife. This knife can store up to 32GB. It also boasts the Presentation Master, a tool to enable  Bluetooth remote control plus a laser pointer – awesome or what?!

Review other types available for a knife in your budget.

Learn more about new gadgets out there by clicking: Geek with Laptop today…

-Simon