Elinox?

[lotoblades]

Hi guys,I just picked up a or at least apears to be a Vic spartan But it's stamped Elinox,switzerland,stainless,rosfrei.And the shield is shaped like an actual "shield" with a plain cross in the middle,much like wengers stamp.The shield is painted on and there is no slot for toothpick or tweezers.

Just curious of the age of this knife.
Thanks in advance,
LOTOBLADES

 

[stevedenver]

Elinox was one of the trademarks names for Victorinox
inox means no rust or stainless-

-i cant recall the precise history without my book at hand-but Elinox had been used for many years and was based on the owners wifes family name or the like-its kinda like Coke and Coca Cola-same company just more than one trademark, possibly the same product

for certain however you have a real Victorinox knife -the 'shield' shield was used circa 1967-1969 (and possibly earlier and possibly into the early seventies)

-i recall seeing these in shops, at slightly lower prices than the VIC counterpart-when i was 15 -17-they are Victorinox products, but i think this might have been the then economy or more spartan line

i have an Elinox with a st christopher inlay instead of the sheild-from 1967-its a fine knife-and most features are identical to VICs in every regard

the reason i make the statement re quality is that i recall my vic offering of even date - a 1967 Ranger had a file ( a more expensive feature) on the shaft of the phillips (where normally there would be a cork screw while my elinox version did not-

perhaps they werent an economy version but simply a transitional offering

these are cool and otherwise identical in quality-i presume yours has the metal tipped tweezers (instead of the current grey plastic tip) if they are original

 

[Superdave1]

INOX is the abbreviation of the French term inoxydable meaning non-oxydizing. Edelstahl - Rostfrei (or simply "Rostfrei") is the German designation for stainless steel.

 

[lotoblades]

Thanks for the responses guys,Steve,I was 99 percent sure it was a Vic,ok maybe even a little more But I didn't have a clue to the age of the knife,I did a little research and what you say matches up pretty well. I read that they only used the elinox stamp to 1957,though I imagine it's quite possible that the knife could be a little newer than that,considering that some of the knives I have puchase recently have still had awl's with out the sewing eye and that was changed years ago.

these are cool and otherwise identical in quality-i presume yours has the metal tipped tweezers (instead of the current grey plastic tip) if they are original

Actually,mine has no slots for either,I wish it did though!

It's pretty cool that the knife is still functional and has no wobble,the only damage was user stupidity,both blades are badly scratched,it had to have been poorly sharpend on a grinder.But for a $5 ,maybe 40-50 year old vic that still works like new I wont complain.

Anyone else have any old Vic's,,,OK or Wengers?
I'd love to see some pics!

 

[JoeBW]

Elinox = El(sener) + Inox (Elsener is the Vic family name).

Best - Joe