Swiss Army knife made in China?

After all the history of the swissarmy knife,and all the millions made it would be ironic if the swiss army carried a multifunction knife made by anyone else.

Although china can produce knives of very good quality,I think something would be lost in the process or translation if you will.I really can't see china producing consistent quality comprable to Victorinox.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Is that you as an individual buyer?
Or as the WTO or the EU?
Or as the Swiss government?
Or as the Swiss military?

A factory can turn out an acceptable product in developing a market for itself. Can it guarantee quality and volume over the years for a unique purchaser? All this needs to be included in the tender, or we have the classic situation of "remember that your rifle was manufactured by the lowest bidder".
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I guess that's up to those drafting the tender requirements. If they want to keep it local, they can impose all kinds of demands that China might not be able to fulfill (environmental / human rights etc.)
 
If they want to keep it local, they can impose all kinds of demands that China might not be able to fulfill (environmental / human rights etc.)
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I suspect this may happen. I've seen this happen here in the US, where a bid is put out, but written such that it's virtually rigged to ensure one particular company gets a contract. Frankly, I'd prefer to see Victorinox win in an honest competition.
 
Depends on the conditions. If Vic wins because it's a Swiss company, it's not winning on it's merits, but rather on preferential treatment. It would seem strange if Switzerland decided, for example, that the country of origin must allow the same human rights as Switzerland for their knife, yet relax that condition for, say, their computer chips.
 
Spydiefan04 said:
As far as the WTO what will happen if countries should ever feel the need to go to war with/or should just develop negative relations with China when all their supplies come from well.....China.
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wouldn't that lessen the likelihood of war. I would say nationalism leads to war, not a global perspective.
 
All politics aside, would anyone here argue that the SAK model issued to Swiss troops isn't really due for an update? I mean, what task is a modern soldier more likely to encounter, piercing a hole in leather (awl) or tightening a Phillips head screw?
 
Back in the 1950s, when the United States held service rifle tirals to adopt a new 7.62x51 mm select fire rifle that could be an end all- reploace the Garand, BAR, and Carbine in 1 swoop- they allowed all sorts of entries into the competition. In the end, the major competitionb was between what became the M-14 and FN-FAL. The Belgian Fusil was doing better in the trials than Springfield's Pride, but the powers to be didn't want some Belgian rifle in every GI's hands, and they set the final test in the selection process, which the M-14 won- to be one that would end in appropriate results.

I've heard the same thing happening from PDs that need to select new service weapons- yes, there's going to be a competition, but who's getting the contract in the end? Of course, if money is the issue, they could get proverbial Beretta M-9s.

Germany currently issues a variant of the One Hand Trekker, which is a pretty good knife. Modern, but no evil. I would feel saf putting my green down that a similar knife will adorn future Swiss combatants.
 
parnass said:
Just curious, when was the last time the Swiss Army engaged in combat and with whom?
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A limited number of Swiss troops were attached to the EURFOR contigency that was recently deployed into the Balkans for peacekeeping purposes.
 
shecky said:
It would seem strange if Switzerland decided, for example, that the country of origin must allow the same human rights as Switzerland for their knife, yet relax that condition for, say, their computer chips.
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Not really. Switzerland does have a local option WITH human rights when it comes to knives. Switzerland may not have as clear-cut an option for computer chips, so it has to take what it can get, despite misgivings about labor conditions.
 
shecky said:
If China can make millions of iPods and iPhones, and possibly the computer you're using right now,
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I'm going to raise my hand as a computer engineer, and say that components have gone from OK to SUCK over the past 15 years. Manufacturing has gone from the US, EU nations and Japan to China and India over the past 15 years as well.

IF (big freaking IF) the Swiss contract was to go to some ChiCom company, could it be called a Swiss Army Knife- as I understand it, Victorinox, with their acquisition of Wenger, is the only company under Swiss law allowed to use that name. So they'd have to call it an "issued to the Swiss Army but not really Swiss" knife. :)
 
If the Chinese or anyone else won that contract, thye would be winning the right to call it a Swiss Army Knife.
 
Swiss army knife or no, I will buy vics, and wengers over chinese competition through sheer stubburness, but I hope Vic gets it.
 
Even if some other country does win the bid, If I don't see VICTORINOX or WENGER stamped on the tang of the main blade, I will refuse to acknowledge it as a true swiss army knife. I think the swiss are asking for trouble looking elsewhere.
 
I don't think the Swiss WANT to look elsewhere. Industry and government want free trade generally but this comes with a price. If you are free to market your own products throughout the WTO area, the others have an equal right to market in your country, including bidding on contracts.

Ultimately, protectionism keeps competition from forcing improvements, which hurt American industries like steel and automobiles. Eventually, even patriots can't afford to buy overpriced and poorly made priducts, so globalization has its good points.

But major nations should maintain some kind of critical industry capacity. That's why the French are so protectionist about their agriculture. After recent allegations of poor Chinese food safety, this takes on even more importance.

There is some question as to whether SAKs are a critical Swiss industry. :)
 
I don't think the Swiss want to look elsewhere either, but by bringing in competition I still don't see how they can improve on the quality that Vic offers. Can some other country make a quality knife and consistently provide Switzerland's army with it? Of course. Can they do it better than Vic? I doubt it. I just hope that when it is all said and done Victorinox still makes the soldier or pioneer style pocket knives, as I think that these are some of the best knives of all time.
 
suedeface said:
I don't think the Swiss want to look elsewhere either, but by bringing in competition I still don't see how they can improve on the quality that Vic offers.
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They're surely not looking to improve the "bang" (read: quality). They're looking to improve bang for the buck (read: keep Victorinox honest on their pricing).

It's about market competition, something that I would think is a real concern now that Victorinox has swallowed up its only competition (Wenger).
 
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