Is VICTORINOX the original makers of swiss army knives?
596060
Excellent question... you actually made me look for the answer in Wikipedia. \n\n"In 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment discovered (to his dismay) that the pocket knives supplied to the Swiss Army were in fact made in Germany. Outraged, he founded the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers. Its goal was simple: Swiss knives for the Swiss Army.\n\nElsener began working on what was the predecessor to the modern Swiss Army knife, called the "Soldier's Knife". The original had a wooden handle (as opposed to the plastic and metal seen today), and featured a blade, a screwdriver, a can opener, and a punch. This knife was sold to the Swiss army, but Elsener was not satisfied with its first incarnation. In 1896, after 5 years of hard work, Elsener managed to put blades on both sides of the handle using a special spring mechanism, allowing him to use the same spring to hold them in place, an innovation at the time. This allowed Elsener to put twice as many features on the knife; he added a second blade and a corkscrew."\n\nInteresting. It appear that Elsener, through his company Victorinox, was indeed the inventor of the Swiss Army Knife.
814246
Ibanez  is a well known guitar manufacturer based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, the company was started by Hoshino Gakki.\n \n\n\nHistory\nThe Hoshino Gakki company began in 1900 as a musical instrument sales division of the Hoshino Shoten bookstore company. In 1935 they began manufacturing their own stringed instruments. The company had little presence in the Western world until the mid-1960s.\n\nBy 1965 Rosenbloom had decided to stop manufacturing guitars and chose to become the exclusive North American distributor for Hoshino Gakki instruments. At the time, the phrase "made in Japan" was considered to have negative connotations of low quality, so Hoshino Gakki and Rosenbloom wanted to distribute the instruments under a "non-Japanese" name. Hoshino had recently acquired a small Spanish guitar company named Ibanez, and it was decided to market the instruments under this brand name. In 1971 Hoshino purchased Elger Guitars, renaming the company "Ibanez U.S.A." and retaining the company headquarters in Bensalem, Pennsylvania as a distribution and quality-control center.\n\nIn the early 1970s Ibanez began making guitars that were almost exact copies of popular models by Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker. Using somewhat cheaper materials and greater automation in manufacturing, they were able to sell these guitars for a significantly lower price than the originals. The low price combined with the relatively high quality of the guitars made these models very popular. Many guitar aficionados feel that the early- and mid-70s mark a low point in the quality of guitars from the major manufacturers, which helped contribute to the popularity of the Ibanez copies. These guitars have become known as "lawsuit" guitars and have become somewhat collectible.\n\nThe actual lawsuit referred to was brought by the Norlin Corporation, the parent company of Gibson guitars, in 1977, and was based on an Ibanez headstock design that had been discontinued by 1976. Ibanez settled out of court, and by 1978 had begun making guitars from their own designs.\n\nAbandoning the strategy of copying "classic" electric guitar designs, the newer models began incorporating more modern elements into their design, such as radical body shapes, slimmer necks and flatter fingerboards (which allowed for faster playing), higher-output electronics and colorful finishes. This led to an increasing popularity with heavy metal musicians. The company also began an extensive program of consulting with well-known guitar players, such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and George Benson, and creating signature models made to the players' specifications.
357348
I guess you can find anything on the internets...\n\nhttp://www.practice-swords.com/european-wooden-practice-weapons.shtml
594385
Take a look at\nhttp://www.mypoupette.com/\n\nThis entire site is dedicated to answering your question.\n\n\nPersonally, I'd find one of the "super" fakes (right material, symmetrical printing, right hardware, etc.) and pay a fraction of the price for it. No one but you would ever know it isn't the real deal.
313578
Iconix Brand Group, Inc. manufactures them and here is the official website:\n\nhttp://www.bongo.com/
114278
Karl Knilling is the (alleged) manufacturer.\n\nBut, as they say, "buyer beware."\n\nThis is an interesting article:\nhttp://www.fritz-reuter.com/DOC/articles/fritz/rin005.htm\n\nPerhaps if you contact the author, they'll be able to authenticate your instrument.
232643
Camillus of Elmira, N.Y. makes a K-bar style fighting knife. It has better steel than the K-bar, a much superior knife. It out performs the K-bar hands down and cost less. I am not just talking, I carried one through Viet-Nam.\nWas unable to find the web-site that you were on. I went to http://www.budk.com and they have the knife I described for $36.99. The stock number is #CAM-5684. This company used to sell only cheap knives, but the last year or two have been carrying quality stuff.\nI still have my Camillus knife almost 40 years later, and will not give it up for anything.\n Good luck and God speed.
883061
john smith has a ton of them. go to brute.com
290948
Original Equipment Manufacturer. The original manufacturer of a hardware component or sub-component.
160986
I didn't know they still even make those.  I don't know if you could find it on ebay.  You might try asking a museum of ancient instruments if there are any cheaper ways to get your hands on a functional, but non authentic one.
168820
I think all of the major manufacturers have their clubs cast in China...except maybe for Ping (Karsten Manufacturing)\n\nI'm sure there are small shops around who forge their own blades, but I'm not sure how you would go about finding them? Perhaps asking the local pro at your course, he might know.
730406
They really aren't knockoffs... EMG has them made as their entry level lineup.\n\nThe pickups are made by G&B Pickup Company in Korea, the same place MOST guitar factories use to have their pickups made. They don't have a website and sell only in large volume..perhaps 100 pickups at a time minimum.
988574
Does not exist - they don't even have a published phone number in Switzerland!\n\nIt's a newly founded company (April 2006) without any reputation or anything, sorry once again.
609120
Yes, "Gauloises" are definitely produced by a French manufacturer. After all, "Gaulois" is the French word for the name the ancient Romans gave the French, i.e. "the Gauls." The brand name appeared in 1910 and was traditionally known for being strong. The manufacturer was Altadis. \n\nIncidentally, the French philosopher and political activist Jean-Paul Sartre smoked Gauloises cigarettes and, not coincidentally, I think, he died of lung disease.
952722
No - they were made by my brother 'n' law.\n\nno, seriously - at least 3 of them were!
477617
Its the brand of a shotgun manufacturer in Italy
775968
Knife, Fork, and Spoon\n\nThe knife and the spoon are of prehistoric origin. Primitive peoples made knives for cutting from bones, shells, and stones, particularly flint, that flaked to form sharp edges. The Egyptians also manufactured knives from flint chipped in such a way as to form serrated edges; the flint pieces were then glued into slots formed from wooden handles. The blade was kept sharp by rubbing it in the hollow of a stone. \n\nThe first spoons were probably seashells or crudely formed stone ladles that provided an ideal way to transport liquids to the mouth. Later knives and spoons were crafted from copper and bronze, clay, wood, ivory, iron, and gold. The fork is a more modern invention. For a long time food was cut into small pieces at the table with a knife, which then was used to spear the pieces and bring them to the person's mouth. It is speculated that the fork was invented to hold down meat (or other foods) while cutting it with a knife. The twelfth-century Italians were the first people known to use a two-pronged fork for eating. By the 1600s, forks and knives were commonplace eating utensils in France and in England; the first fork was brought to North America in 1630 by John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts colony. Today flatware for eating is made in colorful plastics for picnic or other casual use, or from silver, silver plate, gold plate, or stainless steel for use in homes and restaurants.