The story behind our name is well known. Our founder, Karl Elsener, was so grateful to his mother Victoria for her support that he named his company and his products after her upon her death in 1909, adding “inox” in reference to the use of stainless steel in 1921.
In addition to her role as a mother of 12, Victoria worked in her husband’s hat shop where she sold her son’s knives, until she moved to work in the cutler’s workshop itself. Here she was known as a very capable businesswoman, yet someone who was ready to help others at all times.
The same special bond between mother and son can be seen today at Schoder Messerschmiede in Thun, where son Manfred runs the workshop and his mother Hedi runs the retail shop. Like Victorinox, the business is now also in its fourth generation and dates back to 1886. Hedi and Manfred have been working together since 1992, when Manfred took over the shop after the death of his father.
“We sometimes cross swords on certain issues, but we get over it. Our fights never last longer than 5 or 10 minutes” says Manfred. Hedi smiles. This petite lady, nearing her 90th birthday, has become somewhat of an attraction in her own right. Her reputation as an inimitable source of knowledge on all things knives has spread by word of mouth, and customers come from throughout Switzerland and across the globe to visit this shop, a living relic from another age.
