The joy of creation

Does René Frieden’s retirement mean the end of the cutler tradition at Victorinox?

From raw steel to a precision instrument – the life of a cutler

René Frieden is a real craftsman. He knows his material. His stories show that only someone who invests a lot – an incredible amount – of time and attention can become a master of their craft. The smith looks back over 50 years of experience, highlights the changes in his profession, and talks about the inner peace and satisfaction that comes from knowing his craft through and through.

Learn from René’s vast experience as he shares his tremendous knowledge of steel with us.

From lump to legend

It all begins with a raw piece of steel. At first it looks cumbersome and rough. Its appearance reminds us of how it was smelted from the earth, from the ore, and the intense heat it had to endure. And then this lump comes to René. He shapes and hones and shapes and hones. He is the one who brings form to the material and shows what it can do. At the end, two perfect parts lie before him: the blade, sharp and gleaming, and the spring, which makes the blade open and close easily with the legendary Victorinox “click!” Even after 50 years as a cutler, René Frieden’s enthusiasm for his profession is still evident.

He is fascinated by the transformation that takes place in his hands. But what sounds romantic is hard work and requires an enormous trove of knowledge and experience. He is familiar with a wide range of metals and is also an expert in plastics and natural materials like wood, horn, and mother-of-pearl. The knife not only has to cut well, it also needs to fit properly in your hand. In order to process both the blade and handle, René’s arsenal of tools includes emery, grinding, and polishing wheels, as well as stamping tools and presses. In the past, the anvil was also often used. René hammered his parts until they had the right shape. Today a cutler’s work starts with stamped blanks. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is the dedication you need in order to teach your hands how to think.

From apprentice to master

A trained cutler knows exactly how to hone a blade at the necessary 17 degrees to make a blade razor-sharp. It takes months, even years, before you can feel the correct angle in your fingers. René remembers how he had to hone scissors at Victorinox for almost an entire year. „“Sure. It was difficult, but that’s what it takes. And that’s the only way to get better and better,” he says. This is why it’s so important for a craftsman to have a passion to learn, but also plenty of patience.

It’s the desire to learn something new and well that enables them to withstand the many days at the grinding and polishing machines. Sometimes a little pressure helps as well. René remembers a slump he had during his apprenticeship. „“One time, I had really bad grades. I was immediately called in to see the boss.”“ And by this, he doesn’t just mean his line manager, but the CEO of Victorinox himself. Elsener knew how important the next generation was for his company, which was 500 people strong at the time. That was why he monitored the grades of all of his protégés. „“I was sentenced to extra work at the grinding machine,” grins René. But of course he knows how important this time was. It’s no coincidence that he passed his apprenticeship exam with flying colors in 1970.

Learn about a few of René Frieden’s special tasks

Mother-of-pearl knife

“I like mother-of-pearl because it is pleasantly cool to the touch and completely scratchproof,” says René. In any event, he appreciates dealing with a lot of natural materials in his profession. “Nature is perfect as it is,” the smith says enthusiastically. Mother-of-pearl is a good example of this. Sea snails build their shells in layers like a brick wall. This makes the material extremely robust. This layering also produces a shimmering effect. René always has a small mother-of-pearl knife on his key chain.

Couteau de soldat

En 2009, Victorinox a fait revivre le premier couteau de soldat de l’armée suisse de 1891. Voilà la parfaite illustration de la raison pour laquelle la société ne saurait se passer d’un coutelier, encore aujourd’hui. Les ingénieurs travaillant sur le projet se sont trouvés perplexes en constatant que les bords des côtes étaient arrondis, mais que le rivet qui maintenait ensemble tous les éléments du couteau n’était arrondi qu’à un seul endroit. Comment était-il possible de s’assurer que le côté arrondi du rivet était dans la bonne position ? René, tout sourire, leur a répondu : « C’est tout simple, il suffit d’un petit tube sur le modèle 100. »

Détails

Couteau en bois de cerf

Les couteaux sont soumis à une forte pression. Autrefois, il était courant de trouver des manches de couteau en bois de cerf, car celui-ci amortit efficacement la pression et les chocs, en plus d’offrir un toucher agréable. De nos jours encore, les couteaux en bois de cerf sont très prisés des collectionneurs. Et même si Victorinox ne fabrique plus de tels couteaux, nous sommes experts en matière de réparation de vieux couteaux en bois de cerf. On nous envoie des couteaux à réparer du monde entier, notamment le couteau photographié ici, qui vient de Corée du Sud.

The preservation of a species

Today in Switzerland there are still between 20 and 30 federally certified cutlers, both men and women. But what was once a highly esteemed profession is now in danger of extinction. At Victorinox, it will also be important in the future for the company to have good generalists, individuals with comprehensive knowledge who have an understanding of the larger picture. „“For precisely this reason, we are going to start training a new cutler this year,” says Toni Blaser, who is responsible for apprenticeship training.

Would you like to accompany our young smith during his or her apprenticeship to become a cutler? Then follow his or her career on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

What is René Frieden’s favorite knife?

What does the master craftsman reach for when he needs a knife? René’s favorite knife might come as a surprise. Perhaps you expected a knife with a mammoth bone handle or silver blade. But a true artisan prefers a simple and appropriate knife to something swanky or exclusive. Therefore his knife of choice is the classic pocket knife. “It can do everything, fits well in your hand, and it’s always with you.”