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.

Soldier’s knife

In 2009, Victorinox resurrected the first Swiss Army soldier’s knife of 1891. This is a perfect example of why the company still needs a cutler, even today. The engineers working on the project were stumped by the fact that the edges of the scales were rounded, but the rivet holding the knife together was rounded only in one place. How was it possible to make sure the rounded side of the rivet was in the correct position? René grins: “Quite simple, a small tube on the 100 model.”

Details

鹿角刀

刀具需承受高壓。以前經常使用鹿角製作刀柄，因為可以有效減少受壓和爆裂，而且物料的手感舒服。時至今天，鹿角刀依然廣受收藏家歡迎。即使 Victorinox 已不再生產這種刀具，如果需要修補老舊的鹿角刀，我們也仍然是箇中翹楚。世界各地的客戶向我們寄送需要維修的刀具，包括這款來自南韓的刀。

延續優秀的傳統

今天在瑞士仍有約 20 至 30 名有聯邦認證的刀匠，男女皆有。但這種過去曾備受尊崇的職業，今日卻已然沒落、幾近後繼無人。在 Victorinox，未來也仍然必須有優秀的通才，也就是能夠通盤瞭解公司願景且有完整知識的人士。負責培訓學徒的 Toni Blaser 表示：「正因如此，我們計劃今年開始培訓新刀匠。」

您是否願意陪著我們年輕的鐵匠進行培訓，成為優秀的刀匠？請在我們的 Facebook 和 Instagram 專頁關注他們的職涯動態。