In the 90 mm size, Victorinox produced 2 different series of pocket knives, both designed for specific professional groups. The series with models no. 171 and no. 172 was specially developed for bakers to cut open grain or flour sacks. The second series with the numbers 284 - 295 represented garden knives.
Although both series were the same size, they were very different in structure. Accordingly, no common components could be used.
Both series had their beginnings around 1915/1920. Individual pocket knives with an almost unchanged structure and function are still being produced.
Victorinox was extremely successful in addressing individual professional groups or two professional groups with their specific products by developing tools that exactly met the needs of this group. In addition, there was often a very wide range of configurations to choose from. Even today, certain special knives are largely made and sharpened by hand because there is not enough production volume for automation.
The series of garden knives in 90 mm was basically constructed with a total of 5 different functional parts. There were 4 different blade shapes, depending on the specific gardening work, as well as a tool made of soft material called the bark stripper. The tools could be ordered either as a single blade or in combination with other blades, which made up a total of 10 different pocket knives. Of these 10 combinations, certain are rarely or very rarely found, while 2-3 models apparently sold frequently because they were a sought-after and popular combination.
The picture above shows the 5 tools from the pocket knife series, numbers 284 – 295. The blade on the far left is used for grafting shrubs. This blade was used on 8 of the 10 models and was therefore the most important blade. Additional blades were added depending on the gardening work and specialty.
The bark remover, shown on the far right in the pictures, was made of brass or steel and the blade was very gently rounded so as not to damage the layer of the plant lying under the bark. At the very beginning, this blade was made of horn and could not be folded.