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Will Women Embrace the New SWIZA Knife?

December 18, 2015

Carrying a knife has been a rite of passage into manhood, part of a tradition passed down from father to son for generations. It seems that little has changed over the years; out of 1,326 respondents to our reader survey, only 18 were women. Why do so few women buy, carry, or take an interest in knives? Maybe because popular culture rarely depicts women carrying knives. Or perhaps it’s that makers know that their customers have always been and continue to be men. Whatever the reason, the result is knives get designed for men and the marketing gets targeted at men. And so the tradition continues.

Enter the Swiza, a new line of Swiss Knives the company calls “A Legend Reborn”. The multi-tool is a modernized and more feminine take on the original Victorinox SAK, with a locking main blade and a number of other folding tools. The Swiza re-imagines the Swiss Army Knife in a way that may introduce pocket knives to women who wouldn’t consider carrying a blade before. Its shape and soft features could provide women with the public permission to carry a knife, subverting the non-knife carrying stereotype.

A photo posted by SWIZA (@swiza) on

The company, which historically made timepieces, turned to a firm in Zurich called Estragon to design the knife. Though the name doesn’t translate to ‘estrogen’ in English, Estragon is not without experience designing products targeting women. The Beurer Female Jogger Watch was also an Estragon designed product. The firm says “emotion and attraction” are what inspire their product designs.

Swiza Colors

The knife itself is ergonomically curved and the handle scales are made of Swiza’s sure-grip, soft-touch handle. Not only are the knives designed to be more comfortable in the hand, Swiza says the tools are more easily accessible and open with die-cut slots instead of nail-breaking nicks. Even the liner lock it features was cleverly made to be more nail friendly. Instead of having to displace a steel liner, the blade unlocks by pressing a button hidden under the Swiss Cross emblem.

The color choices include rarely seen pure white handle scales Swiza calls “Snow White”. The knife is also available in a baby blue, black, and traditional red version. There are 4 progressively larger varieties of the knife, offering up to 11 tools and a nearly 3″ blade.

Knife featured in image: Swiza in Snow White

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