Editing Rex Applegate (section)

===Combat knife innovations===
[[File:Applegate-Fairbairn Combat II Knife.jpg|thumb|Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife]]
In the early 1980s, Applegate released a design called the [[Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife]] (a modified version of the World War II [[Fairbairn-Sykes]] knife). The new knife's design was a collaborative effort by Applegate and Fairbairn during World War II, eliminating the major weaknesses of the F-S knife (among them a weak blade point and the impossibility of determining the blade's orientation by grip alone). Boker Knives offers several versions of the A-F knife. [[Gerber Legendary Blades]] produced a line of folding knives by Applegate and [[Bill Harsey, Jr.]] based on the Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife.

In the late 1980s Applegate released a modified version of Fairbairn's [[Smatchet]], which had been used by the SAS and OSS during World War II. The development of this weapon began as a collaborative effort between Applegate and Fairbairn during the war. Applegate named his {{convert|10|in|cm|adj=on}} double-edged knife the "Applegate-Fairbairn Combat Smatchet"; it was initially offered as a handmade knife by Bill Harsey, Jr., and later by Wells Creek Gun and Knife Works, and after that by [[Al Mar Knives]]. Following Mar's death, [[Böker]] Knives was licensed to produce it. Applegate later had Harsey design a "Mini-Smatchet" (with a {{convert|4.75|in|cm|adj=on}} blade) which was produced by Boker.

Applegate was inducted into the [[Blade (magazine)|Blade Magazine]] Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1994 Blade Show in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] in recognition of the impact his designs have made upon the cutlery industry and for his writings on knife fighting.<ref name="HOF">{{cite news |title = Colonel Applegate Inducted into the Hall of Fame| work = Blade Magazine| date = July 31, 1994 }}</ref>