The Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Covert is a modern rendition of the late Colonel Rex Applegate’s fighting knife. Colonel Applegate is the father of special forces hand-to-hand combat and a renown knife fighting expert. He was in charge of the CQC training of the American special forces soldiers in World War II. Now Gerber honors Colonel Applegate by creating a modern interpretation of his knife design.
The Gerber model features a folding blade instead of a fixed blade found on the original design. The shape is unique when compared to other fighting knives like Ka-Bar because Applegate designed the original to have a partially serrated spear point. This blade style provides an impressive bite for its smaller size, especially when compared to fighting knives traditional clip points.
The 3 13/16″ blade has a good size to accomplish a wide variety of tasks. It’s 420 high carbon steel is durable and holds a fair edge. The problem with the high carbon content is that it can develop rust over time, but Gerber confronts that issue by adding a protective titanium nitride coating. The coating also gives the Gerber a tactical advantage by lowering the knives visual signature when used.
When Gerber designed this rendition of the fighting knife, they certainly didn’t want the blade to accidentally fold at a critical time. To solve this problem, they decided to add the patented Roto-lock mechanism. Basically, it’s a lever on the back of the knife that will block the linerlock from allowing the knife to fold. This essentially gives you a folder that acts as a fixed blade.
The handle is fairly basic, nothing too fancy but it’s all absolutely practical. Gerber made the handles from glass filled nylon. It has a symmetrical shape that features a finger groove and jimping on each side. When knife fighting, having good grip can be the difference between life and death. Gerber understood this concept and improved the handle from the original to allow for a firm grip. Unlike the original, this model comes with a robust pocket clip to easily be carried anywhere.
The Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Covert Details
- 420HC Spear Point blade
- Titanium Nitrite coating
- Glass Filled Nylon handle
- Roto-lock system
- 3 13/16″ blade length
- 4 7/8″ closed length
- Made in the U.S.A.
The Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Covert is a fantastic knife to carry in an emergency. It has a blade that’s not only wonderful for hand-to-hand combat, but also has serrations and plenty of blade to be useful for a wide array of tasks. We found this knife at Smoky Mountain Knife Works (smkw.com), They have it listed for $122.99 which is a fair price for a knife of this quality. You can check the Covert out by simply clicking the button below.
See more Knife Newsroom articles about Tactical Knives now >>
