Jesse Jarosz Revives Discontinued Custom for KA-BAR

KA-BAR and Jesse Jarosz are back at it with the Beartooth, a folder that takes its inspiration from a hard to find Jarosz custom. The Beartooth is also the most affordable Jarosz design yet.

The Beartooth is a user, a hardy mid-size folder with a back-to-basics design that matches its accessible price tag. Its blade measures 3.5 inches and is a very classically-shaped clip point. KA-BAR gave the Beartooth 5Cr15MoV, a stainless steel that falls somewhere near 440A in terms of performance, with stain resistance and toughness being two of its notable attributes. The Beartooth has a gray blade coating and opens with a thumb stud.

Jarosz’s handle design tapers from a large, bolstered guard to a narrower butt end, with a curved spine and a pronounced crest below to aid in grip. Underneath the bolster, G-10 scales are laid atop steel liners, and a partial, knurled backspacer stands proud from the handle profile itself. The clip is made in Jarosz’s recognizable ladle-shaped style, and the Beartooth weighs 5.6 oz.

This is the first KA-BAR folding knife design we’ve seen from Jarosz since the Jarosz Flipper, which came out in the fall of 2018. Like that knife, the Beartooth has its basis in a Jarosz custom. It is a descendant of the Archon, a folder that has been discontinued for some time. The translation to production is not a one to one carry over: the Beartooth retains the overall lines and design thrust of the Archon, but makes many changes as well (other than the obvious material ones). Its handle is more angular, for instance, and blade less wide overall than on the custom.

The Beartooth is also the most inexpensive Jarosz design in the KA-BAR lineup. Its MSRP of $25.43 puts it well below all the previous Jarosz folders and fixed blades. It is available now from KA-BAR and will be arriving with dealers soon.

Knife in Featured Image: KA-BAR Beartooth