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The Ray Mears Wilderness Axe is a new and exclusive collaboration between Ray and the Swedish company Gransfors Bruks. After years of designing, testing and refining, Ray and the Woodlore team are extremely excited to unveil this brand new signature model; in Ray's words, it's the 'Small Forest Axe Plus'.
While other Gransfors axes are hand-forged en masse in large presses, the Wilderness Axe is produced in small quantities by Gransfors' experienced blacksmith who work by hand with the traditional hammer and anvil. Of course, this process takes much longer - what Gransfors would normally produce in around 4 hours takes an entire week using this technique. Inevitably, this does bring a higher price tag; while the Wilderness Axe should retail at a much higher price, we have lowered our margins to make it as affordable as possible.
Upon its release in December 2010, Ray sat down with us for an interview on this new axe, answering questions on its design, purpose and benefits over other models available today. An excerpt of this is shown below; to read the full interview, please visit the Ray Mears Wilderness Axe Interview on the Woodlore Blog.
What were your main goals when you set out to design this axe?
A good axe needs a combination of many features, but most importantly, it needs the right weight balanced with the right length of handle. There will always be a compromise between a small, portable hatchet and a large axe more suitable for felling; the Small Forest Axe is great, but it is lacking in weight and length for good splitting and chopping. I wanted an axe that was a little bit longer, better to swing with two hands, with a heavier head.
So what’s special about the design of the head?
It’s been designed to give real bite. The weight of the head combined with its size makes it a little more potent to use - you can split wood with it one minute and then use it for carving the next.
And what’s special about the handle?
The length is different, which is critical to the functionality of the axe. The handle is long enough, and the head heavy enough, so that the head is doing all the work. This means that your muscles can instead focus on guiding the axe, making it a much safer axe to use. The length of the helve, in balance with the weight of the head, is designed to give perfect balance. It’s a mix between the Gransfors Scandinavian Axe and the Small Forest Axe, but there is real magic in it; anyone who uses it will see and feel the magic quality of weight and length - it makes it a very special axe.
What would you say are the ideal uses of this axe?
Anything you have to be able to do in the woods – felling trees, chopping dead trees that have blocked a portage trail, splitting, carving, fashioning a canoe paddle - but it does require expertise to use it well and these things take a long time to learn...
Specifications:- Head weight: 0.8 kg
- Total weight: 1.4 kg
- 60 cm hickory handle
- Comes fitted with a grain leather sheath
- 20-year guarantee
NOT AVAILBLE TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18
For information on Caring for your Axe and How to Sharpen an Axe, please visit our Bushcraft Tips and Advice pages.
Price:
£115.00 (inc VAT)
3 Reviews of Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe
Average rating:
100%
0.3
I was lucky enough to have tried the Wilderness Axe before I purchased it. My first impressions? I have to have one!
I used it to buck a good size sweet chestnut which it coped with the same ease as the longer handled Scandinavian Forest Axe. I then spent a good half an hour splitting wood for the camp fire. A task it attacked with real gusto. It is very well balanced. The extra weight and shape of the head made short work of a pile of sweet chestnut and birch. Little or no effort was needed which allows you to concentrate on accuracy. In this sense it's much easier to use than the Small Forest Axe.
This axe covers all the tasks you would expect to encounter out in the forest without any sense of compromise. A true Wilderness Axe
Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe reviewed by customer Adrian Newton on 18th August, 2011
0.3
I have to say that I have become deeply smitten with this axe. It is not "an inbetween" of the SFA and the Scandinavian axe, showing different head and helve shapes to those axes.
The extra length and weight is noticeable compared to the SFA but the axe only benefits from this.
Carving ability is good, the balance of head and helve excellent, and the extra weight aiding working. The different helve shape also fits my hand very well aiding in carving accuracy.
Splitting is far superior to the SFA and the axe performs well considering its weight and cutting ability.
Outright cutting ability is also good. The cutting edge is still thin enough to happily limb, but thick enough to loose the fragility of the SFA when tackling hard and knotty timber. The extra weight and length give it considerably more bite.
Overall, a capable and portable axe that is well suited to the camp and craft tasks associated with lightweight travel.
A joy to work with.
Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe reviewed by customer Martin Price on 4th May, 2011
0.3
I've really enjoyed using this axe so far, however I'm still getting used to using it and these are my first impressions:
The first thing I noticed was the ease with which it can be used. The length of the helve coupled with the extra weight in the head, results in more momentum to the swing, allowing you to concentrate more on accuracy when chopping. This is also very apparent when using the axe for one-handed tasks.
It also splits logs very well, having a wider bit than the Small Forest and Scandinavian Forest Axe designs; it easily prizes the fibres open and often avoids digging in and getting stuck.
I think this versatile axe is perfect for light travel in the forest whilst providing the user with a tool suited to a wide range of jobs, whether felling a tree or carving a featherstick. A robust tool with a powerful yet graceful swing, it's a pleasure to use.
Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe reviewed by customer Dan Hume on 16th December, 2010
To the best of our knowledge, all kit specifications are accurate, although these can vary at times. We aim to dispatch all orders by the next working day.
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