Woodlore Blog

The Large Crooked Knife Blade featured in this article is currently on Special Offer at £45.00 while stocks last. 

Patrick Jansen, a customer of Woodlore’s who purchased one of our Large Crooked Knife Blades earlier this year, kindly sent in some photos of his finished knife, complete with an engraved handle made from common walnut: 

Patrick's finished knife

The blades (which were featured in the Ray Mears - Northern Wilderness series when Ray used one to carve a pair of snowshoes) are hand-forged by Svante of Swedish blacksmith company S. Djarv Hantverk. 

Patrick's finished knife

If you’ve had a go at making a handle for one of these blades, please let us know and send us a photo or two, and you may see it posted on our blog like Patrick’s, who received a £10.00 Woodlore Voucher for his entry.

Woodlore have some very exciting kit news today – after more than a year of research and product development, with Woodlore working closely alongside Swazi Clothing, we can finally reveal the latest addition to the Swazi/Ray Mears range:

The Swazi/Ray Mears Narwhal Gore-Tex Anorak

The Swazi/Ray Mears Narwhal Anorak is an extremely lightweight jacket, made from the durable 2-layer Gore-Tex PacLite fabric, making it completely waterproof, windproof and highly breathable. It’s an ideal piece of clothing for lightweight backpacking, stalking, cross-country skiing, or any activity where space and weight are critical.

Having been instrumental in the design and development process of this garment, we are very happy to see this project come to fruition. The Swazi/Ray Mears Narwhal Anorak is now available exclusively in the UK from Woodlore.

Mark and Lucy Hotson, long time customers and friends of Woodlore, recently sent in this fantastic picture from their holiday to Dorset:

Mark & Lucy's Super Tarp pitched over their canoe

Set on a beautiful stretch of beach, it shows their Ray Mears Super Tarp pitched over their upturned canoe, providing a bit of much-needed shelter from the sun. Nice touch with the cooking tripod too!

Ray Mears with Davey Hughes of Swazi Clothing

This week, we’ve had the pleasure of being in the company of the one and only Mr. Davey Hughes, a good friend all the way from Swazi Clothing headquarters over in New Zealand.

Here in the UK on business, Davey visited Woodlore for a couple of days to talk hunting, look at some new clothing ideas and, most importantly, pose for a manly picture for the blog.

As many of you may have noticed, deliveries of the popular Short Tripod that we sell have been few and far between recently. One positive move that has come from this, however, is that Ray has now worked with British blacksmith and long-time friend of Woodlore’s, Andrew Kirkham, to design their very own take on the bushcraft cooking tripod.

The Ray Mears Folding Trivet in use with a Zebra Billy Can

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The forge at Gransfors Bruks, Halsingland, Sweden

 The following article has been taken from our Meet the Suppliers section, an area dedicated to some of Woodlore’s most important bushcraft kit suppliers. Alongside Gransfors Axes, we also feature profiles on New Zealand-based company Swazi Clothing, the Swedish knife-maker Julius Pettersson, and S. Djarv Hantverk, a family-owned Swedish company who produce traditional woodcarving tools, such as the Spoon Knife.

Gransfors Bruks is a family-owned company, situated amongst the mountains and valleys of the beautiful Halsingland countryside in Sweden. A modest team of only twenty-five people, the axe forging is taken care of by just five highly-skilled smiths. The Swedes are often referred to as the world’s greatest axe enthusiasts, and Gransfors Bruks is one of their finest forges. 

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The Norrona Svalbard Cotton Anorak in Bungee Cord Brown

With the UK weather (finally!) warming up, it’s a great time to introduce the latest piece of kit to Woodlore’s Online Shop: 

The Norrona Svalbard Cotton Anorak is an excellent lightweight jacket, made from a mixture of organic cotton and recycled polyester.

 The tightly woven cotton offers great protection from the wind, while the polyester mix provides shower resistance and faster drying times.

It’s an ideal garment for outdoor activities such as cycling, jogging and hill-walking, where lightweight protection from the wind is needed. It’s also the perfect bit of kit for cross-country skiing, and will be recommended to those attending future Woodlore skiing expeditions.

With the final episode (tracking Wolves in Central Idaho) now broadcast, the brand new Survival with Ray Mears DVD is now available to order from Woodlore. All orders are usually dispatched the next working day.

If you haven’t caught it already, have a look at the official series trailer above.

The Nanok Air Jacket in Olive

The latest addition to the Ray Mears Bushcraft Online Shop is the Nanok Air Jacket. This hard-to-find piece of kit has been designed as an insulating mid-layer, but has all the properties of an outer jacket, thanks to the durable ripstop nylon outer shell.

It’s extremely lightweight, packs down nice and small to fit in your rucksack and is very versatile.

Ray and the Woodlore Team wear their Air Jackets out and about in the UK, while they are also perfect for use in colder climates, such as the Arctic; if you have any doubts, just check how comfy Lars Falt looks - that’s normally a good indicator!