Gransfors Bruks Ray Mears Wilderness Axe

  1 of 130

  The bottom line is I am very happy with this axe. I am not a woodcraft expert but I do plenty of chopping here in the foot hills of the blue ridge mountains in Virginia. We have oaks, black walnut, eastern cedar and more. Why did I buy this axe? I wanted something light that could be used one handed or two. I use it as I walk around my ranch to limb trees and cut invasive vines (6+inches). I also have a fiskar 36 inch axe which I use for firewood chopping. I'd say you could split almost anything with this wilderness axe so long as you adjust to the length. This axe really shines when you have to do a bit of climbing or want to carry an axe on a trek without weighing too much. I'm not an expert on this kind of craftsmanship but everything looks very well built to me. The axe also came with a nice leather sheath with a snap. The leather is good quality. There were a few makes on the leather from rivets or something and a very small tear. Those were the only negatives I have but they really were not a big deal to me and to be honest I might have torn it without noticing. If you are looking for an axe that fits this description you can't go wrong.  

  James L

  2 of 130

  Very good service!  

  Julian J Bryden

  3 of 130

  Amazing AXE, well balanced perfectly sharp and fit and the finish is perfect as well. But MOST OF ALL AN AMAZING TEAM !! SO PATIENT, SO PROFESSIONAL AND SO KIND! It's so RARE nowadays! I've never had such a good experience with customer service!  

  Swiss Forest

  4 of 130

  Really helpful service to arrange delivery on the day that I was available. I am a Gransfors Bruks fan. I have five of their axes. The Ray Mears Wilderness axe is really enjoyable to use. The extra length and weight is perfect for as a small general purpose/do anything axe.  

  Mark Shickle

  5 of 130

  My preferred axe, very reliable and trustworthy.  

  Charles F Mcmahon

  6 of 130

  Beautiful well balanced all round bushcrafting tool. The swiss army knife of axes.  

  Robert E Sales

  7 of 130

  Some time ago I had held the Scandinavian Forest Axe and the Small Forest Axe. Neither felt right. I wanted something with a length that was in between the two and with a heavier head. I searched and searched with no convincing options. My jaw hit the floor when I came across this axe - Ray had designed exactly what I had pictured in my mind. I open the box. I couldn't believe my eyes. The handle is beautifully, naturally two toned - almost perfectly at the half haft mark. A gentle transition point separates a dark lower haft from lighter upper. Surely this is a gift from above. Of course the quality is what you would expect. The head weight is and bit thickness is perfect. Wrapped it up in a strike guard and Woodlore sheath. My great grand children will know this axe  

  Tristan

  8 of 130

  This is my second purchase for this axe model. A favorite all-round axe for light to medium felling, bucking, and splitting any kind of wood harder or softer. Balance and feel in hand are so good that it swings and cuts like a natural rhythmic extension of myself. I own and use other very good axes. This model, however, like my other GB axes, has perfect fitment. Other axes serve well meeting designed purposes from heavy splitting to camp and hearth. This superb midsize axe pairs with my saws to keep the campfire going and the dutch oven supplied with cooking coals.  

  Rick Cox

  9 of 130

  Received the axe in record time from the UK to here in CA. Axe came in perfect shape and was really well packed. Inspecting the blade I found a couple nicks but luckily they were easily sharped out. Using the axe I found its tends more on the splitting side and not so much on the chopping abilities. The blade doesn't bite as much as I was hoping for, but there's lots of material to work with and thinning the cheeks down a slight bit would be easy enough. Using the axe I found it was well balanced, the blade is heavy but not so much to be cumbersome. Breaking down big branches and brushing out small trees it felt great. The market in this style of axe is pretty full, lots of options for 'boys axes' from all sorts of manufactures are available. The quality, fit and finish was excellent as expected. Pure performance wise, my $40 Fiskars axe cuts and splits with equal ease as this axe but lacks the refined timeless build of a Gransfors. I use it daily now for splitting firewood and making kindling. Overall I'm very happy with the new axe, its a real pleasure to use!  

  Merlin Sabo

  10 of 130

  LOVE THIS AXE My small forest Axe has been my constant companion for 15 years and I've not really felt the need for a larger axe until now- I recently went on a winter trip to Canada and decided to treat myself. I knew we'd be needing to process a large amount of firewood and that is what this axe was designed for. It would be too heavy for me to use for fine work- I use my SFA for carving all the time, I think this would be too heavy for me to use in that way. However, for sectioning large logs, limbing and splitting it is a real workhorse. The added weight and longer helve makes a huge difference and it really feels as though it 'wants' to cut. It made the job go a lot faster and powered through hard Northern timbers. If you're thinking about getting one of these, do it. I did refinish the helve of mine, with a London gunstock finish. That's just personal preference, but it does keep the handle in good condition in damp conditions and I'd say it's well worth doing.  

  Sarah Day