Gransfors Bruks Ray Mears Wilderness Axe

£135.00

Brand: Gransfors Bruks

Weight: 1400 g 67 reviews

The Gransfors Bruks Ray Mears Wilderness Axe is an exclusive collaboration between Ray Mears and the Swedish company Gransfors Bruks. After years of designing, testing and refining, Ray and the Woodlore team are extremely excited to unveil this unique signature model; in Ray's words, it's the 'Small Forest Axe Plus'.

While many Gransfors axes are forged en masse in large presses, the Wilderness Axe is produced in small quantities by Gransfors' experienced blacksmith, who work by hand with a traditional hammer press. Thanks to the use of this press from the 1940's, the production looks the same as it would have done back then.

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:

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 is it that makes the head of this axe so special?

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 different 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...

To read the full interview, please visit the Woodlore Blog.

Details:

Ray Mears Bushcraft logo on handle
Head weight: 0.8 kg
Total weight: 1.4 kg
60 cm hickory handle
Protective leather sheath included
20-year guarantee

Under UK law, this item can only be sold to persons over 18 years of age. Please note that Woodlore will need to verify your age before your order can be dispatched.

Out of Stock

This item is very popular and is currently out of stock. To be notified by e-mail as soon as it comes back in to stock, please sign up for a restocking notification below.

Shipping

Delivery in 1-2 days within the United Kingdom
UK Orders placed before 2PM GMT will be dispatched the same working day
Overseas delivery times will vary depending on the destination

Please note that our offices are closed at weekends, so any orders placed after 2PM GMT on a Friday will not be dispatched until the following Monday.

Orders with a total value over £300.00 will be dispatched free via a next day delivery service within the UK at no extra cost.

Please note that in some instances, orders for heavy items may take an extra day to arrive.

Overseas deliveries

For overseas deliveries, please refer to the following estimated delivery times:

Europe: 3 - 5 working days
Rest of the world: 5 - 7 working days

Returns

A full refund or exchange will be given provided that the items have not been worn or used, and are returned to us within 14 days of purchase, together with all relative labels and packaging. You are responsible for the cost of returning items.

Please ensure that you include a copy of your invoice, along with an explanation of why you have returned your goods. If you wish to return your goods for any reason, please do so to the following address:

Woodlore Limited
PO Box 3
Etchingham
East Sussex
TN19 7ZE
United Kingdom

Product Reviews

Gransfors Bruks Ray Mears Wilderness Axe is rated 5/5 based on 67 customer reviews.

All of our product reviews are from customers with verified purchases.

Overall Rating:

(60)

(5)

(1)

(0)

1 of 67

What can I say - this is the axe I've been waiting for! Amazing craftsmanship from Gränsfors Bruk and this Ray Mears Wilderness version has great weight and perfect length. Get one when you can; you won't regret it.

Road

26th March, 2018

Rated: 5/5

2 of 67

Perfect balance and good craftsmanship.

Khwanchai Juangngoo

6th January, 2018

Rated: 5/5

3 of 67

The wilderness axe is awesome! I'm on the east coast of the US. 2 weeks and it was in my hands. I shaved my arm hair with it. I have used it every day and love it. Great purchase, great seller!

Rockcitybushcraft

13th December, 2017

Rated: 5/5

4 of 67

Just a superb axe that is worth every penny and backed up by a first class service.

Jon

11th December, 2017

Rated: 5/5

5 of 67

Well worth the wait! The Wilderness Axe by Gransfors Bruks is outstanding! This axe is built to do it all! It comes razor sharp. This axe is compact and has just the right weight for a back pack. I am on the notification list because I want a 2nd one! Very fast shipping to the USA. 5 stars to the Woodlore team.

Marcus R Sandstrom

5th December, 2017

Rated: 5/5

6 of 67

A fine tool which was delivered in super quick time. A pleasure to use. Not the cheapest Gransfors option but it is a very versatile bit of kit.

David A

12th November, 2017

Rated: 5/5

7 of 67

Fantastic bit of kit! Used extensively in the North Woods of Minnesota, for both larger limbing work and smaller woodworking projects. Perfectly sharp and the quality that one would expect from Gransfors Bruks. Excellent service and delivery to the US by the Woodlore team; thank you.

Paddy Cullen

25th August, 2017

Rated: 5/5

8 of 67

This axe is a true all-rounder and lives up to the quality that you expect from Gransfors Bruks. I have used this axe for a while now and it is still my go-to axe to cover all needs when outside working with green wood. The long handle allows two handed chopping to fell small trees with ease, slight curving of the handle means that your grip never feels like it is going to fail you when you are swinging the axe. The heavier head allows good penetration into the tree and a good keen edge on the blade makes easy work of trees up to 6 inches in diameter. The weighting of the head allows you to also work this axe with one hand closer to the head without it taking too much effort to chop smaller pieces of wood for kindling or cleaning up of smaller branches of trees. Where the handle length and extra head weight does stand it apart from other Gransfors axes is when you are limping a log, it simply does it with ease. The sheath is basic but it does the job. Overall I am impressed with the performance of this axe over others, keep it sharp and look after it, the handle and the sheath and it will become a faithful partner to most people working in forests or with green wood regularly.

Michael Windsor

28th July, 2017

Rated: 5/5

9 of 67

Superb axe designed by the master. I have a Small Forest Axe as my main pack axe. But the heavier head and length of the handle gives the Wilderness Axe the edge. If you don't own a GFB axe and are looking for your first, then of the two, this is the one I would choose. I just wish it had been available when I bought the Small Forest Axe! It comes packaged extremely well and there were no marks on the handle, however I do think that some of the blacking to the face of the axe has been rubbed off from storage with other axes. A minor point, but I am quite picky. The 'bit' is bigger and deeper than the SFA and makes splitting a cinch. It was near shaving sharp when unboxed, but I stropped it before use and the edge (as with all GFB axes) took a mirror shine. I'd recommend making a leather axe collar, and sealing any place where the wood and metal meet with beeswax to stop moisture getting in, but even without this, this axe will give you years of service in the toughest environments. I also stained the handle with gun stock oil, as the unfinished (well it's dipped in boiled linseed) looks nicer darkened down in my opinion). As does the leather sheath, just brush in black boot polish to make yours less shiny. Of course you don't need to do any of this, it's a top piece of kit right out of the bag. Thanks Woodlore and Ray Mears. You did it again 9.5 out of 10.

Rob Crombie

26th July, 2017

Rated: 5/5

10 of 67

Outstanding product. The Wilderness axe is the perfect compromise between the Small Forest Axe and the Scandinavian Forest Axe. Razor sharp!

Hugh Bailey

11th July, 2017

Rated: 5/5

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Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions on this item can be found here. If you have a question about this product, please contact us.

Does this axe come supplied with a leather sheath?

Yes, all axes by Gransfors Bruks come fitted with a leather sheath.