Gransfors Bruks Ray Mears Wilderness Axe

£140.00

Brand: Gransfors Bruks

EAN 7391765434104

Weight: 1400 g 113 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. Woodlore will need to verify your age before your order is dispatched. From January 2020 age will be checked on delivery. This item cannot be delivered to a locker.

Quantity

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 30 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 113 customer reviews.

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

Overall Rating:

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1 of 113

Never dissatisfied with Woodlore. I considered the standard GF forest axe and came across the RM version. You can tell they had input, the head weight, the handle material and finish. I applied some boiled linseed and a few hours of sweat and tears and it looks almost as good as my 20 year old wildlife hatchet. Quick shipping with the Royal Mail not some useless couriers. You can trust this axe, service and shipping.

Richard Campbell

16th August, 2021

Rated: 5/5

2 of 113

This is the worst Gransfors Bruks axe I own in terms of quality control. I own 3 others (Small Forest, Outdoor, and Wildlife) and the Wilderness is my latest purchase. There are very large gaps (2-3mm) between the head and haft of the axe where you can slide a piece of paper and not hit any resistance until about halfway up the head. Very sloppy hafting and not at all of the same attention to care as my other Gransfors Bruks axes as those were hafted with no gaps. I contacted Ray Mears Bushcraft about my concerns and sent pictures and they told me that the gap is not a problem and if it becomes a problem to let them know. Fair enough, but I don't want to find out this is a problem that will cause a loose head when out on a trip or even just over time. I also contacted Gransfors Bruks and after waiting a very long time they replied dismissing the issue as being solved by the answer from Ray Mears Bushcraft. I am displeased with the quality of the axe and customer service from both Ray Mears Bushcraft and Gransfors Bruks. Update: I was offered a replacement handle for me to re-haft the axe myself to see if that clears up any issues with the gaps which are viewed as cosmetic . Short of replacing the axe, this is the next best resolution. I stand by my initial experience with the axe itself, but will modify my rating to 3/5 stars due to due to their customer service in trying to make it right.

Steve

25th May, 2021

Rated: 3/5

Woodlore's Reply - 15th June, 2021
Dear Steven, Thank you for your comments. We are very sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the axe you received from us and our customer service. According to our records it looks like you purchased this axe from us in May 2020 and made contact with us in June 2020 where we discussed the issue. After our initial conversation we had not heard from you any further and therefore concluded that you were happy with our comments. If you would like to discuss this further please do not hesitate to contact us by email. With best wishes

3 of 113

Bought as a birthday present for my partner, he is over the moon with the quality of this axe, speedy delivery and well packaged, can highly recommend

Beki

27th February, 2021

Rated: 5/5

4 of 113

Wonderful bit of kit, arrived sharp enough to shave with. The perfect length as an all rounder.

Stu Dodd

5th February, 2021

Rated: 5/5

5 of 113

Great product, the weight is just right for wood carving, tree felling and making kindling.

Phillip Horowitz

24th January, 2021

Rated: 5/5

6 of 113

Very impressed with the axe and workmanship as always with Gransfors. The design by yourselves and Gransfors seems to be well thought out with the head of the axe designed for doing multiple tasks and the jobs appears endless, however I am in awe of this fantastic tool but I'm getting older and for a local trek to the woods is fine but going further afield perhaps I'd have to lighten the load on some of my older equipment which I class as old friends. Anyway, still very pleased, thanks for this brilliant axe .

Mike

22nd January, 2021

Rated: 5/5

7 of 113

An excellent small axe, small enough to carry around on a pack but big enough to split some decent logs, shipping took a few days but as to be expected, also came sharp enough to shave out of the box.

Pawson

14th January, 2021

Rated: 5/5

8 of 113

This is how things are supposed to be made, it's perfect. Very sharp, very strong, an ideal size for me (5 ft 10 inches). Fits snuggly in my Karrimor SF Sabre 75 Litre Rucksack. The leather sheath fits with staggering precision. If the house was burning down, this is what I would save.

J S

6th January, 2021

Rated: 5/5

9 of 113

I LOVE IT! Really good splitter, great head weight, perfect for my use getting deadwood (mostly softwood) ready for fire while bushcrafting. Maybe a little heavy for carrying in a backpack but it’s possible and the work it's getting done while splitting is worth the effort. Not the best chopper but still good. Taking down one dead tree a day for fire is enough so it doesn’t matter anyway for my scenario. Also I prefer taking down dead trees with a saw. Keep on the good work, greetings out of the Blackforest in Germany.

Pfurzkack

6th January, 2021

Rated: 5/5

10 of 113

Fantastic axe! Really, there is nothing I would change. I wouldn't be surprised if it got up and started dancing around and cutting wood by itself. Also of note, Woodlore is a upstanding company, very professional. Immediately processed my order, safely packaged it and got it to America in a timely manner. Thank you!

Tlr

6th January, 2021

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?

Does this axe come with a steel wedge?