The Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe is a new and exclusive collaboration between Ray and the Swedish company Gransfors Bruks. After many years of designing, testing and refining, Ray and the Woodlore team are extremely excited to unveil this brand new signature model:
The Gransfors Ray Mears Wilderness Axe (click for full size)
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:
The Woodlore Team: What were your main goals when you set out to design your own axe?
Ray Mears: I thought long and hard about whether there was a need to design a new axe; I was asked to do so elsewhere a long time ago, and at first I thought there wasn’t. But I’ve thought very hard about it for a long time, and I felt there was something that could be done.
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. Continue reading →
The Ray Mears & Woodlore Bushcraft Blog 