It’s a One of a kind Axe!

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.

Very good service!

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!

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.

My preferred axe, very reliable and trustworthy.

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

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

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.

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!

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.

Great feel to this axe and surprisingly well weighted in comparison to the small forest I've been using for a few years - effective without adding too much bulk - my only concern was the quality and finish of the handle was not up to the usual standard I've come to expect from Gransfor Bruks so dropped a star there

This is the third Gransfors Bruks Axe I have bought from this site, the first one being bought 10 + years ago which was the Small Forest Axe and later a Large Splitting Axe. They all are quality axes. This one falls in between the two, slightly heavier than the Small Forest and slightly different shape, splits wood with ease and can be used with one hand if needed. Quality kit that will last a life time. I like putting a few coats of boiled linseed oil on the handle before I use it and then a coat a year.

The Wilderness Axe is simply superb. Perfect handle fitment in eye and grain alignment. Great balance and swing feel. Cuts and splits very well. Razor sharp. Good multipurpose edge geometry for my uses. I can let it swing easy and do the work when working with the size trees for which it is designed. My favorite axe in its size range. It will always have a place of honor in my Gransfors Bruk family.

Due to the rather heavy head and mid length handle this axe is a good compromise between a full axe and a hatchet or small axe. For long trips with the rucksack maybe a bit to heavy. For camp use great. Good quality. I'm satisfied with it...

I ordered my Wilderness Axe and during the wait '14 days' I saw a few negative reviews on fit and finish, so I was somewhat on guard when I received my axe. I opened my box and examined the axe and it had EXCELLENT fit and finish! Sharp enough to shave with. I have 5 other Gransfor's axes/hatchets and this one was every bit as high quality as my other axes! Beautiful! Can't wait to take it out and go camping! Beautiful craftsmanship, excellent quality! It met and exceeded my expectations! Get one, you will love it!

Great axe that will last. My first of this kind. You totally can feel the quality of the craft in hand. Reasonably priced too.

This axe handles very well, hardly any effort in felling etc

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.

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.

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

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

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

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 .

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.

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.

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!

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.

I bought this axe recently having just moved house which has a wood burning stove. A lovely piece of kit. Sharp and really well balanced. It's not as heavy as other axes but still does the job well due to its excellent design. Would highly recommend.