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From: Elk17
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  • I would literaly not use any of those but that is me

  • Very informative, saves time and effort.

  • Bear Grylls has taught me how to deal with general situations of survival. Ray Mears has taught me things I can make and make effective during such a situation to make it more liveable, and also apply to general situations. I, for one, had no idea that adding a wedging motion just as the axe hits the wood would split it that quickly.

  • Ray mears! Legend

  • Great video! Ray is a great teacher.

    And when it comes to Bear Grylls, i think he is great and of course it isnt 100% real in the show but its the same with all the "survivor shows". Do people actually expect a man to go out and risk his life for your entertainment?

    NO They show you "how you could survive in some of the worst places on the planet".

    People who think the shows should be real go ahead and make a "real" one your self!

  • @uzb1 Les Stroud does, though he has a an emergency radio, he is completely alone for a week.

  • Great stuff. Thanks for posting it.

  • If I had known this video was going to be a cess-pool for "Bear vs Ray" arguments, perhaps I would have disabled comments a long time ago.

    I should really re-upload this video in higher quality... rough watch.

  • @Elk17 that would be a good idea . both people are amazing at what they do .

  • Grylls is a chump

  • Do I need an axe to do bushcraft?

  • You must remember that every show is different. Ray Mears and Les Hiddins bet on education and history, Bear bets on stunts and adrenaline, Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin bet on the team work but more in manner of an action show, Les Stroud bets on minimalism and self reliance. Everybody got his pick. If you like to see action, you'll watch Bear, if you want to feel how it is without leaving your house, you'll chose Les Stroud, if you wanna learn something, you will chose Ray and Les Hiddins.

  • You must just remember one simple fact. Bear Grylls is a stunt performer and a TV celebrity. He has many skills but there's no point showing them on his show since it's not really about survival but stunts and adrenaline. I admire his charity work etc. but I don't like him as a TV personality since most of these stunts will never be useful in the real survival situation. Ray Mears is completely different. His shows might b boring to some but they're extremely educative and you can actually learn

  • Very informative, I've been looking for a good pack axe and this has helped a lot. Thanks Ray

  • I enjoy Ray Mears when it comes to learning long term survival techniques. All the other shows are great and I have nothing against them but Ray demonstrates a deeper understanding with nature and doesn't focus on mostly immediate emergency survival. Also his craftsmanship is top notch. not rushed or sloppy improvisation. The man is a living legend.

  • any 1 else notice hes talking in third person we and us used alot...

  • Got to love this man.

  • @SurvivalistChick Very well said

  • i carry my axe on the exterior of my pack

  • nice

  • Ray Mears is just wicked awesome :)

  • Great video… very sensible and informative!

  • Your choice is a sensible solution, we'll bear that in mind.

    Best regards

  • I learned something today and I thank you sir.

  • I just purchased the Kubben Hatchet. I tried battoning a couple pieces of wood. I had a hard time with it. I don't know if it's because it's very cold outside right now, or the axe is not as sharp as I thought it would be. What is the best method for sharpening my axe. Keep in mind that I'm new to all of this...

  • I have a question,i would like to buy a Hatchet to attach on my sack, but i plan to use this axe in cold weather conditions, so, should i go for a Hard plastic axe or wood or sometype of metal ? I'll take your advice :)

  • @jbvap he knows what he's talkin an out yes knives are light but they can't replace an ax

  • Cool

  • But how does the medium sized axe do at chopping?

  • Very informative.

  • Id rather carry a large blade survival knife instead. Like a junglas or RTAK2, way lighter and less energy exertion. Your not gonna want to carry a axe out in the woods all the time.

    RAY MEARS DONT KNOW SHIT!!!! kidding

  • This vid has encouraged me to burn my apartment building down to the ground. All kidding aside cool vid.

  • I wish there was wood around here that split that easy.

  • Why on earth the BBC stopped his series is beyond me and handed it ITV is a tragedy. It's just not the same programme on ITV any more. Just saying.

  • Good safty skills. Like the ones we use to teach boy scouts.

  • Ray Mears is coming to Ontario Canada in June 2012 to teach a Bushcraft course. As far as we are aware, this is his first time teaching in North America. There are only 25 spots available. If you are interested contact us for details!

  • 4 mins for 30 secs of useful information... how boring...

  • great video

  • Any Aussies watching this ....go for the larger of the 3,. 'SCANDINAVIAN FORREST AXE'...trying to chop, red gum or black box...anything smaller you'll be busting your hump..

  • Why do people polarize their viewpoints? Most of life isn't black and white or either/or. Bear Grylls, Ray Mears, Lofty Wiseman, and others each have something valuable to contribute. Each man is very skilled and knowledgeable in different ways. We must think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions. We should be concentrating on learning survival skills, not arguing over which source of information is THE RIGHT one. They're just men, not gods. Learn from each of them and all will be good.

  • @SurvivalistChick well said SC. A little common sense is a breath of fresh air.

  • @SurvivalistChick well said!

  • @SurvivalistChick ray mears is better u clown

    

  • @SurvivalistChick but your right but i like ray mears more

  • @SurvivalistChick Do me a favor: Copy and paste that exact text to EVERY survival video on youtube.  I'm tired of the stupidity.

  • Come on you can't compare Lofty Wiseman and Bear G. Lofty was the chief SAS survival instructor and probably taught BG everything he knows.. Plus his 26 years in the SAS can not be compared with Bears, 3 years. Ray has about 25 years or more of mixed survival experience.. Do you want to listen to the best or not.. Survival is not only a matter of techniques, it is also about the attitued.. Did Bear not get caught eating at a hotel during one of his survival episodes? Ha ha.

  • @SurvivalistChick Ray Mears is god.

  • Thats true, but most people who die in the wild are not prepared because they never expected to crash, or get lost. Bear is more like us than Ray......

  • Bear Grylls is a gimp .. Ray Mears ..... hmmmm what can we say about him ?.... track down a gentleman called Lofty Wiseman and ask him about Ray ..... you might not like what you hear.

  • anyone know what kind of axe he's using? thanks in advance.

  • @MrDeadwater That's the GB Small Forest Axe, Hope this helped :)

  • @Fischereco jeez leave the guy alone, what bear and ray do are two completely different things. Massive respect for both men.

  • Bear grills was not sas he was in the T.A. Special forces plz don't get them confused

  • eeegad good point, kneel on ground. Got it!

  • Ray is a walking Bushcraft Encyclopediae.He knows his stuff very very well...And the axe is a very underestimated tool by many knife lovers.I like knives too.But for chopping...You cant beat an axe.Period.

  • GB...orgasmic crafstmanship

  • pyrotoz brought me here

  • It seems like such simple logic.. Yet.. I bet most people don't realise it and do it.. I'm glad i just learnt this :p

  • @FLBCS No bear grylls is an extreme survivalist who will push the limits. Survival is about pushing yourself to the limit and stepping out of your comfort zone which ray mears doesn't do. Ray mears does a light bit of bushcraft that any old fat virgin can do hes well shit. He and bear grylls arent even in the same league.

  • @w00tw00tverac that you grylls

  • one of the best axe

  • I'd love to know half of what Ray Mears knows.

  • ray mears is a fag dick bear grylls is the way forward. Chances are if you are in a survival situation you will have next to nothing with you which bear grylls depicts. I doubt you would have a jeep + tents and stuff to use ray mears is a joke his show is just like fat old man goes camping that is all.

  • nice video love it !

  • So easy in those ideal conditions...perfect blocks, nice straight cut wood with no knots...

    As if it was like that in the wild.

  • @JuicyStake ...and you wouldn't be bright enough to try and adapt to the situation you were in, then?

  • when i used to split wood i just spred my legs sideways so i nver hit my legs standing up and u have more powere than standing down

  • The trick for fire wood is a nice one.

  • Axes are good for a life in a cave near forests or an...YEAH AN "ILLEGAL" CABIN!!!... as I'm thinking to do.

  • @barbarotico hows that illegal cabin, progressing mate........

  • Bear Grylls fails. Go find his spoofs on where he is not even 100 yards away from a roadway when he should be miles away from any civilization. He lies in his shows so its not worth watching. Ray Mears has been teaching and demonstrating bushcraft and its techniques for more then 30 years. I trust what Ray Mears has to say more so then an ex SAS joke of a tv host says.

  • @branm008 do you not realize that "spoof" means fake. when there is a spoof video its just people making fun of him, just like a parody of a song.

  • Always used a machete when I went into the woods never a axe.

  • these techniques don't work well with all wood. in fact, wood that splits like this is terribly difficult to find in the southeast usa. try doing it with some cedar. hah!

  • That wont work with hardwood.

  • @HomoGnosticus nope!

    

  • excellent

  • Wow, I learned a lot thank you!!

  • Wich axe is he using?

  • @ZjAc0 The Axe in the Middle is the GB Small Forest Axe, The one on the right is the GB WildLife Hatchet and the one on the left is the GB Scandinavian Axe!

  • @CiaranRooney125 uuhm I have a GB Wildlife hatchet and the handle isnt that curvy as the right one in this vid.. I think its a Wetterling ,correct me if Im wrong!

  • @butcherer100 Nope the one of the right is The Wildlife Hatchet. The handle profile may have changed over the years.

  • @CiaranRooney125 Oh really? It seems like some improvement then. I wonder how that would feel like, grrr now I want that new handle! haha Tnx :)

  • Very Informative video sir! Thanks for sharing your info!

  • Oh god, I didn't know the last trick there. This guy is already a good source of information.

  • What sort of axes are those? What's a good brand of ax?

  • @NoShamans Some good brands of axes are Gransfir Bruks (I think thats the brand Ray uses) and wetterlings. However they do cost alot though Wetterlings is cheaper.

  • @OutdoorSurvivalist1 there are some other good brands but yeah mainly the hand forged ones are realy nice

  • RAY MEARS makes you want to get out and give it a go. I saw one of his live talks in Eastbourne, this man can talk for England and is so interesting you could listen for days

  • he's the British answer to the samurai!

  • He makes it look so easy. Wonder what kind of wood that is, 'cause I tried that splitting technique on some fallen pecan in my yard today and couldn't make a dent even though I could chop through it easily enough. Granted, I'm a hatchet newbie, so maybe I'm doing something wrong.

  • @CanItAlready Using an axe takes more practice than, say, batoning with a knife. But it can be done. I had the same issues when I first tried these methods, but I'm getting better all the time. Of course, batoning isn't always that easy either. Nowadays, I've switched from using a large knife for firewood processing to using my GB Wildlife hatchet. It took a little longer to get my skill sets up, but I think it's more efficient now, and I enjoy it more than using a knife.

  • Your Video is Great !

    Cogratulations !

    I hope to see more of your work

  • wow, that was awesome. I have never split wood oddly enough but have been yearning to go on a mild survival trip. This will be useful

  • well done

  • this guy is a fucking genious

  • i tried the splitting technique with ash wood, and it just bounces off lmfao, i guess that only works with conifer wood.

  • I cut wood for years and that looks so much easier, definately learnt a few things today.

  • i have the small forest axe and its the best ive wached this video so much and it has to be my all time fav vid

  • My brother,...my name is Vinicius (BRAZIL),...RAY,..dá para fazer um vídeo em PORTUGUÊS,..para nós BRASILEIROS,...voçe manja muito e gostariamos de que voçe nos prestigiasse com os seus conhecimentos,...Tenho certeza de que se o fizer ficaríamos muito contentes e agradecidos,..Um abraço e desculpe-me por não escrever-lhe em inglês,...My mather is my father is teacher in the English,...I am is not,...não sei se vai conseguir entender algo,...mais de qualquer forma valeu !

  • I don't think Ray is anywhere too wild doing this video. At 2.35 you can here a train horn (Britsh Rail I think!

  • haha I actully learnt alot from this, thinfs that when u hear them seem stupid u didnt always do them that way

  • By all the Survivor shows, Ray Mears is the best one in my opinion.

  • @xloebx Bear Grylls is a fucking joke dude. Ray Mears teaches people how to use practical skills that will keep you alive in an emergency, and make camping/bushcraft more enjoyable. It may not be as flashy as the crap Bear Grylls does, but any normal person who tries to swan dive into a freezing river or climb a homemade rope down a sheer cliff face is going to die. Knowing how to do boring stuff like use an axe and chop firewood is what really matters.

  • @Fischereco2 you are right. bear grylls is a bit of a joke. ray mears ftw

  • @krazy4knives The face Grylls pulls when he's climbing or running on a hill or whatever he's doing always looks like he greatly exaggurates his fatigue. I mean, I'm everything but sportive, and still climbed / runned up hills and stuff and don't even remotely look as fatigued as him.

  • @krazy4knives well neither are daniel boone or davy crockett. so whats the point of comparing

  • @Fischereco2 i agree however i do believe that bear grylls is very good ..the special forces doesn't just hire the average dumb ass how ever you are most likely mistaking bush craft as survival ray is bush craft ( living in the woods ) and bear is survival ( getting out of the bush alive ) lol but its funny to say get out of the bush alive with half of the shit he duz anyways

  • @Fischereco2 Same toughts on Bear.He is fun to watch tho.Never the less.

  • @Fischereco2 yea but this guy doesnt eat live scorpions...... and if you get lost in the matrix. it's not like ur gonna have an axe handy with you..... ray mears teaches you how to go camping but bear grylls is awesome

  • @Fischereco2 They're both different, Bear Grylls doesn't teach you how to live in the wilderness, he teaches you basic things to survive for a few days to get out of the wilderness.

  • @Fischereco2 So what do you want Bear to do, make boring axes as well? Of course not. Grylls is just a different form of survival compared to Mears, so stop knocking him!

  • @Fischereco2 "Hey I just walked outta the rain forest, bit thursty, might drink my piss." Bear Grylls is just comedy.

  • @Fischereco2 Bear Grylls has spent to much time drinking his own pee.

  • @Fischereco2 well said, well said

  • @Fischereco2 Dude don't hate on Bear he is an entertainer and should be looked at as one, however he is not a dumbass he know his ass from a hole in the ground in the woods.

  • @Fischereco2 your comment struck me as strange, it seems to me ray mears is removed from reality far more than bear. most of us stuck in the wild would be bear. trying to get the fuck out of a terrible situation, where as ray would stay, isolation and solitude seem to be ray's mantra. and there is something quite odd and unsettling about the way he uses bush craft to detach himself from other humans, almost a religion of one, if i was stuck i would prefer to follow bear..........

  • @atheistdawn I guess my problem with Bear Grylls is that he doesn't emphasize preparedness. The best way to survive in a survival situation is to never put yourself in one. Ray Mears hammers that point home by informing his viewers on what kind of gear you need to actually thrive in the wilderness. Grylls gives his viewers the impression that if you buy his $30.00 knife at Walmart and carry a water bottle you'll be okay. Most people are not as fit as Bear and don't have the training he does.

  • @Fischereco2 I respect you opinion, but some people may not. I think Bear Grylls is an amazing person. Just like Ray Mears. Both great people, the thing I am saying is some people may not like your opinion and become hostile to you.

  • my friend last season almost cut off a finger. im going to show him this video and hopefully he will see this comment.

  • i would rather have his axe than gimli's when out on a quest to mount doom

  • Damn. I've been chopping firewood for many years as well as doing solo camping for a few years. I thought I was paranoid, but I just learned a few things preventing a catastrophic injury while alone. Very 'obvious', but not obvious, indeed.

  • A CAT tourniquet is a sensible addition to an axe users kit.

  • I like his clear and calm way of explaining things :)

  • how many inches about is that middle sized axe?

  • @HDL2112 I was wondering the same thing. How many inches is the middle sized axe in this video

  • @mavct it should be an 18"

  • @mavct just double checked.. it is 50cm

  • @akzorz Thanks for the information.

  • What axe does Mears use most of the time?

  • @bozepiemeltje The one in the middel of the 3 axes in this video .

  • @caligor89 thanks

  • surprisingly educational!

  • I'm an Australian and I Learnt a lot about chopping thanks to this video, Spare Grylls eat your heart out.

  • im an eagle scout and an avid backpacked/kayaker. i learned quite a bit from this vid. good on ya' Ray!

  • Comment removed

  • Ray mears is such an upper class ponce! I expect he has a "man" that cuts his firewood for him at home. He is entertaining though

  • @autopsysal666 let me guess you'd rather listen to Bear Grylls.

  • @abbath1586 not really. I like ray. I just think he is a bit of a ponce.

  • i got a question, are all gransfod bruks axes hand forged? im really lookin into buying one and i want to kknow

  • I like the twist and split, pretty slick stuff Ray :)

  • Hi, im wondering if i should get a plastice handled axe, or a wooden handle?

  • @meandkg If your not good at aiming with an axe, i rekon you should get the fibreglass/plastic type. I broke a wooden handle axe once when i was cutting down a large tree.(and hit the handle accidentally). Axe head can fly off with the wooden one too. I rekon the plastic one for beginners is better.

  • he would kill bear grylls.

  • wow...how did i ever get through my life with out seeing this

  • -_- log spliting on the stup was too fast to catch lol

  • My grandad, an old school Royal Marine, taught me this stuff but with a machete he got in Burma in the 50s. I still have it, fantastic piece of kit.

  • I thought there wasn't a place for an axe in my pack, boy was I wrong! He made it look so damn easy that I actually started to get jealous. An axe of that size would go perfectly with my rat 7!

  • this is what i like about ray mears... not like some dumbass white guy trying to do some kung fu... i like good old american survival skills i'd rather watch this guy all day.

  • @Masoukishin hes not american dumb ass lol

  • @john22112 okay... so what is he?

  • @Masoukishin British dude. He has strong english/ london accent.

  • @john22112 and where did white americans come from?

  • @Masoukishin lol dude im not a school teacher- read a book on america history or smthg :) america is a multi-cultural place, many whites could have originated from scottish / european descent for example. you can normally tell from their last names.. eg. start with 'Mc' (its scottish) generally.

  • @john22112 but u said he's british?

  • @Masoukishin listen u ignorant bastard. .Go read a book , even better..go to britain and listen to how they talk. Dont msg me anymore please thanks.

  • @john22112 lol that means u give up i win LOL muhuhahahaha

  • @Masoukishin - actually more white americans have direct German ancestry than any other European nation... and also the English as we know them now have a mixed ethnicity...which is why they are called "Anglo-Saxons" is because the Saxons (from a part of what we know as Germany) went to the British Isles and forged a relationship with the Anglos. "American" is not a pure race...even the Natives had dozens of different bloodlines.

  • @Amidat well thank you mister amidat... still aint correct. americans were first white people ... lol or should we say british?

  • @Masoukishin - no I'm not incorrect. and for the record there were people living in America before the Europeans came here.  And no the British were not first. "America" is named after an Italian with the last name Vespucci. Spaniards and French were also here in large #'s. The British were just the ones who held the "original" 13 colonies. That's not to mention that they bought New Amsterdam from the Dutch and made it New York. If you are going to "wave the flag" you should know history.

  • @Amidat hey.... i guess i was dumb thank you for understanding my mistakes. I meant white americans started america.

  • @Masoukishin - we all have to learn and be taught..so don't feel dumb. Btw- a little known (but verifiable) fact is that some of the "Founding Fathers" like Benjamin Franklin were influenced by the Iriqouis Confederation of Native Americans living in upstate NY (aside from the Romans and Germans). They had a central government with independent "states". You can go read it...but it's not taught to children in school. The natives did not all live in "tee-pees".

  • @Amidat just letting you know america is named after Richard Amerike a welshman. Amerigo Vespucci's name is unlikely to be the origin of america as first names were never used to name a place unless on behalf of royalty and Amerike was the chief sponsor of John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland and In 1955, a letter was found in Spanish archives confirming the discoveries of Bristol sailors in Newfoundland before Columbus. as amerike sponsored voyages his name would be on maps i.e amerikes

    

  • There is far more historical support for North America being named after Vespucci, because of his notoriety as a cartographer, and the likelihood that his name on his maps became associated with the new maps he made of the New World. He was also far more well known that Amerike, and his name was popularized because of his maps. The Continental Congress of 1775 named our new nation as the United States of America, after North America, the continent, not either Amerike or Vespucci.

  • @JDFeniello - you are correct that it was named after the continent and not the person. Point being the continents were named after a person. I seriously doubt it would be Amerike because the expeditions he funded - were thought to be to Asia - not to a "new" continent.

  • @LimitedPeopleSkills - that is a theory. It is also one that I highly doubt. The Welshman you name was funding journey's to what he and everyone else thought was Asia. It was Vespucci that figured out it was a different land.. There are a lot of things that don't add up in our picture of history. How were there sculptures that have "African" faces in South America way back then? Also, they have been found remnants of Asian sea vessels on the coasts of S. America..but we don't know how...

  • @Amidat oh i agree its doubtful but so is the vespucci story, as for the african faces and asian sea vessals this is why i love, and facinated by history, theres so much we dont know how anyone says they are'nt interested in history ill never understand,aaaaaaaaanyway dont want to get sidetracked from the video so ill wish you all the best and take care.

  • the fist 1 work but the second one i tryed on scout camp and almost cut my leg off so i wont be doing that again