Ray Mears W/S woodlore

[plastic-ninja]

I have come to the painful conclusion that I need a new engine for my van more than I need my W/S woodlore.
I had the original Alan Wood version too at one time, but let it go instead of the Wilkinson Sword because I prefer the weight & feel of the Micarta.
I haven’t seen one for sale for a while so I’ve no idea what to ask. It has no box but does have the original leather sheath and is in lovely condition. It has been carried, used and stropped but it is still a lovely thing.
Anyone bought/sold one recently or seen one for sale? Just looking for an idea of potential value.
Thanks in advance,
Simon

 

[gra_farmer]

There is a post back in 2020, on BCUK where one sold for £300 in the end, there was no pictures that I could see but it sounded like it was used condition.

I am still kicking myself for not buying a SWC woodlore from the Ray Mears site for £300 back in 2014.

The price ranges from £300 to £450, based upon what actually sells

 

[lotto]

Try https://www.customknife.co.uk/bushcraft/

He might be able to guide you or handle the sale.

 

[Big Si]

TBH, I'd start at £800 and work from there, they are now becoming highly collectable items.

Si

 

[Delta Tubs]

TBH, I'd start at £800 and work from there, they are now becoming highly collectable items.

Si

Interested to see what they are worth as well.

I have a SWC Ray Mears 30th Anniversary only 100 produced. Unused.

Might have to add it as a item on my house insurance!

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Which leads on to my thoughts of why is there no production Woodlore anymore?Just an 01, micarta Handled exactly like the original Mears pattern down to the sheath etc.

 

[just_john]

Which leads on to my thoughts of why is there no production Woodlore anymore?Just an 01, micarta Handled exactly like the original Mears pattern down to the sheath etc.

There is something available, if you fancy paying £500 (or £600 for the pro....)

The Ray Mears Bushcraft Knife

The Ray Mears Bushcraft Knife, with a blade made to almost identical specifications as the original Woodlore Knife, is an exceptional and beautiful tool in its own right. Hand-crafted from start to finish by UK based Emberleaf Workshops, with every single detail made with great care by their...

www.raymears.com

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Yep, well aware of that beauty but goes into the unusable pile as it is so expensive.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Years ago I was at the shooting show at the NEC. Ember leaf was there. lots of £500 and £600 bushcraft knives. Alan Wood was also there, £300-£400, maybe a couple under £300. The difference in price, and what you got for it was striking.

 

[lotto]

Years ago I was at the shooting show at the NEC. Ember leaf was there. lots of £500 and £600 bushcraft knives. Alan Wood was also there, £300-£400, maybe a couple under £300. The difference in price, and what you got for it was striking.

In which way do you mean?

For the more expensive Ember Leaf with the higher purchase price you got a superior product in comparison to the £300 Alan Wood?

 

[SCOMAN]

In which way do you mean?

For the more expensive Ember Leaf with the higher purchase price you got a superior product in comparison to the £300 Alan Wood?

And welcome to personal opinions, perspectives and beliefs

 

[C_Claycomb]

In which way do you mean?

For the more expensive Ember Leaf with the higher purchase price you got a superior product in comparison to the £300 Alan Wood?

At that time, Alan's prices were lower, and in my opinion, you got a lot more, vs Emberleaf where you paid more and got less. I don't know how the prices compare now because I haven't seen or chatted to Alan in a few years, but I saw Emberleaf's stand at the CLA Gamefair this last July and their prices were as I had expected. Fit and finish all looked good, although I didn't handle any of them.

Two things make me say Alan's knives are better. Ergonomics and the personal touch. I can also see Alan's work holding value better. Alan sculpts his handles, often by hand to get precise shapes. Emberleaf do more belt/buff type handle shapes.

I have no doubt that their knives perform, I just think Alan makes a better/nicer knife, possibly for less money. The same goes for Ben Orford, who offers comparable/better knives as a single craftsman for less money than Emberleaf.

I also have a severe aversion to sales pitches that use hype (best word I can think of for bigging up products and making claims that are hard to verify and present as fact things which are subjective at best) and Emberleaf use a lot of such language in their advertising.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Oh, one more thing. Now that AEBL is widely available, I can see no reason to buy O-1 from any maker that offers AEBL. Some makers seem to run AEBL softer than it needs to be, possibly aimed at people who don't have the gear, skill or patience to sharpen harder steel, but AEBL sharpens easily. It is about 3X tougher at 61HRC than O-1 is at 58HRC, and it is stainless. It has few carbides so sharpens easily to a very fine edge and has amazing edge stability.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Would you spec that on a new version of the Spyderco Bushcrafter??

 

[C_Claycomb]

Would you spec that on a new version of the Spyderco Bushcrafter??

If such a knife was made now, yes, no question about it. For a full flat I would go Cruwear or Magnacut, but for a Scandi, AEBL (or Sandvik equivalent) is really good.
Not that such a choice is likely to ever be required! Spyderco are very unlikely to do any more runs of either format, in any material.
Sorry, do not mean to derail discussion....
back to Woodlore.

 

[Bluebs4]

Yep, well aware of that beauty but goes into the unusable pile as it is so expensive.

I bought 2 of the swc Pro knives and sold one at cost on here and only remembered the other after looking at this post, as you say its going to sit next to the AW Woodlore in the pile.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Which in conclusion is the shame of the Woodlore Bushcraft knife. Popular, people still want them, still a good design (along with the Spyderco Bushcrafter) but as no one makes it (them) the stock that is left goes into a drawer like a Dutch tulip bulb.

If Woodlore just commissioned a batch from a maker to the specs of the old Wilkinson they would fly off the shelves. Yes, there are better styles and modern improvements but people would just like to have something standard to bash around that they know is a Mears Woodlore.

 

[MartinK9]

Which in conclusion is the shame of the Woodlore Bushcraft knife. Popular, people still want them, still a good design (along with the Spyderco Bushcrafter) but as no one makes it (them) the stock that is left goes into a drawer like a Dutch tulip bulb.

Not all of them.....

 

[Barney Rubble]

Which in conclusion is the shame of the Woodlore Bushcraft knife. Popular, people still want them, still a good design (along with the Spyderco Bushcrafter) but as no one makes it (them) the stock that is left goes into a drawer like a Dutch tulip bulb.

If Woodlore just commissioned a batch from a maker to the specs of the old Wilkinson they would fly off the shelves. Yes, there are better styles and modern improvements but people would just like to have something standard to bash around that they know is a Mears Woodlore.

They're not all locked away in drawers. I take great pleasure in putting my mearsy knife to task on every camp. When I get home, it gets a clean, a strop and a thin coat of vaseline to protect the metal and it's ready for the next adventure.

Also worth noting that the current Emberleaf model is indeed based on the Wilkinson Sword design, it says as much on mearsy's website and aside from the micarta handle, there's a definite similarity to the design. That was one of the main reasons why I bought the knife because I think the dimensions of the original W/S model was spot on. 6 months on from purchase, I've used the knife for everything from batoning fire wood to roughing out spoons and it's been a real joy to use.

 

[plastic-ninja]

They're not all locked away in drawers. I take great pleasure in putting my mearsy knife to task on every camp. When I get home, it gets a clean, a strop and a thin coat of vaseline to protect the metal and it's ready for the next adventure.

Also worth noting that the current Emberleaf model is indeed based on the Wilkinson Sword design, it says as much on mearsy's website and aside from the micarta handle, there's a definite similarity to the design. That was one of the main reasons why I bought the knife because I think the dimensions of the original W/S model was spot on. 6 months on from purchase, I've used the knife for everything from batoning fire wood to roughing out spoons and it's been a real joy to use.

I must admit that I preferred the dimensions of the WS over my Alan Wood original for my big hands. I also preferred the weight of the micarta over the maple.
I’m still really in two minds but it doesn’t get used & I can think of far better uses for £500 or more.