Lone Wolf was owned by people who, while they may not have been the best at business, definitely invested heavily in the quality of their products. The end of Lone Wolf as a company was not the result of its being bought out by Benchmade, necessarily, but rather a combination of lousy timing and business missteps.
Specifically, Lone Wolf attempted to introduce an OTF automatic to compete with rivals Microtech and Benchmade. The OTF models on the market at the time had aluminum handles. These have the advantage of being light, but aluminum frames tend to torque over time, causing the blade of the OTF to go off track (preventing the knife from functioning). Lone Wolf determined, after some research, that they would use a stainless steel frame in their new OTF. It would be heavier, but it wouldn't torque when fired, which meant it would be more dependable.
At the end of 2008, the final design of the Lone Wolf OTF, named M.A.C.K., was completed. Lone Wolf then prepared three prototypes of the new knife for the 2009 SHOT show. The M.A.C.K. generated plenty of positive enthusiasm and chatter, prompting Lone Wolf to write orders for 1800 pieces (amounting to over 400,000 in sales).
In early 2009, the parts received for the OTFS were flawed. Some of the components were too large and would not permit quick assembly. Orders were flooding in, but Lone Wolf was not able to fulfill them in a timely fashion. they sought outside help. Some parts were redesigned so that everything would fit and work together.
Despite these efforts, by the end of 2009, Lone Wolf's management determined that they were not going to be able to produce a workable knife. By this point they had invested all of their selling, marketing, and engineering efforts in the M.A.C.K. -- not to mention all of their funds. They approached their bank for more capital to fulfill the outstanding orders, but the economy was in turmoil by that point. Banks weren't loaning money to *anybody*.
That poor timing and the resulting lack of operating capital spelled the end for Lone Wolf. They had growing brand equity, but no money. Shortly after the first quarter of 2010, they approached Benchmade about purchasing the company. As of this writing, Lone Wolf has ceased to exist, for all intents and purposes. Over half a million dollars in M.A.C.K. sales were canceled... and only three prototypes have ever been produced. I know, because as luck would have it, I own one of those three knives.
Anyone know details of what Benchmades side of the story is? For instance what was the falling out with Bill Harsey over the NTK 3800 which was the Lone Wolf D2? Why they gave up on the Lone Wolf brand?
. Still love my swale though 
