Benchmade Lone Wolf

Mostly USA but I believe a few may be overseas, not positive tho.

Lone wolf knives are very good, just because their owned by BM doesn't necessarily mean they're their "budget line" (like Byrd is to spyderco), lone wolf started out as their own company then got bought out by BM so BM could acquire the rights to some of their proprietary stuff (especially the Paul lock).
 
Lone Wolf made awesome knives in the USA. They were known for the Harsey T and D series. The Harsey's are beautiful Double actions and regular linerlock folder. At the time it was made, early 2000's the T3 was thought of as a heavy duty Tactical folder, it had a thicker than normal liner lock, but compared to Tactical frame locks like Strider or XM's it was wimpy. I own 3 T3's and 1 of them is defective and will close with light pressure, so not good for a fighting knife at all. The D2 was/is a f-en hard firing auto, it put's bench made and Protech and Microtech to shame IMO (I haven't seen all Microtechs or Protechs or BM's but better than the ones I have had). It was also defective though, if it was manually opened the auto spring could still be fired sometimes breaking and rendering the knife uncloseable. Benchmade made the 3800NTK which was their version of the D2, but never released it because of the defect.
Besides the Harsey series there was some other really nice autos. Diablo, Lobo, Double Duty, Double Duty warrior. I have almost all of these and the have the sliding scale release. They are well made and again fire harder than most autos. Very nice F&F and super sharp like a Spyderco. They made the "Paul" button lock series. The Paul Defender, Panther, Prankster, Presto, Executive. These were also very nice but if the button lock became loose it was problematic to fix. Benchmade released a few runs of the defender and Prankster. I have all of the Paul models I think, and a few of the BM ones. One of the BM's got really loose. I called them and they refused to fix it saying they didn't have the machinery to fix old Lone Wolf knives. I told them it was not an old LW it was BM but they repeated they can't help. I asked about lifetime warranty and the guy just said sorry. I asked about sharpenng one of my D2's. They said they can sharpen it but they won't be able to ship it back to me because it's auto, wether I was LE or not. I will never own another Benchmade knife.
Despite the problems the price has increased for all of the models, they can be found for original retail but rarely. Also despite the problems I think they are great collectable knives. If I needed a hard use knife, or some kind of SHTF knife I wouldn't be grabbing them. I mean really if I was in a situation that I needed a knife in I'd want a fixed blade right, maybe I'd want an XM-18 or something small for back up, or a nice Karambit for self defense, but a good fixed blade is so versatile, make a spear out of it for killing coyotes haha.
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I liked the LoneWolf Paul locks as well. Before they closed, they gave me these instructions on adjusting the Paul lock and maintenance:

1) The blade lock-up should be snug and not rotate. We do use Loctite 242 (Blue color) to install the screws to prevent them from backing out. In this case it sounds like we either didn't use enough or it did not cure properly. We would be happy to do this adjustment for you, or if you prefer, you can complete the adjustment at home using the following steps. [Note, there is a eccentric stop pin with screws on both sides of scale, this is what the directions refer to] First, remove both of the small eccentric screws. Knife should be open, pin will not fall out. Second, turn the eccentric pin counterclockwise towards the blade until snug, but not tight. There is a slot for a tiny screw driver in the face side (side with Paul on it). Third, replace the back side screw first using Loctite 242. Back side has no logo. Tighten the screw until snug. Fourth, replace the front side screw using Loctite and turn only until it stops. Over turning this screw will move the eccentric away from the blade again. Lastly, loosen the backside screws an 1/8th of a turn to allow the blade to pivot freely. Test action, blade should swing freely and button lock should work. If blade does not swing, loosen back screw, if button does not lock closed, loosen front screw. Then allow the knife to dry in the open position for at least two hours.

2) To clean the locking mechanism, we recommend putting a couple of drops of WD-40 in the back side of the mechanism, between the nut and the key. Allow the WD-40 to sit for a couple of minutes to allow the debris or sticky substances break-up and dissolve. Next, blow out the WD-40 using an air compressor or dusting air for electronics and keyboards. If you don't have any of these options available, then warm (not hot) water can be used to rinse out the WD-40. Make sure to dry the knife thoroughly. Lastly, re-lubricate the mechanism using a light oil. We use Hoppe's gun oil here in our factory.
 
I had an older model Harsey many years ago, and it was USA-made and very nice. I think most of them are still USA produced.
 
Lone Wolf originals (pre-Benchmade) knives are very well made and functional knives. In my opinion for the money they couldn't be beat. Unfortunately Benchmade completely ruined the name.. The knives that they are producing under the Lone Wolf name are junk compared to the originals. I made the mistake of buying a benchmade made prankster and returned it. It was junk compared to any original Lone Wolf made knife. It rattled when closed and did not lock up that well. The steel was inferior also. I cannot remember what it was but it wasn't S30V. Truthfully, I bought it to compare it to an original but was willing and hoping that they would be the same quality or even better. But make no mistake, that is not the case. They are mass produced cookie cutter dogshit knives compared to the originals. It just did not feel right and lacked the Lone Wolf solidly made feel to it, if that makes sense. I will not buy another benchmade knife again because of what they did to the Lone Wolf line. It's a shame because benchmade does make some solid knives. I just wish they would have produced the same quality and semi-custom feel to an original made Lone Wolf knife..
 
Hello, I recently lost my dear companion during a trail in Spain, my Harsey Ranger T3. I would very much like to replace it but it looks as if these knives are vanished! Anyway, if you have any hint for me on where to direct my attention, I would much appreciate!
Kind regards, Dirk
 
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