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Dave455

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That's a good question! I'm gonna look for the KTC product card and look for the COO. KTC doesn't hide COO.
FWIW, KTC released this tool back in 2009.

Thanks, I’d appreciate it!

I know that most KTC stuff is manufactured in house, but I know there are a few rebranded items. Most of them seem to be Japanese manufactured though.

The Laser stuff all seems to be knockoff, Taiwanese if you’re lucky (and not the best), Chinese for the most part. These particular tools look very similar though.
 

Dave455

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48548

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sorry for the blurry photo but that's what I got on hand.

M6erfan is right, comes with detents.



<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccassan/8725846793/in/photolist-RpGY8N-QexUHK-RpGYab-ENHkiw-ENUoMx-FJ9R5i-2d4EiGm-2bKuEND-Gqg3AR-Fzjm1k-Hcgc7s-FzYBnJ-FChRgg-FFRZ1q-FChR7P-FzYBdA-Fj3rkW-FJ9QFx-FzYB9s-Fj3riG-FChQW8-Fj3raA-FFRYKW-RtcXma-eib1Cd-ei5kyg-eib3m9-ei5bvK-ei5ffn-eiaWWo-eiaTih-RpDGw3-RpDGtN-FJfa9H-GDBPKn-GesHQo-GBGNoh-GyfguZ-FzYBKs-ENUoV8-5Y4dvs-5XYY2Z-5XYXnB-5Y4eh9-5Udccv-5Uhwso-5Ud8Gr-5UdaCK-5Udaa2-5Uhy4E" title="DSC_2239"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7306/8725846793_e0b03827c4_c.jpg" width="800" height="532" alt="DSC_2239"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



























1/4 drive is P/N 2762

3/8 drive is P/N 3762

both are 300mm long





case use: accessing and working on small worm drive hose clamps (6mm heads)



<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccassan/28859686942/in/photolist-KYertm-KYeroS-KYeryG-KYerDG-KYerkf-RpDGqb-ei5nuZ-KYeruU-KYerBs-VmwRxZ-ULihfm-VmwRYD-L8tM9V-L5Ec5E-KbNJCU-Q9MLFV-Q72atS-GG6v9N-GG6veC-GG6vJL-Fg27YN-EZ8GyW-FrGgdi-EtMmsG-Fppq6A-Fg28JL-Eu8PMv-FiiAjp-EtMmZo-U4YKFA-QTQwgf-QexVAB-QexVyx-QexVxk-ReSJBL-QexVvg-QexVtx-ENHk5f-FFRZ7h-ReSJou-ReSJqy-ReSJeG-QexVin-QexVez-QexVoc-QexVpV-QexVkg-ReSJjS-QTQw2N-ReSJc7/" title="Ko-ken 2762 & 110-150B ....."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8662/28859686942_bcfbf051ab_c.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="Ko-ken 2762 & 110-150B ....."></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccassan/28859686682/in/photolist-KYertm-KYeroS-KYeryG-KYerDG-KYerkf-RpDGqb-ei5nuZ-KYeruU-KYerBs-VmwRxZ-ULihfm-VmwRYD-L8tM9V-L5Ec5E-KbNJCU-Q9MLFV-Q72atS-GG6v9N-GG6veC-GG6vJL-Fg27YN-EZ8GyW-FrGgdi-EtMmsG-Fppq6A-Fg28JL-Eu8PMv-FiiAjp-EtMmZo-U4YKFA-QTQwgf-QexVAB-QexVyx-QexVxk-ReSJBL-QexVvg-QexVtx-ENHk5f-FFRZ7h-ReSJou-ReSJqy-ReSJeG-QexVin-QexVez-QexVoc-QexVpV-QexVkg-ReSJjS-QTQw2N-ReSJc7/" title="Ko-ken 2762 & 110-150B ...."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8804/28859686682_6fe224b5ee_c.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="Ko-ken 2762 & 110-150B ...."></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>





It's really flexible and doesn't take a lot of torque load before it starts to twist, like shown above in 48548's photo. So, it's only suitable for low torque applications. I've had mine for years, but only used it a few times.
That was why I showed it next to the proto... the proto and snapon I have are better for torque but too short and too stiff. Koken kinda messed up having the 1/4 spring be the same spring on the 3/8... really?

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mr.lemons

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Oct 24, 2017
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Thanks. I wonder if it’s the same tool or a knockoff? Most of the Laser stuff is shite.

I assumed it was the same tool (rebranded), but on closer look at the pics, the knurling is different and the screw is silver rather than black so maybe a copy. :dunno:

Looks like Draper also sold one identical to Laser that doesn't seem to be available any more. The price the Draper sold for suggests 'knock off.'

https://www.sitebox.ltd.uk/draper-e...lip-clamp-pack-qty-1-code-38373-odraper_38373


I was supposed to go this April, in hopes of being the first to get video footage of Ko-ken's factory. :D
I had booked my tickets and hotel stay, but 2020 threw a mad curve ball. :lol:

This literally is the first video footage of Ko-ken's factory, ever!
In the end, Mr. Takanokura, Factory Gear's president, encouraged Ko-ken to create some form of a public tour of the company, and have a hall for showcasing the company's history and accomplishments.

2020 has been challenging, to say the least. If Ko-ken put together something for visitors, it would definitely make for an interesting future video.
 
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Jack84

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Jul 30, 2016
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516
Location
Netherlands
Thanks. I’m looking at uktools too. My regular socket is 30mm, 28mm doesn’t seem worthwhile then.


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GrantCee

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Aug 23, 2010
Messages
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Location
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Question about backdrag on Koken ratchets: which has less backdrag — the standard pear head ratchets or the Zeal ratchets?

(Don't have any of their ratchets yet, and I think I need to try them.)
 

jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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Wisconsin
I've got a bunch of Z-series Koken in my cart at Palmac. 3/8 Deep sockets 7-19mm (no mag rail as I already have an organizer I like), a 3/8" extension set (non Z series with the knurling), a 3/8 universal join, and a 3/8" spinner. Coming in just shy of $200.
 

Jack84

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24mm to 28mm, so only a couple mm less than the standard range. The Zeal range is 20 to 22mm over the same sizes.



Thanks for looking. Think I’ll order the Zeal ones along with some stubby hex sockets.


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toddmorr

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May 4, 2017
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Potomac, Maryland
Question about backdrag on Koken ratchets: which has less backdrag — the standard pear head ratchets or the Zeal ratchets?

(Don't have any of their ratchets yet, and I think I need to try them.)

the 24 tooth ratchets have much less backdrag than the zeal. Much different feel, very smooth. They feel tougher than the zeal but that's just a feeling. I like them both, and seem to use the longer version zeal 3/8 flex quite a bit because of the longer length...
 

GrantCee

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the 24 tooth ratchets have much less backdrag than the zeal. Much different feel, very smooth. They feel tougher than the zeal but that's just a feeling. I like them both, and seem to use the longer version zeal 3/8 flex quite a bit because of the longer length...

Thanks — I decided on the Garage Journal Standard Operating Procedure (GJSOP) for such cases: buy one of each!

I needed a 3753SM anyhow, so I added a 3725Z to the order. The Zeal will replace my very old and very wobbly Proto 5249 (which in turn replaced an even more worn and wobbly Plomb). I haven't been using the Proto for the last several years because it was so loose, but missed the short length.

Now the hard part: waiting for the UPS truck to show up!
 

Skin

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Question about backdrag on Koken ratchets: which has less backdrag — the standard pear head ratchets or the Zeal ratchets?

(Don't have any of their ratchets yet, and I think I need to try them.)

Pretty sure Koken rates them the same. They had a chart in their product catalog.
 
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GrantCee

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DHL International

Well, ****. DHL doesn't deliver where we live ("too remote", in their words, even though UPS and FedEx do), so they transfer it to USPS.

The trouble with that is USPS doesn't deliver to our house, either — so we have everything sent to our PO box. Guess what DHL doesn't accept as a valid delivery address?

Yep, a PO box.

I can't win.

:rant:
 

noid

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Well, ****. DHL doesn't deliver where we live ("too remote", in their words, even though UPS and FedEx do), so they transfer it to USPS.

The trouble with that is USPS doesn't deliver to our house, either — so we have everything sent to our PO box. Guess what DHL doesn't accept as a valid delivery address?

Yep, a PO box.

I can't win.

:rant:
You could ship to it somewhere like: https://www.shipito.com/en/

Then have them forward to you in any form you like (Fedex/UPS).

Although, I would place a small order and have them ship it DHL and see if it arrives, they may just hand off to Fedex for final mile delivery.
 

RKA

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If you don’t need it right away, LMK and I can toss it into my next jp order and re-ship to you. (Or someone else in this thread ordering sooner might offer up the same). I’m not sure when I’ll be placing the next order, nothing on my must have now list ATM.
 

E.T.

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Usually you can put your box number as the last four of your zip code and they’ll leave a pick up notice in your box. Also contact you post office. If it’s small enough they will hold packages with a street address if alerted ahead of time
 

4xdog

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If you don’t need it right away, LMK and I can toss it into my next jp order and re-ship to you. (Or someone else in this thread ordering sooner might offer up the same). I’m not sure when I’ll be placing the next order, nothing on my must have now list ATM.

Alternatively to your kind offer, RKA, someone in need of a physical address could simply order and pay for items themselves and have them shipped directly to your address for re-shipping inside the US.

Friends in Europe have let me do that with things I couldn't get shipped here by the vendor.
 

GrantCee

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If you don’t need it right away, LMK and I can toss it into my next jp order and re-ship to you. (Or someone else in this thread ordering sooner might offer up the same). I’m not sure when I’ll be placing the next order, nothing on my must have now list ATM.

Thanks for the offer. If I get desperate, I may take you up on it.
 

GrantCee

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Usually you can put your box number as the last four of your zip code and they’ll leave a pick up notice in your box. Also contact you post office. If it’s small enough they will hold packages with a street address if alerted ahead of time

Thanks for the advice, but I'm already intimately familiar with both — and neither works reliably here.

You see, we have a very tiny rural post office that has no permanent staff. Employees from the PO in the county seat take turns staffing our PO and doing route deliveries. None of them like this assignment, and do their jobs with the least effort possible. Notes of incoming packages are often ignored, for instance, and returned to sender.

We're coming up on 15 years out here, and have learned to live with the problems.
 

pizza

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GrantCee,

have you ever talked with your post office about this? i wonder if they'd hold a package for you as a courtesy.

i've been in a situation like that years ago where UPS and fedex would deliver but USPS didn't (rural area). frustratingly, azus doesn't say how they're sending stuff until after you order, and so i'd have problems when they'd ship usps. i'd go to my post office and tell them about it, and as a courtesy, they'd hold that stuff for me. i didn't even have a po box.

alternatively, could you somehow put a temporary change of address request in to USPS and have them forward to your PO box? probably a half-baked idea since it's an address they didn't deliver to in the first place, but i'm just thinking out loud.
 

GrantCee

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GrantCee,

have you ever talked with your post office about this? i wonder if they'd hold a package for you as a courtesy.

Many times. We don't have a Postmaster, so I talk with a different employee every time. It works, but only occasionally.

alternatively, could you somehow put a temporary change of address request in to USPS and have them forward to your PO box? probably a half-baked idea since it's an address they didn't deliver to in the first place, but i'm just thinking out loud.

Done that many times. It works, but only if the worker du jour actually looks at the notes before sorting the route. That doesn't always happen. In any case, after a while it expires and then they won't allow me to reinstate it. I wait until someone new shows up, then file another. And around we go!
 
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GrantCee

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Willamette Valley, Oregon
Back in the late '70s and early '80s, the one-hour-photo craze swept the nation. Noritsu, a Japanese company, invented the "minilab", which is the industry term for a one-hour-photo machine (actually a pair of machines — a film processor and an integrated printer/paper processor.) For a few years they had the market essentially to themselves, until the inevitable competition (largely from a company called Copal) took notice and introduced machines of their own. Noritsu, however, continued to dominate the market.

The first minilab to be sold in the U.S. was the Noritsu QSS-2 system. In the early '80s it cost $100,000.00, not including the site preparation (water, power, etc.) or installation. Despite the cost, new locations popped up seemingly daily.

At the time I was running a camera store, and we merged with a photofinishing concern that had decided to get into the one-hour-photo game. I transferred over to that division to oversee the retail operation, which eventually expanded into several locations (and led to a short stint working for Eastman Kodak, but that's another story.) Our equipment was initially all Noritsu.

Each Noritsu QSS-2 system came with a complete service manual and tool kit — all Japanese tools, of course. The chief components were screwdrivers and nutdrivers, which were all sourced from a company none of us had ever heard of: Vessel.

Now Noritsu didn't spend any more money than they absolutely had to on those tool kits, so they bought the very cheapest models from Vessel. We all thought they were "Jap ****" (it was the Reagan era, after all), and generally griped about the cheap tools. But we had to admit they worked pretty darned well!

Somehow I ended up with one piece of a Noritsu QSS-2 tool kit, probably from our first installation in 1983. It's a Vessel 7mm nut driver.

Keep in mind this was used in a wet, corrosive chemical environment, and later stored in an unheated garage for several decades. It's actually amazing that it's still in such good shape — the handle and ferrule are still tight, and it fits 7mm hex heads (if you can find any) perfectly.
 

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measuredtwice

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Thanks for the advice, but I'm already intimately familiar with both — and neither works reliably here.

You see, we have a very tiny rural post office that has no permanent staff. Employees from the PO in the county seat take turns staffing our PO and doing route deliveries. None of them like this assignment, and do their jobs with the least effort possible. Notes of incoming packages are often ignored, for instance, and returned to sender.

We're coming up on 15 years out here, and have learned to live with the problems.

Take this form to your post office and ask them to give you a street address for your PO box. This service was free for me. It is intended to get around the problem with shippers that won't deliver to a PO box.

https://www.usps.com/pobox/customer-agreement-for-premium-po-box-service-enhancements.pdf
 

GrantCee

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Jeff

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I would love to order from amazon.jp, but the shipping is almost as much as the items. Any tips to lighten the cost?
 

macgee

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Sepulveda Pass, CA
Been going through this thread (a lot f pages) with great interest and unfortunately now have a new & long "to buy" tool list. Thanks for that

I do have a question, does anyone have a lead or can recommend if anyone in Japan makes good carbon single edge utility razors like this (shown below)? That is reasonable to buy & source?

Just bought some NT black carbon 9mm blades but I use this type of utility blades (below) a lot every day; I would love to find the same carbon metal in a utility blade. I've run out of my very nice vintage USA new old stock (3 years worth) blades that were a joy to use but the newly made ones are junk in comparison even the ones marked usa. Need to find a new source of well made high carbon (not stainless blades). German ones are too crazy expensive.

Thanks

397492_p
 

measuredtwice

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Location
USA
I would love to order from amazon.jp, but the shipping is almost as much as the items. Any tips to lighten the cost?

The cost doubled or tripled during the pandemic because Japan suspended Japan Post EMS service to the USA. Since Japan Post is not available, Amazon is using the more expensive DHL. Once Japan Post opens delivery to the USA again the cost of shipping will go back down.
 

ttpete

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6,737
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Dearborn, MI
Been going through this thread (a lot f pages) with great interest and unfortunately now have a new & long "to buy" tool list. Thanks for that

I do have a question, does anyone have a lead or can recommend if anyone in Japan makes good carbon single edge utility razors like this (shown below)? That is reasonable to buy & source?

Just bought some NT black carbon 9mm blades but I use this type of utility blades (below) a lot every day; I would love to find the same carbon metal in a utility blade. I've run out of my very nice vintage USA new old stock (3 years worth) blades that were a joy to use but the newly made ones are junk in comparison even the ones marked usa. Need to find a new source of well made high carbon (not stainless blades). German ones are too crazy expensive.

Thanks

397492_p

Try here: https://www.razorbladeco.com/62-016...PdwrHgXF_rFrzrEYav9LFd-VNrOdmRXBoC0IkQAvD_BwE

Carbon here: https://www.razorbladeco.com/62-0163-extra-keen-blue-single-edge-blade
 
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