Proto vs SK vs wright vs Williams USA vs Koken 1/4 sockets

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Hello everyone, I'm sure there's tons of existing discussion on sockets within the main industrial USA brands. However I don't see much comparison of the regular Koken sockets with these brands. Does anyone have any insight?

Notably the 8mm Koken 2400M-8 is about a $1.50 cheaper than the equivalent Wright Tool 20-08mm at circle c. The price is only about a 50¢ difference for the deep sockets.

I really like the z series but they're much more expensive in the deep drive than the other brands.

 

[Bockscar]

You won't go wrong with any of them

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

You won't go wrong with any of them

I agree with you on that honestly. I am just curious if theres any performance advantages of any single brand.

 

[M6erfan]

I agree with you on that honestly. I am just curious if theres any performance advantages of any single brand.

Proto, SK, & Wright are all pretty much equal, which is to say very good, IMO.

Ko-ken offers a few features that the three U.S. brands don't like shouldering & satin finish (on the lower part).

 

[Mgdoug3]

I like SK so that's what I went with for the majority of my sockets. Proto and Wright are also high quality and I have a few of them. I may have to try some Koken sockets sometime. I happen to like using sockets with shoulders. I have an older set of Blackhawk and I think Challenger. I only use them for 12 point bolts but they're a lot easier to grab off a ratchet.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Proto, SK, & Wright are all pretty much equal, which is to say very good, IMO.

Ko-ken offers a few features that the three U.S. brands don't like shouldering & satin finish (on the lower part).

Thank you for the response. What exactly do you mean by shouldering? Is it the groove that makes socket removal easier on the z-line? Notably the regular series doesn't have it. The existing koken regular line is a slight improvement over my old cman USA sockets for fitment.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I like SK so that's what I went with for the majority of my sockets. Proto and Wright are also high quality and I have a few of them. I may have to try some Koken sockets sometime. I happen to like using sockets with shoulders. I have an older set of Blackhawk and I think Challenger. I only use them for 12 point bolts but they're a lot easier to grab off a ratchet.

Thank you for your input. Notably only the z-line has shoulders on their sockets. The regular Koken sockets do not but they're significantly cheaper than anything else in this class. Only problem I've had with the koken z series 3/8 sockets is that they're actually too shallow. They often leave a small amount of the nut/bolt edge exposed due to how shallow they are. The z series deep sockets are awesome but I are pretty pricey since koken marks up their deep sockets quite a bit for some reason. I really wish they made a standard depth non-lowprofile z series socket.

 

[81turbota]

I’ve grown accustomed to SO’s shallow broaching on deep sockets. My 1/4 SAE deeps are Protos, which are fantastic, but deep broaching meaning it’s difficult to use one to start a nut. Can be advantageous in some situations. Just something to be aware of.

SO left Proto right. Not a SO vs Proto battle just broaching style which vary manufacturer to manufacturer. Proto fit and finish is excellent.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I’ve grown accustomed to SO’s shallow broaching on deep sockets. My 1/4 SAE deeps are Protos, which are fantastic, but deep broaching meaning it’s difficult to use one to start a nut. Can be advantageous in some situations. Just something to be aware of.

Very good point! This is one of the things I really like about the z-line koken sockets. I'd rather not have a deep broached socket again.
Does anyone know if the regular Koken sockets, wright, SK, or Williams deep sockets have shallow broaching like the snapons.

 

[Formerjeeper]

SK has shallow like the SO in the photo

 

[drtyler]

SK has the most shallow broach of the bunch. Williams are similar/same to Snap-on.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Shallow broach sockets may be slightly stronger but sometimes a deep broach is handy. If you're in a tight spot, the deep broach allows the nut to move deeper in the socket. With a shallow broach, the socket gets pushed out.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Shallow broach sockets may be slightly stronger but sometimes a deep broach is handy. If you're in a tight spot, the deep broach allows the nut to move deeper in the socket. With a shallow broach, the socket gets pushed out.

Fair point, though I rarely encounter these scenarios. Usually I just use deep drives to negate the need for extensions to reduce slop. Fortunately I have a few cman sockets as a backup.

 

[mhejl]

I've noticed SO and Williams have an issue with "wobble-fix" style of extensions. I've had standard SO and SK wobble extensions in the past and just recently got some of the "fix" style Koken and SO.

The smaller 3/8 shallow (up to 13mm, 1/2") and all deeps have a broaching "mushroom" at the drive end preventing the sockets from seating completely on the "fix" portion of the extension.

I have some GearWrench mids that have a similar mushroom but the extensions seat properly. Same with Sunnex impacts.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Fair point, though I rarely encounter these scenarios. Usually I just use deep drives to negate the need for extensions to reduce slop. Fortunately I have a few cman sockets as a backup.

I have very few deep broached sockets as well. 95% of the time shallow broached sockets work great. I was only giving an example when deep broached might be handy.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I have very few deep broached sockets as well. 95% of the time shallow broached sockets work great. I was only giving an example when deep broached might be handy.

Ah I see thank you

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Does anyone have any comment on the likelihood of these to round off fasteners? I know the koken Z would likely perform the best but I am curious about the rest. I haven't found any comparison testing on these brands.

 

[Mgdoug3]

A quality 6 point socket shouldn't round off any bolts unless the socket is completely worn out or the fastner is damaged or warn. I recently had a impact socket round off a nut because it was worn out. 12 point socket is a different story especially on smaller nuts.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Only situation where I could see this being a problem would be on rust or undersized fasteners. Ive round a fastener or two when I lived in new england. Not really so much of an issue in the desert where I live now though I can't shake the mentality.

Considering your point, the socket life/longevity would be more important. I can't imagine any testing existing for something like this though.

 

[bob15]

I know the koken Z would likely perform the best but I am curious about the rest.

I wouldn't say that. They are all pretty much on par for being equal. I prefer the Wright over the ones mentioned (though I prefer Bonney the most). I like the larger numbers on the side of the Wright sockets and their tools have never let me down.