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KABO COMPILATION: spline extra long flex ratcheting double box wrench

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Ton ton

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Now is not the time for me to spend money like this but I pulled the trigger.

I calculated that I’d have spent about a gallon in gas getting to/from the store so the $6.99 shipping was palatable for me not having to drive.
Just curious, how long does the shipping take?
 

NC Fabricator25

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I ordered a set of the Icons over the holiday weekend to take advantage of the 20% off and still have some reasonable expectation of warranty when/if needed. Shipping was $7 and they arrived today…..in a well oversized plain brown box. The box was so big I was wondering what package it was and assumed it was a mistaken delivery, but no, my set of Icons was sliding around inside. No damage though. The wrenches seems nice, they sure are long and I can see how the splined extension coupled with the flex joint and the length will make these useful for auto work. Still a bit in shock I spent nearly $200 on a set of wrenches from harbor freight…

Any sources for the larger sizes at a reasonable price point?
 

dnschmidt

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KABO does make two larger wrenches but NOT AT A REASONABLE PRICE POINT. They make a 21X22 and a 24X25 and these cost about $100 each from the sources I've seen (K-tool and Platinum). I suggested to Harbor Freight over a year ago that they make an extender set for these (why KABO chose 24X25 when I've never seen 25 used on anything ever is a mystery to me). So far they've done nothing with my suggestion.
 

Odd-job

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KABO does make two larger wrenches but NOT AT A REASONABLE PRICE POINT. They make a 21X22 and a 24X25 and these cost about $100 each from the sources I've seen (K-tool and Platinum). I suggested to Harbor Freight over a year ago that they make an extender set for these (why KABO chose 24X25 when I've never seen 25 used on anything ever is a mystery to me). So far they've done nothing with my suggestion.
It would be great if they did.

Matco for $244 which I am guessing the extra $44 buys you a warranty.

 

javyLSU

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It would be great if they did.

Matco for $244 which I am guessing the extra $44 buys you a warranty.

That's what I did, specifically for the warranty. I've got a great Matco dealer, he also cut me a deal on the wrenches when I bought them so that was icing on the cake.

Cornwell does sell a 21mm x 22mm & 24mm x 27mm set - I would have rather had those sizes, but the price difference was almost $100 between my Matco and Cornwell dealers.
 

M635_Guy

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Great thread. I'm guess the 27mmx30mm is pretty handy sometimes.

I've got about as much in my Icon XL double-box ratcheting and flex-ratcheting sets as they want for just the flex set today, so I feel pretty good about that...

These have been handy for motor mount and suspension stuff...
 

Madjik Man

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Opened up the packaging and tested out each wrench.

Observations:

1. The stiffness of each flex head (hey yo!) varies. Some are pretty tight and some are pretty loose... and everywhere in between. I'd imagine that they will all loosen up a bit over time/use.

2. The 19mm ratchet head sounds and feels a lot jankier than all the others. Like comparing a 90 tooth to a 36 tooth. Does anyone else with these wrenches experience the same? I wonder if I need to swap out this one wrench?
 

assassin10000

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Opened up the packaging and tested out each wrench.

Observations:

1. The stiffness of each flex head (hey yo!) varies. Some are pretty tight and some are pretty loose... and everywhere in between. I'd imagine that they will all loosen up a bit over time/use.

2. The 19mm ratchet head sounds and feels a lot jankier than all the others. Like comparing a 90 tooth to a 36 tooth. Does anyone else with these wrenches experience the same? I wonder if I need to swap out this one wrench?
It'll probably smooth out with use.

You could try putting a couple drops of marvel, ATF or something to wick into the mechanism (on the extended portion). That may help.
 

Madjik Man

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It'll probably smooth out with use.

You could try putting a couple drops of marvel, ATF or something to wick into the mechanism (on the extended portion). That may help.

Was thinking that. All the heads have nice lube (hey yo!) distribution in them. When messing with them I was getting it on my fingers and it was smearing on the chrome.
 

BlackBowtie

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CA
Might be the most ridiculous use of shipping box.

I had like a $73 order once from national tool warehouse, I tossed a pen into the order to hit the $75 mark and get free shipping. Pen came completely separate than the rest of my order, tons of brown paper tissue and a box big enough to ship a pair of shoes in for a singular pen.
 

M635_Guy

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Opened up the packaging and tested out each wrench.

Observations:

1. The stiffness of each flex head (hey yo!) varies. Some are pretty tight and some are pretty loose... and everywhere in between. I'd imagine that they will all loosen up a bit over time/use.

2. The 19mm ratchet head sounds and feels a lot jankier than all the others. Like comparing a 90 tooth to a 36 tooth. Does anyone else with these wrenches experience the same? I wonder if I need to swap out this one wrench?
I just checked mine. All my heads were equally tight (dvkfQG.gif) and had essentially no slop. The 19mm does seem to hit critical mass for the mechanism as far as feeling the teeth, but pretty much at every size the bigger end had a more...robust...feel than the smaller end.

I think I just tied a knot in my brain, so I'm going to go to bed...
 
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Belanice

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Just bought a 27mm x 30mm 😜😝🤪
 

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bonneyman

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I couldnt find these on Cornwell’s webcat yet, but the latest paper catalog shows some 120t DBE ratcheting double flex extra long spline wrenches. They dont appear to be reversing or offset ring. AFAICT, they are Kabo.
I’ll add a pic:

52313677290_50fdf6fe85_b.jpg

Double ratcheting box end, reversible and with spline drive, extra long AND double flex? Shoot!
Do those cook dinner and wash my laundry too? lol
 
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Belanice

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SMT 17RWFDBX (120T)
PDF
SMT 17RWEDBX.jpg

 
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OP
K

KnurledNut

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SMT 17RWFDBX (120T)
PDF
SMT 17RWEDBX.jpg

I saw these for sale a few months ago and couldnt find any info on the brand. Thanks for sharing the pdf.
 

GeoBruin

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Man, it looks like the HF Icons are about the only ones that have both the metric and SAE in stock and they're not cheap (I should have pulled the trigger with the 20% off holiday sale). I see the mountain metric set at Zoro for $150 but they SAE is out of stock. Anywhere else I should be looking?
 

zmotorsports

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Man, it looks like the HF Icons are about the only ones that have both the metric and SAE in stock and they're not cheap (I should have pulled the trigger with the 20% off holiday sale). I see the mountain metric set at Zoro for $150 but they SAE is out of stock. Anywhere else I should be looking?

I'm not sure what they're running now but I bought the Carlyle branded ones from my local NAPA earlier this summer when they were on the quarterly Real Deals. May be worth checking to see if they're on sale again or not.
 

bwringer

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I'd love to see a "JIS" set -- I pretty much only work on Japanese and Korean machines, so I have no need for 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, or 18mm stuff.

i have a set of the Mountain version, and they're great, but the only ones that see any use are the 8x10mm, 12x14mm, and 17x19mm. At least they distributed the sizes intelligently so that I was able to put the 13x15 and 16x18 in my "Fords-n-such" drawer way in the back in case I ever need them and keep the three I need in my daily box.

21x22 and a 24x27 would be mighty nice, too. Not sure if these are out there individually, but I'm sure I'll need to save up lots of pennies.
 

Callelle

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Depew NY
21x22 and a 24x27 would be mighty nice, too. Not sure if these are out there individually, but I'm sure I'll need to save up lots of pennies.
I bought a used set of Cornwells and they've definitely been nice to have in those bigger sizes.
 

assassin10000

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Man, it looks like the HF Icons are about the only ones that have both the metric and SAE in stock and they're not cheap (I should have pulled the trigger with the 20% off holiday sale). I see the mountain metric set at Zoro for $150 but they SAE is out of stock. Anywhere else I should be looking?
JBtools and Tooltopia
I'd love to see a "JIS" set -- I pretty much only work on Japanese and Korean machines, so I have no need for 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, or 18mm stuff.

i have a set of the Mountain version, and they're great, but the only ones that see any use are the 8x10mm, 12x14mm, and 17x19mm. At least they distributed the sizes intelligently so that I was able to put the 13x15 and 16x18 in my "Fords-n-such" drawer way in the back in case I ever need them and keep the three I need in my daily box.

21x22 and a 24x27 would be mighty nice, too. Not sure if these are out there individually, but I'm sure I'll need to save up lots of pennies.
They sell the 21x22 and 24x25 as a set and the 27x30 individually iirc.
I bought a used set of Cornwells and they've definitely been nice to have in those bigger sizes.
I have the Matco and use them quite a bit.
 

Ton ton

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I'm not sure what they're running now but I bought the Carlyle branded ones from my local NAPA earlier this summer when they were on the quarterly Real Deals. May be worth checking to see if they're on sale again or not.
I second going through Napa if you have a good Napa close by. My Napa has been pretty decent when it comes to warranty details.
 

GeoBruin

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I second going through Napa if you have a good Napa close by. My Napa has been pretty decent when it comes to warranty details.
Thanks. It looks like the Carlyle through Napa are about double what the Icons go for and the Icons would be easier for me to warranty. I guess that's my best option.
 

Bubba Fett

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Man, it looks like the HF Icons are about the only ones that have both the metric and SAE in stock and they're not cheap (I should have pulled the trigger with the 20% off holiday sale). I see the mountain metric set at Zoro for $150 but they SAE is out of stock. Anywhere else I should be looking?
Are the SAE ones actually a different size than the Metric ones? Splines tend to be based on metric specs, even if they are labeled SAE.
 

GeoBruin

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Are the SAE ones actually a different size than the Metric ones? Splines tend to be based on metric specs, even if they are labeled SAE.
Well that's a good point, and now that I look more closely, the icons are only available in metric. But it appears several other sellers do offer a four wrench SAE set. So help me understand, how does it all work? What if I need to turn an sae fastener without a closely equivalent metric size?
 

Bubba Fett

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Well that's a good point, and now that I look more closely, the icons are only available in metric. But it appears several other sellers do offer a four wrench SAE set. So help me understand, how does it all work? What if I need to turn an sae fastener without a closely equivalent metric size?
A long time ago, I bought some Craftsman ratcheting spline wrenches in both Metric and SAE. After close inspection, and measuring, I realized they were the same size. Only the markings were different.

Kobalt had some that were marketed as universal, and (if memory serves) were kind enough to put both Metric and SAE stampings on them, but I don't know if they are still available, and I'm pretty sure they were not long pattern flex-heads.

I figure a good set of Metrics should also cover most common SAE sizes, or be "close enough. The bad thing about spline wrenches is they don't perfectly fit anything except spline bolts, which I rarely encounter. They can be used on 4, 6, and 12-point fasteners, but the contact isn't as good as dedicated wrenches, which does make me nervous.
 
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