Koken Wobble Fix vs. SO Wobble Plus?

[The Critic]

I have a single 3" SO Wobble Plus extension that has worked well for me; I think I want to grab a set of this style extension. Are the Koken ones any better, or should I stick with SO? Looking to buy in both 1/4" and 3/8" drive.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I have a single 3" SO Wobble Plus extension that has worked well for me; I think I want to grab a set of this style extension. Are the Koken ones any better, or should I stick with SO? Looking to buy in both 1/4" and 3/8" drive.

This is subjective, but I have both in 3/8" (all sizes of Koken) and reach for the Koken's first.

 

[AEAdam]

don't own the Koken, but I think they put the knurling in the wrong place. If you have small hands, maybe the Koken knurling could work. Otherwise, I'd stick with snap on.

That said, is Koken WAY cheaper? I'm not sure I'd decide based on knurling alone.

IF I'm not mistaken, Snap on licensed wobble plus from Koken. I'm not sure SO is better in any way

 

[mikey03]

I got a couple but honestly haven’t used them much. I hear people complain it wobbles when you want fix and fixes when you want wobble and they say they wish they had separate ones.

Honestly I think I’d go with the wobble fix design for a mobile kit where space and weight matter and I’d get separate ones for home tool cart.

 

[drokihazan]

I have the Snap-On ones and they're so annoying that I should sell them. RE: @mikey03 above, that's exactly what happens to me. They come loose and wobble when I need them to stay, and they get jammed on and locked straight when I'm trying to wobble. This is especially bad with the 1/4" ones.
For any size where I have an actual flextension-type socket (whether Snap-On or Astro) I use that instead of Wobble+, and honestly I prefer an extension with a swivel socket over Wobble+. The only reason I've kept them until now is the thought that I might come into a situation where they're the only solution that fits, but I certainly haven't come across that yet. They're just an annoying tool I don't like using.
I do have 1/2" drive impact wobble extensions that I used to use before I got a ton of 1/2" swivel sockets, and they were pretty handy, but I don't really use those anymore either.
I rarely pick up an extension anymore that isn't a straight locking extension - I do use the Astro 1/2" Goliath ones on suspension bolts but not sure how much of a difference they make.

 

[Callelle]

I have both, including the locking wobels, and Koken by far, just for the knurling on the end alone.

 

[AEAdam]

I like mine. I don’t have problems with them, but agree fixed or wobbles are just easier to work with. I have snap on sets I bought on eBay missing members. I found wobbles for the missing pieces which gives me options without committing to one or the other style.

TBH, I think that might be the better approach.

 

[Shoreline_]

don't own the Koken, but I think they put the knurling in the wrong place. If you have small hands, maybe the Koken knurling could work. Otherwise, I'd stick with snap on.

That said, is Koken WAY cheaper? I'm not sure I'd decide based on knurling alone.

IF I'm not mistaken, Snap on licensed wobble plus from Koken. I'm not sure SO is better in any way

The knurling is similar to Mac.

 

[AEAdam]

The knurling is similar to Mac.

Picture?

When I’m using extensions, pretty frequently, the head of the ratchet is in my palm. I reach around the head to twist the extension. My fingers can’t comfortably reach the female end of the extension. They land further down the shank, precisely where Snap on (and almost every other maker) puts knurling. The Koken knurling might work better as a stand alone. I just don’t think it would work for me.

 

[Shoreline_]

Picture?

When I’m using extensions, pretty frequently, the head of the ratchet is in my palm. I reach around the head to twist the extension. My fingers can’t comfortably reach the female end of the extension. They land further down the shank, precisely where Snap on (and almost every other maker) puts knurling. The Koken knurling might work better as a stand alone. I just don’t think it would work for me.

You can see here they have it at the beginning

 

[AEAdam]

You can see here they have it at the beginning

Thanks. Thats interesting they have the knurling at the end and also the shank. I thought Koken only had knurling at the end.

Sorry to talk so much about knurling. Other thing to think about is lengths. Snap on extensions are very clever about lengths.

In the old days, extensions were available in sets like 3,6,9,12”. so obviously you can join two together to make one of the others. Snap on extensions aren’t like that. When you join them, you get in between sizes. I’ve never done the math, but you may be able to build extensions every inch from 2-12+ or something like that. The Koken set I just saw online is 32, 50, 75, 125, & 250mm

That said, to be honest, I rarely do that. I’m always good with close enough. But there could be jobs out there where you need something specific and I just haven’t come across them.

SUMMARY
1) I like tight fitting extensions. Don’t love slop in the joints. I’m sure either Snap on or Koken would be more than acceptable
2) Knurling I’ve beaten to death
3) Lengths included in the sets can be important.
4) Last- I think extensions are luxury tools. I have several sets and they do get me out of jams. My opinion: more is better

 

[Shoreline_]

Thanks. Thats interesting they have the knurling at the end and also the shank. I thought Koken only had knurling at the end

Yea the whole set is like that except the shortest. It has no knurling. I got this set about 2 years ago. I saw in the flyer that it had the knurling - I feel like the old sets didn't. My only other sets are Snapon or Matco which is exactly like you say. And since I for some reason didn't have a set of non locking standard style extensions I picked up this set on sale.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Picture?

 

[ronkz650]

I may just be different in how I work, but I have both full sets of Koken Wobble-Fix in 1/4 and 3/8 drive and find them near useless, or at least really aggravating. They are pretty much always on wobble even using koken sockets. I rarely want wobble so this is really tiresome. I got the regular extensions in both 1/4 and 3/8 in Koken and they are awesome. I put the Wobble-Fix sets in the reject tool chest, things I bought and will never use, but have just in case.

 

[NHtoolguy]

The knurling on the Ko-ken tools is about as perfect as it's humanly possible to make it. As I've heard before, "VERY IMPRESSIVE!" So many other manufacturers fail at this.

 

[wafrederick]

don't own the Koken, but I think they put the knurling in the wrong place. If you have small hands, maybe the Koken knurling could work. Otherwise, I'd stick with snap on.

That said, is Koken WAY cheaper? I'm not sure I'd decide based on knurling alone.

IF I'm not mistaken, Snap on licensed wobble plus from Koken. I'm not sure SO is better in any way

Koken was first for it and they had a patent on it at first. Snap On copied it after the patent that Koken had on them expired

 

[KnurledNut]

Has anyone used Milwaukee?

 

[KnurledNut]

I may just be different in how I work, but I have both full sets of Koken Wobble-Fix in 1/4 and 3/8 drive and find them near useless, or at least really aggravating. They are pretty much always on wobble even using koken sockets. I rarely want wobble so this is really tiresome. I got the regular extensions in both 1/4 and 3/8 in Koken and they are awesome. I put the Wobble-Fix sets in the reject tool chest, things I bought and will never use, but have just in case.

I saw you mention this in the new arrivals thread as well. Tell me more. Do sockets not fully seat when used in the fixed position?

 

[manwithtools]

I saw you mention this in the new arrivals thread as well. Tell me more. Do sockets not fully seat when used in the fixed position?

FYI, I just checked them with 40+ year old SK, Snap On and Craftsman. Also fairly new Toptul and Astro Nano's and they work in wobble and fixed mode just fine. New Z Series work fantastic as well.

 

[HannibalLecter]

The knurling on the Ko-ken tools is about as perfect as it's humanly possible to make it. As I've heard before, "VERY IMPRESSIVE!" So many other manufacturers fail at this.

And all that for them to ditch it on the zeal series

 

[KnurledNut]

FYI, I just checked them with 40+ year old SK, Snap On and Craftsman. Also fairly new Toptul and Astro Nano's and they work in wobble and fixed mode just fine. New Z Series work fantastic as well.

From what I am seeing in pictures, some of them don’t seat fully when in the fixed position. Thats going to make them easier to pop into wobble when being used, which is the biggest complaint in general with these extensions.

Regardless, it would be nice for the sake of others if the the discussion moved here instead of clogging the SYNTA thread.

 

[KnurledNut]

Try the Koken Wobble-Fix on a bit socket, hex or torx ect and you're stuck in wobble 100% of the time if using Koken sockets. I'm talking of hex (Allen) and similarly designed torx. On Koken Zeal in the short length as pictured a few posts back, yes you can lock the extension straight, but the extension extends into the socket where once placed on a bolt, the bolt head pushes the extension out to the wobble position.
I don't mean to go on and on. They are nice tools and work on many sockets, but there are many they don't. I mostly work with motorcycles with a lot of Allen head fasteners and the Wobble-Fix is annoying to use to say the least. Get the 2760 or 3760 series without wobble. They work so much better.

(I transferred the quote from the SYNTA thread.)

This is what I was inquiring about in my post prior. I appreciate the real world advice. A lot of nuances show up when a tool is put through the paces that aren’t so obvious when bench testing lightly used tools.

 

[Steel_Rain]

(I transferred the quote from the SYNTA thread.)

This is what I was inquiring about in my post prior. I appreciate the real world advice. A lot of nuances show up when a tool is put through the paces that aren’t so obvious when bench testing lightly used tools.

I'll transfer these to work in August to put them though the paces.

 

[shibertus]

I got a couple but honestly haven’t used them much. I hear people complain it wobbles when you want fix and fixes when you want wobble and they say they wish they had separate ones.

I have the Snap-On ones and they're so annoying that I should sell them. RE: @mikey03 above, that's exactly what happens to me. They come loose and wobble when I need them to stay, and they get jammed on and locked straight when I'm trying to wobble. This is especially bad with the 1/4" ones.

Koken now has locking wobble-fix that will lock in either the wobble or fixed position. Around 1:20 in this video:

 

[lu787a]

Koken now has locking wobble-fix that will lock in either the wobble or fixed position. Around 1:20 in this video:

Looks like they will lock in wobble position. But they will not lock in straight position. You can pull it from straight to wobble without using the release. But to go from wobble to straight or to release the socket you must engage the release collar.

 

[drokihazan]

Koken now has locking wobble-fix that will lock in either the wobble or fixed position. Around 1:20 in this video:

Yeah, I actually have the 1/2" Snap-On Chrome ones. They were like 250 freaking dollars for three extensions, and that was on sale on that ice cream truck summer promo. But they work, and it's pretty cool. I'd consider 3/8 ones. I wonder if the Snap-On ones are made by Koken

 

[KnurledNut]

I'll transfer these to work in August to put them though the paces.

Came across this video that shows some more details. Closed caption available in English. It seems the engagement in the fixed position is a little shallow as I previously mentioned. Also not sure that I would like the free spinning lock release sleeve.

Back to the Koken vs SO discussion, it looks like the SO may have a little thicker shaft which could be a strength advantage if it minimizes torsion during heavy use.