Global Rating: 4.00 from 3 reviews.
Add your own review for this product
| rating | title | date | name | city state/province country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Love it! (5/5) | Jan 17, 2012 | Big John | Atlanta GA |
| I love this old set of Japanese sockets. Goes with my old Honda. Tim must not have read this is new old stock, history. Maybe this set don't meet his standards today but it was good tools back then when made in Japan was cheap crap. | ||||
|
Koken Metric Tool Kit (5/5) | May 29, 2009 | Mike Freimund | Green Bay Wi US |
| Bought this kit 2 years ago and it's been in my saddlebag, ever since. Great addition to the factory tool kit. I find myself constantly reaching for this set, whenever I need to do any maintenance or repairs. | ||||
|
You live and learn... (2/5) | Jul 1, 2010 | Tim M. | Kitsap Co. WA US |
|
If you're a mechanic or tool enthusiast who's familiar with the Ko-Ken name, be advised that while they may be the "Snap-On of Japan" TODAY, this tool set is OLD. If you're looking for smooth efficiency, look elsewhere. I wanted one of these for myself and thought I'd buy two, one more for my brother's birthday. Even though he's an Armstrong Tool kinda guy, we are a Japanese family who respect fine Japanese engineering. This socket wrench set is not such an example. Right out of the box, just about every piece in the set had signs of rust or corrosion. Not enough to inhibit the tool, but present nonetheless. If you carry the case around, your sockets will become disorganized, so get a clip rail. The sockets seem to be pretty sturdy, same goes for the extensions. The T-handle has no center notch like my KD one, but the drive head is open so it should be easier to clean. The flex on the breaker bar is STIFF but it looks pretty damn hefty. I'll never use the 3/8" spinner handle. The ratchet is pretty odd. I presumed it would be comparable to an old Indestro ratchet my grandfather has. Similar pearhead design but the Ko-Ken is slightly shorter with a bigger head. Both have 24 teeth. I've read complaints elsewhere that the knurling is too sharp but it's fine. The retaining screws for the faceplate protrude a little but from the other end of the ratchet, not too significant but not pretty either. The 3/8" drive head doubles on the opposite side (where a quick-release button would be) as a 14mm 12 pt. socket; novel, but even though it's a very common size to use, it doesn't seem very practical to me as there's no offset and there's a 14mm socket included. I'd use a box-end wrench over it any day. The ratchet does not use a ball detent to reverse the drive. A spring puts pressure on the pawl which engages the teeth. The lever activates one pawl and depresses the other spring, pushing the opposite pawl away from the teeth; it's pretty damn stiff too. I'm a bit disappointed because I don't know if my brother would like it and now I know for sure he won't use it. As for myself, I'm still not sure. I'll use it and if I become fond of it, cool, I dig old tools. Otherwise I'll probably throw it in the trunk of my car. Buyer beware, Tim |
||||