I haven't seen a brand (American or German) that won't occasionally have a little movement. We probably need to define "wobble" to be on the same page. Many define it as holding the knife in one hand and the tip of the blade between the thumb and forefinger and moving back and forth to discern a slight movement. If that is your definition, then most brands will bat about 20%+ with "wobble"; except maybe GEC because they peen their joints tight and use a heavier backspring to overcome the imposed resistance (which is why the main complaint about GEC's are their nailbreaker character).
The difference in experience is more likely due to the owner, not the knife. Folks that have been collecting for 15+ years many times don't notice issues that were not issues when they started collecting. If a joint has a gap that allows the blade to move freely, that is what wobble used to be. Now, it is any discernible forced movement. I see this issue the most on lockbacks; because their backspring is more of a lockbar than a spring. Thus, the makers shim the joint to allow for free flow of the blade; otherwise it needs to be pushed open/closed. But, for production companies that use human hands for assembly, getting a knife perfectly tuned with no side movement but that will still freely snap open/closed is very time consuming. It would be great if every knife had both, but I expect it boils down to the economy of the process.
To be able to tune every knife to your own preferences all you need is a soft buffing wheel, a cratex wheel, a butter knife, and a small ball peen hammer (with the small side cut into a V). Put the back bolster on a piece of wood (or anvil if you don't mind a little more buffing in the end) and tap the top bolster with the flat hammer until you get the action you want. If you exposed pins use the V side to spread them out (peen) to hold position. If too tight you can cut the edge of the butter knife in half and quasi-sharpen the rest of it; then pinch it between the liner and tang by closing the blade on it until you get the action you want. Cratex off the protruding pins and scars from hammer, then buff to a mirror shine. This will cost $50 or so to get started but deliver your exact preference for a lifetime. It would be great if this was perfectly tuned at the factory, but not a realistic expectation for human hands on a timeline (not to say we shouldn't expect it, just to say expecting it is probably an effort in futility).
If our American / German companies could afford completely automated assembly lines then tolerances would be much tighter. But I don't expect we will see them spending millions a year to support this while making hundreds of thousands on the finished product. And if they could turn out 5000 knives a day instead of 100, I am not sure we would have the market for them anyway. At least that is my twisted opinion.
I ain't arguing with him
