The amount of UK tool manufactures is small, which probably has something to do with the size of our country. all i can think of off-hand are Draper, Sealey and Britool. there are more, but nothing comes to mind right now.
Draper, for the most part is on level with Craftsman. they offer an "Expert" line which is just about the same as Craftsman's "Professional" line. i have 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" sets from Draper, which i think are very good. i don't plan on replacing them anytime soon and i use them 6 days a week as a tech. they've never let me down and you can't argue with the price either. shopping around can get you about 40% off list price. how much of their range is made over here, i don't know. nothing is marked as being made here.
Sealey do some stuff that's on par with craftsman, and some which is on par with Harbour Freight. i have a small selection of their tools, luckily the few i have are of fair quailty. they offer a larger range of tools, probably about the same amount as what craftsman offers with a bias towards the mechanic.
Britool, i believe, is the oldest of these three. they used to be very good quailty tools. they still are, but have dropped a little since the '80s when they were taken over by Stanley-Facom. quailty was lowered to improve profit. it didn't work out and many stopped buying their tools. they are coming back up, but slowly. i have one Britool wrench, no idea of its age, but it's good quality. Britool's range isn't so big. it's mostly the usual stuff wrenches/sockets/ratchets/screwdrivers/boxes/etc with no offerings for specialist tools.
Our DIY and auto parts store often carry their own lines. Of course, all manufactured elsewhere and stamped with their name. most of the time you can go between stores and the sets are exactly the same, apart from the logo and colour of the packaging. some are pretty good, and carry a lifetime warranty. most don't.
For the professional, Snap-on still sits at the top. Our dealers use Mercedes-Benz Vario and Sprinter vans, so they can't carry the same volume as your dealers, but they're usually well stocked. price-wise, what you pay a dollar we pay a pound (this is true for just about everything) so it seems to cost us twice as much. but it's all relative, still pricey but still the best. they truly are the choice of the professional.
there are Mac dealers around, but they're more scarce and have only been around for 20 or so years. not a well-known name over here, and i doubt they'll ever do well this side of the pond. i've been into the Mac van a coulple times, and it seems they want the same price as Snap-on for what really feel like inferior tools. their sockets seem to have "gimmicky" features and i just don't feel they're worth them prices they want. i don't own a single Mac tool. probably never will. i looked a set of triple-square drivers on the van once, half had round shanks and half had hex shanks. not impressed by that. especially not impressed considering the ~$120 pricetag.
we don't get Craftsman/proto/S-K/Blackhawk/Kobalt/etc over here. in fact, there are many brands i'd never heard of before joining.
European tools are good on the whole. Although a little hard to find at time, and often expensive. Facom are good, but again cost a lot and aren't easy to find. personally, i'm not a fan.
I have three Hazet tools, two special "cut out" sockets for doing strut nuts on MacPherson struts, and a spline socket for Bosch alternator pulley. all three are excellent quality. i bought them through VW TPS, as they make many VW-Audi factory tools. they have the VW, Seat, Skoda, Audi logos on them. there are lots of Hazet tools i lust after, and even though i've only got three, i know the quality won't disappoint.
Stahlwille are good, also expensive and hard to find. i haven't seen much of their stuff i'd choose over Snap-on though. i'd buy them for specialist tools, like i do with Hazet. but for things like wrenches/sockets/ratchets i'd pass.
An odd thing i've noticed is that European tool manufacturers, such as Facom/Hazet/Stahlwille, don't make 24" breaker bars. they only go up to 15-18" for some reason. i don't know why.
most of my wrenches are German-made Elora. i'm very happy with them. i got a good price and have almost every size from 5.5mm to 41mm. the tolerances are very tight. if you round it with an Elora wrench, you'll round it with a Snap-on one. their flare nut wrenches are very good too. very tight fit, sometimes needing a little tap to get them on rusty fittings, but they won't round anything.
There's also Matador, another German company which isn't easy to find. their tools are very good quailty, and they too supply OEM tools to VW-Audi. one thing i would reccomend is their trim removal tool. it can be bought through VW under the part number T10236 (it comes up on their system as "release tool") it's half the price of my Snap-on trim remover (which is ****) and it's absolutely brilliant. i buy them and sell/give them to friend because i think they're the best you can buy.
my tool collection varies. i have some 20 Snap-on Ratchets. from 1/4" flex-head hard-handle 936s (of which i've only ever seen one. and i own it!) to 36"-long 3/4" ratchets. i've tried all kinds of ratchets and like these far more than anything else. i have a fair collection of Snap-on 3/8" sockets and bit-drivers. as i said before, all my wrenches are Elora. my 1/2" Shallow/deep and chrome/impact sockets are Draper Expert. never broken or cracked one. i have some Stanley pliers, but prefer the worn-in no-name ones i found in the garage. probably 40 or so years old, but they're good. i think they're made in the UK. i have some Knipex pliers, which are very good, and i'd reccomend them to anyone.
hope that answers some questions. it's 4:30am and i'm off work sick, so my mind isn't staying focused so well.
any other questions, just ask. also, if anyone wants European tools shipped over, let me know, i'll try sort it out.
