Those poor, unfortunate souls, literally “built America” (and the rest of the world with those **** tools.
They somehow found the time to do something different other than obsess about and arguing endlessly over what is the best” high tooth count” ratchet
Somehow, they were worse off.
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Arguing about what “tools were best” likely goes back at least 200 years or more in the USA, and way further back in Europe.
There was a sword maker in viking age Scandinavia that marked his swords “+VLFBERH+T “, and the swords were notable for bring made from crucible steel, or at least most were, but there are examples not made from the same steel, so either the same maker could not get the right steel, or other blacksmiths were “forging/counterfeiting” the makers work.
Skokloster Castle in Sweden is notable for an unfinished wing of the castle, since the owner commissioning the castle died, and the work was apparently immediately stopped, and then never resumed on the wing, and all the tools, (or maybe most of the tools), were simply laid down and left, with the scaffolding left in place etc.
the planes were imported from the Netherlands and made by an Amsterdam toolmaker in a number of cases.
During the US colonial period, the Eastern states routinely imported tools from England, and later on, there was standardized shipping from some British cities to some US cities, with ships regularly leaving each week to transport goods and mail, etc., and there were “standardized” catalogs of goods that could be purchased and shipped over from England, including from Sheffield.
I would presume the German immigrants in Pennsylvania arranged to buy German tools somehow by preference.
Once toolmaking started on a large industrial scale in the USA, there were lots of competing toolmakers trying to make “the best” tool, or at least advertising such, with a ridiculous number of tool patents issued, and advances in metallurgy for steel and iron advertised.
Yes, the average person just needing a certain type of tool, probably just went in to the local hardware store, and then looked over what was in stock, or asked the clerk, and then bought what was available, but plenty of people probably went to multiple retailers to check competing stock and quality levels.
Most people don’t want to waste their money on ****, especially if they’ll be using that “**** tool” for decades, getting annoyed every time they use the tool.
With some tools, differences can be mild, and might have to do with subtle differences like ergonomics, which varies by person.
With other aspects, like tool design, the variations likely have to do with usage.
With other aspects, the variations are the result of quality of materials or design.
There are plenty of tool brands that are close enough in quality and design that it doesn’t matter much which one you use, but sometimes there are subtly differences that come into play for individual users.
