Tools Brands that were specifically marketed to certain individual markets, tended to only advertise in magazines geared to those markets, and may only or mostly distributed thru stores and distributors that supplied those markets.
While probably illegal, there may have also been handshake agreements between different manufacturers or brands, to stay out of each others primary markets.
Of one manufacturer’s products might have appealed to a different market segment, arrangements might have been made for one or more primary brands in the other segment to purchase the manufacturers product, rebranded under the market dominator’s name, thereby both the manufacturer and the alternative brand got a cut of potential profits.
Auto tool brands used to specifically market to garages and mechanics in technical and popular market specific magazines, and thru tool trucks, and by sponsoring race teams etc.
These brands also tended to make tools that were very industry and task specific.
The same thing goes for other market segments like Electricians, Plumbing and heating, Construction, roofing, etc.
You can tell which markets a brand wants to market to by the ultra specific use tools.
Klein makes and have made plenty of tools very specifically for the electrical trade.
Stride/Imperial tends to get marketed towards heating, cooling, and refrigeration.
Ridgid and Reed are geared towards plumbing.
Malco and Midwest both specialize in tools for sheet metal, for roofing and ducting.
Starrett and Browne & Sharpe specialize in machinist metrology tools.
Etc.
Otherwise, there were manufacturers that would manufacture general hand tools of standardized types, as well as tool manufacturers that specialized in certain specific types of tools.
Utica, Crescent, Channellock, and Knipex for instance all primarily make pliers, with a few other tools thrown in, either historically, or by brands that were owned by the same corporation.
Vaughan and Estwing were both primarily hammer and prybar manufacturers.
Most power tool manufacturers cover multiple industries, since the main issue is making decent motors, at least in the USA.
Even power tool manufacturers that were primarily known for one market segment, such as classic USA made Porter Cable, still routinely made tools for other maker segments, such as metalworking, sheet metal, etc.
European power tool manufacturers on the other hand are sometimes more specific, with tool brands manufacturing for very specific market segments, and usually better left there.
Festool for instance very specifically manufactures their tools for finish carpentry and cabinetmaking, although they also manufactured for automotive finishing and detailing in Europe, and now the USA.
Festool’s owners also owned a brand called Protool, that made general purpose power tools, although the brand may have been killed off with some tools merged into the Festool line.
Mafell mostly makes tools for finish carpentry, carpentry in general, and Large Scale Timber framing.
Lanello specialized in tools for finish carpentry and cabinetmaking.
Virutex again specializes in specialized carpentry and cabinetmaking tools.
Draco and Trumpf basically make sheet metal tools such as shears and nibblers, slthough Trumpf now manufactures CNC laser cutting systems, as well as medical lasers.
As for general purpose hand tools, it probably doesn’t matter what brand or market a hand tool was made for, as long as you understand the attributes of the tool and use.
Carpentry hammers are made for driving relatively soft nails into relatively soft wood.
If you hit hardened steel with a carpenter’s hammer, you might chip the face, although I don’t know that I’ve ever seem a chipped Estwing.
Ball Pein hammers are usually made for hammering steel, and are tempered softer so they ding up more easily, but are less likely to chip.
Flush cut pliers are usually made for cutting soft non-ferrous metal, or maybe mild steel, but never hardened steel.
Nowadays though, there are further specifics that can be harder to judge.
Impacts are "Asian whatevers"