As mentioned in the recent tool sightings post, I had visited London this past July. The trip was quite leisurely paced, so I had time to scout out a few tool shops, the first of which was The Tool Shop in Victoria.
Overall the store was a rather disappointing and bland experience. Following are the notes I jotted down immediately after leaving the store, raw with disappointment.
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The Tool Shop sucked. Lots of “CK” imported tools, Stanley, Draper, and similar. USA-made vise grips for £35 ($59 USD!!). Some Knipex, very few Wiha, many unmarked/unbranded tools. Several tools had no COO (country of origin) info.
Ouch. I was way tougher on them in my notes than I remember being. In their defense, The Tool Shop seems like a decent DIY or hardware store. Still, with a name like theirs, we had expected a more elaborate and less grungy tool selection.
In case you were wondering what the flyer on the window says, it was advertising their “specail offer.”
Summary: The Tool Shop is sufficient for everyday DIY and repair needs, terrible for trans-atlantic travelling tool enthusiasts.
Update 3/6/21: The Tool Shop’s website is now defunct and the link has been removed.
san
Agreed, the Tool Shop in Victoria is quite poor. Next time you’re in London, you could head east and take a look at Cecil Tyzack in Hackney:
http://www.tyzacktools.com/
which is, AFAICT, the last remains of the historical sawmaking family Tyzack’s empire:
http://www.tyzack.net/chap18.pdf
… I’ve no commercial relationship to Tyzack’s, but thought you’d like to see a better view fo tool shops in London.
Stuart
Thanks for the recommendation! I’m not sure when I’ll be back there, but I’ll definitely make an effort to visit Tyzack Tools whenever that may be.