Originally Posted by catmandew52

From a driveway/weekend mechanic point of view, it is probably all about the nice shiny chrome in the waxed and polished tool box(and they are easier to find in the grass!).

When I still worked as a millwright/machine builder-repairman, my tools were a vast and varied assortment. Mostly older USA made Craftsman(shiny),some Snap-on special tools(shiny), Proto(shiny and blk ox), SK tools(shiny), Williams(black oxide), MAC(black oxide), and some WW2 Snap-On zinc-phosphate whitworth tools.
Hardest tools to keep clean and corrosion free, were special non-sparking tools. Most were bronze alloy, but as they became available, I began to buy titanium wrenches(they change colors in corrosive or acidic environments).
I never worried about hex wrenches and later, torx drivers, being blk ox, because I considered them as consumables.