Every tool set on this site leads with a number: 65 pieces, 104, 173, 230. The number is honest — the parts really are in the box — but it is a poor guide to whether the set suits you, because piece counts are inflated by things you will rarely reach for. A 173-piece set is not three times more useful than a 65-piece one.

What the count is actually counting

Open any large set and the bulk of the count is screwdriver bits and sockets. Those are cheap to include and they are where manufacturers add volume. The tools that decide whether a set is worth owning — the pliers, the adjustable spanner, the claw hammer, the tape, the utility knife — appear once each regardless of whether the box says 65 or 230.

So the question is not “how many pieces” but “how many tools, and how many bits”.

The jobs a rented flat throws at you

In a rented two-bedroom flat, the recurring work is narrow and repetitive:

• Tightening the hinges and handles that loosen on cupboard doors
• Assembling and later disassembling flat-pack furniture when you move
• Putting up a curtain rod, a mirror or a shelf — the only job that needs drilling
• Changing a tap washer or a shower head
• Opening the back of an appliance to clear a filter

Every one of those is covered by a screwdriver with a decent bit range, one pair of combination pliers, an adjustable spanner, a hammer, a tape measure and a knife. That is a mid-size household set, not a mechanics chest.

Where the bigger sets earn their place

The large sets in our catalogue — the 230-piece and 262-piece mechanics chests — are built around sockets and ratchets in both SAE and metric. They exist for vehicle work: a two-wheeler service, a car battery terminal, a suspension bolt. If nothing you own has a nut on it, that half of the set will stay in its tray.

Buy the big chest if you work on a vehicle. Buy the household set if you maintain a home. Buying the chest for household work means paying for sockets and storing a case you will half-use.

One thing worth checking before you order

Look at whether the set includes a drill. Several of ours pair a 8V or 12V cordless driver with the hand tools, and those are a genuinely different proposition — a driver turns a two-hour flat-pack assembly into twenty minutes. A set without one is not incomplete, but if you are choosing between two sets at a similar price and only one has a driver, that is usually the more useful box.

If you are unsure which one covers your list, write to us with the jobs rather than the piece count. We will point at one — or tell you we do not stock what you need.