+1 for finding local distributors. I started looking around Europe for distributors but most of the best tools I’ve ended up buying have come from local distributors who distribute tools from larger manufacturers like Sumitomo, Hartner, Nachi, Janpo etc.
They can be hard to find though for sure. I had a look for Hartner distributors and it looks like their distributor in Denmark is the same Kyocera bunch that you found.
Aside from finding local distributors, I’d recommend:
- Sorotec: Their store-brand endmills are really good, especially for the price they sell them for.
- Cncfraises: Soooooo cheap but again, the endmills are really good. The shipping is also much cheaper than Sorotec IIRC. The guy who runs the store is also super helpful and responsive to email.
With endmills I’ve been fairly lucky; every distributor I’ve contacted in Switzerland has been happy to sell to me. Some of them have nice web stores that accept private customers, some of them prefer that I write them an email but all of them have taken my money. This is a small country though and I get the impression that these are relatively small businesses, I’m not sure how it works in Denmark.
Regarding metric vs. Imperial, I try to stick to metric but collets are cheap and it’s not hard to tell CAM the endmill radius so I just use both.