MJ - Yes, there's some fabulous metal alloys in existence, and when you come across them in scrap and determine what they came from and what qualities they possess, they can be utilised in fine fashion for alternative uses such as drifts.
One of the most intriguing alloy steel items I have come across, is head bolts on air-cooled Deutz diesel engines (I specifically state air-cooled, because Deutz built water-cooled diesels as well!)
The metal in those Deutz head bolts is an alloy that makes tool steel look rather plain.
I'm sure it's a Cr/Mo/V/T variant, but whatever those clever German blokes made it out of, it's an alloy of amazing strength with exceptionally high heat resistance as well.
I've found all kinds of alternative "severe service" uses for them, and they perform with exceptional resistance to heat, hammering, twisting, and every kind of abuse you can shower upon them.
In the opposite vein, I also have another nice soft 1/2" diameter steel drift in my toolbox.
This drift started off life as a early Chinese production (probably late 1970's) 1/2" drive x 10" extension bar - but when I screwed the square off the end of it (!) - when undoing a tight bolt - I decided the best alternative use for it from then on, was as a nice soft drift - at which job it performs much more admirably, than it ever did as a 1/2" drive extension!
I'm with Sawman on searching out the earlier American "lesser-known" brands that have been barely-used, as quality additions to the toolbox.
Another favorite of mine is Bondhus for Allen hex wrenches. The steel in Bondhus hex wrenches is a special steel made to Bondhus specifications, and it outperforms all other tool steels by 20% in strength tests.
The Japanese also make Ko-Ken, which is their answer to Snap-On. Ko-Ken products are not easily found, and they are expensive, but their quality is superb.
I have a set of Ko-Ken impact hex sockets, which are forged one-piece Cr/Mo/V steel, and I use them as hand tools, because most hand tool hex sockets are not one piece and perform poorly under duress.
Nearly all of the hex sockets produced as hand tools merely comprise a section of hex material pressed into a plain socket head. This setup is cheap and nasty, and the hex section will come loose with severe service.