Tools from before the Renaissance era, regardless of location or origin, seem really rough and primitive looking compared to those afterward. Is this solely due to damage incurred over time to the individual artifacts because they've been able to build up wear over the years? Or was there a genuine rapid advancement of tool quality and craftsmanship that occurred during and after the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods? If so, did this advancement start to particularly pick up in England in the 1700s just before the Industrial Revolution?
Comparing like with like, I don't see any such change.
First, plenty of pre-Renaissance tools are far from rough and primitive.
Scissors, European, 14th century: https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/28700.html
Scissors, Chinese, 7th or 8th century: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O35213/scissors-unknown/
Scissors, Chinese, Song Dynasty: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/97/e4/0e/97e40e9c4ee6a38dacd928b616db225f.jpg
More scissors: http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/from_the_history_of_scissors/
The pre-Renaissance iron/steel tools that are "rough and primitive" (rough, yes) are typically those made by the local blacksmith for use by the local farmers/peasants. These include both agricultural tools and others such as woodworking tools. These are rough because they were made to be cheap - it would have possible to make these much more finely finished (by grinding and polishing). Such tools continued to be "rough and primitive" through the Renaissance, and through the Industrial Revolution, and can still be found today.
Modern machine-made billhooks have more finely-finished blades (stamped/cut from sheet steel, with edges ground on). The hand-forged versions have persisted since they offer features such as wedge-section blades that are difficult to do cheaply and easily by machine. The push for cheapness keeps them rough, without additional labour for grinding and polishing. Forging marks are left on the tool, forge scale is left on the tool (which also helps rust resistance) - the final product, apart from the handle which is often machine-made, is much like its pre-Renaissance ancestor.
What you will see with growing urbanisation is a growth in the number of specialised toolmakers and specialised craftsmen using tools, and more production and use of finely-finished tools. These will typically be less "rough and primitive" than the cheap tools made by the local blacksmith for the local farmers. But such fine tools existed earlier, too, as seen by the scissor examples above. I wouldn't call such tools becoming more common a revolution in toolmaking - toolmaking remained largely the same, as long as tools were being made by hand.
If so, did this advancement start to particularly pick up in England in the 1700s just before the Industrial Revolution?
I'd call this part of the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine was already in use early in the 1700s, there were major changes in the iron industry (growth, switch to coke, new methods of steelmaking), mechanised factories, etc.
Which tools do you mean? Made when in the 1700s?
