There are just two types of thread pitch gauge: inch and metric. The inch one tells you how many threads per inch the bolt/screw/threaded hole has, and the metric one tells you the pitch (distance between peaks on the thread) in mm. In theory Australian-made equipment changed from inch to metric in 1970, but some degree of phasing-in was tolerated until 1988. However from the early 1970s, no new product would have had inch threads.
Thread gauges are not expensive - they are just a set of thin steel stampings pivoted on a rivet. I'm not too clear on how anyone could break them, unless some nut has started making them out of plastic.
