Reach For A Stanley (January 2011)
Defiance and Handyman Tools
The 'Reach for a Stanley' column was intended to be about one particular Stanley tool but a couple lines of tools made by Stanley fit the intent of the column very well.
These lines were Stanley’s second quality tools.
First are the Defiance tools that date, for the most part, from the 1930s and 40s. The other brand is Handyman and its heyday was the 1950s and 60s.
While the two brands were aimed at the same market much over-lapping did occur as old inventory was sold off and new items were added.
Stanley entered the homeowner or casual user market in the 1920s with the Four Square brand.
Despite wide-spread promotions and advertising the effort failed; and, with the exception of the planes, few Four Square tools remain today.
At the same time Stanley was developing the Defiance line for home and farm use.
These tools were less expensive than Stanley’s professional line and competed nicely with the many brands being offered in the hardware stores.
By the mid-1930s, Defiance was a well-established, well-made line of tools that was being widely sold.
At the peak of production, Defiance offered a full line from zig zags to awls.
The last catalog offering for a Defiance tool was a bench vise in 1968.
Handyman started in the early 1950s and expanded rapidly into a full line up. This line was of about the same quality as the Defiance line and was priced well below the professional grade.
The market for the line was intended to be the rapidly expanding home owner/do-it-yourselfer that had become the rage after WW2.
Why Defiance or Handyman? I cringe at the thought of putting a well-tuned 604 ½ Bed Rock to an old enamel painted camp door that is sticking.
But, turn up the radio, grab a Handyman 1204 and plane away, you can’t hurt the tool and it will get the job done.
That is the first reason for reaching for one of the many Defiance or Handyman tools. The lesser quality still works well, does the job and saves your best tools for your best work.
The second reason is two-fold: availability and cost.
Both lines are collectible but most collectors are only looking for them in the top condition. Few collectors want to add an inexpensive tool in less than near new condition to the shelf. 
The limited collectible nature of these tools is a plus for users on two accounts.
First, you are more likely to find a Defiance or Handyman tool for sale in a shop or market.
Fewer folks looking for these lines means they sit on the sales shelf longer increasing your chances of being the one that finds them.
Second, (and while it is not always true it should be!), both lines should be priced less than the same item in the Stanly professional line.
To give you an idea of value, a Stanley No. 4 plane in good shape might be $35 to $65 while a Handyman No. 1204 should be less than $25.
Both the Defiance and the Handyman tools were Stanley manufactured at a certain level of quality. Yes, quality-wise they are below the regular Stanley line. However, both lines carried the Stanley name and as such were subject to top of the industry quality control and brand consistence.
So when purchasing a Defiance or Handyman tool you know what you are getting. That cannot be said for many of the store and off brands out there!