Stanley Defiance Tool Chests

While nowhere near as numerous or prolific as the mainstream Stanley and Stanley Sweetheart tool chests, there are at least three tool chests in the Defiance line. The sad thing is that they are not just listed or found as a Defiance tool chest, they carry the Handyman name with them as well.

All that said and done, here are the three Defiance tool chests I have been able to identify:

  • Defiance No. 890 – Wooden Tool Box, contents unknown at the moment, see pictures.
  • Defiance No. 891 – Metal Tool Chest ( more pics to come when I get it and restore it )
  • Defiance No. 895 – Metal Wall Hanging Cabinet with Tools, see pictures.
  • Defiance No. 1206 – Vinyl “Tool Caddy”

Other potential Defiance tool sets based on the Handyman offerings:

  • 18 piece Handyman “Tool Toter” Set – 19×24 blue tool board

Scroll down to see the individual tool sets as I collect information and the tool sets themselves.

6/20 – 6/21 2023 – Making an effort today to identify just what is included in these tool chests and maybe along the way I’ll discover some others. I was gifted with several images of tool sets and listings and have updated just about every part of this page. In an effort to keep the information where it needs to be and try to avoid confusion I’m moving the pictures I find of these tools and sets where they belong under the proper heading. So let’s kick this off with the 890 shall we ???

Handyman/Defiance 890 Tool Chest Contents – this list comes from a picture of a Defiance 890 Tool Chest. The chest itself is made of wood with red lettering on the top and varying labels on the inside. This one just happened to also have the parts list in it. Dimensions of the box are 24″ x 9″ x 4″ sporting box joints for joinery.

  • 112-13 -13oz Nail Hammer
  • 1296 – White ZigZag Ruler
  • 1270-4 – 4″ Screw Driver
  • 1277-3 – 3″ Screw Driver
  • 1253 – Bit Brace
  • Auger Bit – nothing other than 5/16in. mentioned
  • 1214 – Hand Drill
  • 2 Drill Points in Envelope
  • 1251-1/2 – 1/2″ Chisel
  • 1243 Bench Plane
  • 107-12 – 12″ Level – NOT labeled Defiance
  • 1 Saw – 16″ saw
  • 1211-3/4 – 2/32in. Nail Set
  • 1201 – Brad Awl
  • 1 Pair Pliers 6in.
  • 1280 – Try Square
  • 1 Plan Book

Here we have the Defiance/Handyman 890 Wooden Tool Chest:

Defiance/Handyman 891 “Fix-up” Tool Set – this box is a bit of a mystery because it was originally offered as the “Stanley Fix-Up Set” and had the number of 891. After some digging it was realized that this is the box I had purchased off of eBay and the gentleman said he was the original owner and that it was a gift at Christmas decades back and even sent a couple of pics in which you can clearly see the chest there but not much more than the lid to it opened up. So far the dimensions are 24″x5″8.5″. This is a metal box with handles on both ends and a pair of latches on the front to secure it. This does not have holes for mounting it on the wall.

  • Surform 20″ Crosscut Saw
  • 12 in. Square
  • Pliers
  • Block Plane
  • 1/2 in. Wood Chisel
  • 10 in. Bit Brace
  • 2 Auger Bits
  • 18 in. Wood Level
  • 4 in. Screwdriver
  • 3 in. Screwdriver
  • Hammer
  • Extension Rule
  • Phillips Screwdriver
  • Nail Set
  • Package of Sandpaper
  • Container of Glue
  • Booklet on “How to Sharpen Tools”
  • Booklet on “How to properly use glue” <– Guess they figured out people might eat it.

Here are some of the images I have found for this tool set. I am also including the original “Fix-Up” set pics that came before the Defiance line. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.

Defiance/Handyman “Better Home” 895 Tool Set ( 27 tools ) – So thanks to a fellow on Facebook that was willing to share I now have several lists to go through. Here is a preliminary listing of what is in this tool set and the box is described as being a “metal cabinet equipped with handle and clips for the tools, enamel finish and measuring 16 in. wide, 4 1/2 in. deep, and 26 in. high with a shipping weight of 36 1/2 lbs.”

  • Nail Hammer
  • Zig-Zag Ruler
  • 3 Screwdrivers
  • Hand Drill
  • Bit Brace
  • 2 Auger Bits
  • Expansive Bit
  • Countersink
  • Screw Driver Bit
  • Level
  • Combination Square
  • Bench Plane
  • Block Plane
  • Steel Square
  • 3 Chisels
  • Marking Gauge
  • Scratch Awl
  • Cold Chisel
  • Nail Set
  • Cross Cut Saw
  • Angle Wrench
  • Pliers

Now this is purely extrapolation at this point, but I will endeavor to get the proper numbers for the Defiance tools and the 895 chest. Aside from the branding on the tools themselves, the Defiance and Handyman lines went hand in hand and the Handyman line was the successor of the Defiance line. This list was made from a listing for the Handyman “Better Home” set. Here’s some images of this set in the wild. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.:

Defiance 1206 “Tool Caddy” – Well I just created a bunch more research for myself by winning an auction. It arrived today 6/22/23 and it’s everything I expected and then some. Check back here for a full write up and description of this unique tool hanger.

images from eBay.com, Etsy.com, eBay, Worthpoint, Reddit, Pinterest, and LiveAuctioneers.com

If an item in the listings above is bold and green that means I already own it, bold and gold is purchased pending delivery. As time permits I will get more pictures of items from my actual collection to post up here. At present I am working on getting the pages sorted and organized so as not to become one huge picture heavy page… instead I’ll make a lot of picture heavy pages lol.