I went through some of my old emails, and came up with a blurb I wrote about the Stanley knives in 2008, based on the Walter book, Stanley catalogs, and knives I had seen/sold. I have just copied it below. I am going on vacation tomorrow. When I get back, if I have time, I will look through some of the Stanley catalogs that I have added to my collection since then, to see if I can add anything else.
John
WVTools
According to John Walter's Stanley book, the No. 1299 Defiance knife was made between 1938 and 1961. I also have a No. 1299 listed in another listing that is not marked Defiance . The casting looks different (no holes in handle) on it compared to the Defiance one. The No. 299 was made betwween 1947 and 1972. He says they changed to a "modern" style in 1973, but I do not know what he means by that. They also made a No. 199 without holes in the handle, with a decorative grip from 1936 to 1950. That model is more common than all the other models put together in my opinion. I find a lot of those, and in fact, that is the model I use every day to cut cardboard for packaging. They are also prone to the casting wear at the top of the blade like the 299 that I mentioned in one of my listings. I wonder about the end date on the No. 199, and think that may have started production again later. In the No. 199 models, I have noticed a much rougher casting on the inferred later model ones, perhaps those were made in the 1970s, and 1980s. I probably gave you more information than you wanted to know, but all the different model types and vintages can be confusing.
I just found a No. 299 that looks like a shorter version of the 199. I am guessing it was made bewteen 1962 and 1973 because the design no longer looks like the Defiance one that they quit making in 1961. I also found a modern No. 299, and it is the larger size with a smooth handle. It looks similar to the later ones that had retractable blades.
