How a Door's Stile Can Influence Your Style of Door Hardware

Yes the pun is intended this is not a typographical error. For doors that have a raised panel or glass panel, the flat unencumbered surface has a direct impact on the size and style of the door handle back-plate or escutcheon. The stile will also impact the back-set of the latch that is being used with the door handle whether it be a passageway or privacy latch.

What to measure?

You will need to measure both the outside width of your back-plate and the net width of your door stile, meaning, the flat area that is free of any molding or beading. You will also need to consider the door stop which is typically part of the door jam and which will overlap the door stile when the door is closed.

When measuring a decorative or asymmetric back plate or one that is uneven we suggest taking the measurement from the reverse flat side.

Where to position the escutcheon on the door stile?

To center or not to center the decorative trim will determined by factors discussed above and by the differing back-sets offered for tubular versus mortise latches. The back-set is the distance measured from the edge of the door to the center point of the lock and these are available at  2”, 2 3/8",2 ¾”, 3”, 4” for tubular latches and at 2 ½”, 2 ¾” for mortise latches. Narrower 1 ¾” and deeper 3”-5” back-sets can be found but usually are custom made.

Working examples

Interior Door with a 4 1/2” stile and with a 3/8” door stop using a back plate that is 3” wide. The center point of our door is 2 ¼” and center of our escutcheon is 1 ½ and the nearest back-set for a tubular latch which would position the trim at just over center point is a 2 3/8" back-set. The trim would be almost centered (1/8" off center) but  it would yield a  1/2" clearance from the edge of the plate to the door stop. If we used a deeper 2 3/4" back-set latch then our trim would be off center by 1/2" and a narrow 2" back-set would bring the trim too close to the stop with a mere 1/8" clearance.

 Patio Door with 5” door stile and 3/8" door stop and 3” back plate would have corresponding center points of 2 1/2” and 1 ½” so would work with tubular latch back set of 2 3/4” or a mortise latch of 2 3/4”. In the image below you can see how this would look with our lizard door lever set.

Levers ,Knobs and Handing

While the door stile will largely determine the maximum width of your  back-plate and how it will be centered on the door, the handing of the door and whether you use a door knob or lever should also be considered. Door levers pivot away from the edge of the door and can be operated with less hand engagement than knobs which tend to be enveloped by the hand making knobs more problematic for door jams that have wide door stops.

Useful resource – a client recently referred me to a Canadian site that provides a very helpful checklist worth reviewing if you are planning to mix styles and mediums in your kitchen remodel.

Process of making A New Grapevine Door Knob

The grapevine door knob continues to evolve.

It started out as a pencil sketch and then was “fleshed out” in a series of perspective drawings so that its scale and appearance could be assessed. Once all the angles were mapped out Martin began carving the pattern in basswood, which as any wood carver knows is an  easy to carve dense soft wood, perfect for carving fine detail and perfect for pattern making as it is a somewhat bland wood with almost no grain or color. The only real drawback to basswood comes from its lack of color which makes imperfections difficult to spot, so Martin sprays his patterns with grey primer thereby rendering them visible.

See the Complete Grapevine Collection

Once perfected, two rubber molds are created, one for the body of the door knob and one for the stem of the knob. Each mold is made in 2 halves that can be pulled apart after the wax has been poured into the cavity of the mold. The 2 halves of the mold are keyed to each other by creating a male and female rubber junction, that way the mold will continue to align properly over a long period of use.

The mold is then used to create a wax facsimile of the pattern. There are a large number of waxes to choose from and their pouring temperature, cooling time, density and pliancy are all factors that play a role in deciding which will work best for a given piece. The red wax shown here is a softer more pliant wax that has a low meting temperature and works well for gravity pouring but is less suited to molds where the wax is to be injected.

Red wax facsimile of wood pattern

The next stage will be to shell the wax and eventually we will invest the shell with molten bronze, so stay tuned for the next installment.

Back to school with Martin Pierce Hardware

It's back to school time.  Beginning Tuesday, September 4th, kids all over the country will be returning to class so what better time for a design history lesson. There are design motifs that repeat themselves century after century.  Take for example, the fleur de lis, greek key or rosette designs that have inspired many an artist, architect or designer.  Here is just a brief description and history of these well-known motifs.

• Greek key:  The Greek key is a meandering pattern of both vertical and horizontal lines that repeat themselves as a border.  Our Fiddlehead pulls also feature a meandering design on the stem that was certainly inspired by nature. This very popular pattern is often used as trim on fabric and rugs or as an architectural design on a building. 
• Fleur de lis:  Loosely translated, fleur de lis means flower of the lily in french.  With it's somewhat regal appearance, the fleur de lis has appeared on many royal coats of arms but has also been associated with military status, as a religious symbol and was even used to identify slaves during the 16th and 17th century. This simple design has adorned many buildings throughout the centuries as well as artwork, home accessories, fabric and hardware.
• Rosette:  The rosette is a round, stylized flower design that, as the name implies, was inspired by the natural shape of flowers.  It often appears in architectural designs and is used in metal working and other artistic applications especially where two lines of metal, concrete or other materials intersect.  Other uses include military insignias, jewelry design and sculpture.  Check out our entire collection of Flora design hardware pieces that might have been inspired by the simple rosette design.

If you look closely at an old building, sculptural piece or other type of art you will most likely see one of these motifs used in some form or another.  It just proves that good taste never goes out of style.

For more information on these new products, view our complete line of hardware and get the latest news on what is happening at Martin Pierce, please visit us at www.martinpierce.com