Interior design shapes how we live, work, and feel in our homes. Today, we focus on a detail that elevates the entire experience of entering a room: vintage door hardware. Antique door hardware brings a distinctive, durable aesthetic to rooms and exteriors. However, a door may demand specific hardware depending on its purpose, so we are here to make the process as seamless as possible. To help get you started in finding your exquisite (yet functional) vintage hardware, here is a shopping list and some basic tips and tricks.
Antique Door Hardware Set Parts
Even for true antique aficionados, choosing and installing antique door hardware requires preparation, patience, and dedication. Updating modern doors with vintage hardware is not for the faint of heart. Here is a quick list detailing the pieces of each set, complete with descriptions to help.
Knob
Known as the handle, antique handles were made in various shapes and materials, including metal, glass, clay, and porcelain. They either screw on or slide on to a spindle.
Spindle
A rod that goes through the door and is connected to both door knobs. The base function of the spindle is to turn the latch for opening and closing. As this piece is so central to the entire door knob mechanism, the detail of the spindle is a huge part of what makes each hardware set so unique. The spindle serves different functions and is not always interchangeable with every door knob. Each manufacturer used a specific design to attach the spindle to the door knobs: a square spindle matched with a square-hole knob held by a set screw, or a threaded knob and spindle system with one or two set screws. The thickness of the door determines the length of the spindle, there are various lengths. Spindles are made so you can adjust the knob to the thickness of the door.
There are three basic spindles:
- Straight Square rod with 2 or threaded holes on each end—¼ in. and 3/8 in. thick.
- Straight Square threaded rod — ¼ in. and 3/8 in. 3/8 in. thick spindles were primarily used for entry and commercial mortise locks.
- Split spindle – The above spindles that are split in the middle are used in special entry door mortise locks.
To view this specific spindle online, click here. Please contact our hardware department to learn more about the types of antique spindles available.
Latch or Adapter
A spring-loaded door latch which the knob and spindle operate to open and secure the door. It can also be called a mortise lock adapter.
To view this specific latch online, click here. To view all the mortise lock adapters, click here.
Lock
A fastening operated by a key. Common types are:
Rim/Box Lock
Uses a skeleton key and can be locked and unlocked from both sides. The latch is a self-contained unit attached to the door’s surface with a 2nd part called a keeper to keep the door closed.
View the rim locks available online.
Mortise Lock
Mortise Lock insets or is mortised in the door, is a specific type of heavy-duty lock set that combines locking with a skeleton key and latching functions. While rim locks have been used in the US since the early 18th century, mortise locks were only used in formal rooms of elite buildings until the mid-19th century. Most mortise locks are found in older buildings constructed before the use of bored cylindrical locks. In contemporary use, a lock can be both a mortise lock and a pin tumbler lock – the familiar lock where a key moves a series of pins to unbolt the door. Deadlock mortise locks are typically used in applications that require a lock that is heavy-duty and can withstand a high frequency of use.
Privacy Latch
Use the doorknobs and also a thumb turn to lock the door. Usually used in bathrooms.
Rosette or Escutcheon
A round back piece the knob sets into which serves two functions – to cover the bore hole and to act as a stabilizer for the knob mechanism.
Back Plate
A decorative plate which mounts to the face of the door with holes to accept the knob, key or cylinder.
Set Screw
Used to hold the knob on to the spindle. There are various sizes of set screws, and without the set screw the knob will not stay on the spindle, therefore useless.
Strike plate
A metal plate secured to a door jamb with a hole to receive a latch or deadbolt.
Dummy knobs
Also, sometimes referred to as a dummy trim, these knobs are surface mounted to the door with no latching or locking functionality. These come in handy if you want to use your doorknobs as pulls.
The dummy spindles are available to purchase separately online here. View the dummy door knob sets available online.
Before purchasing your antique door hardware set, you can use the above to make a shopping list of the basic components you will need. Keep in mind that necessary pieces depend on the type and purpose of your door – entry door, interior passage and closet doors, or locking interior doors – and how adaptable the latch in the door trim is.
Adapting Antique Hardware to a Modern Door
Here is a basic set of pre-shopping instructions for adapting antique hardware to your basic manufactured door:
Modern doors have pre-drilled large holes which can be plugged or covered with a rosette or backplate to preserve the aesthetic and stability of the hardware assembly.
- Measure the door knob hole. If your door has a pre-drilled 2 in. diameter hole, you will need a rosette or door knob plate wide enough to cover the hole and keep the handle mechanism steady. Various new rosettes are available from hardware companies to solve this problem.
- Pre drilled doors are set up for a tubular latch. Tubular latches are available at many hardware companies and can be found online. They are the alternative for the mortise lock and are easier to install than a large mortise lock.
- You will also need to measure the center of the pre-drilled hole to the edge of the door to determine the backset. This is to determine what size tubular latch you will need for your door. Tubular latches come in various size backsets.
- Alternatives include drilling and installing a simple latch at the top of the door and using the dummy knob option. A dummy knob (which does not turn or latch the door) is one popular option; the dummy knob can be supplemented by a locking latch, such as a slide bolt or antique thumb-turn privacy latch or by drilling and installing a barrel lock at the top for automatic latching.
Your installation process will depend on the antique door hardware set you choose. With all the matched components, installing the hardware could be as simple as placing your rosette or other backing onto your door, running the spindle through the door knob hole, and attaching the knobs to both ends. Feel free to print this article as a general instructional and basic shopping list. We also invite you to view the video from a recent antique door hardware workshop held at our flagship NYC store.
At Olde Good Things, we source antique and vintage door hardware to customers who purchase one of our reclaimed antique doors. We have grown into one of the largest antique hardware dealers in the US. We’ve collected incredible hardware sets in all styles since we began salvaging door knobs from turn-of-the-century buildings and brownstones in New York City and its surrounding boroughs in 1998. Check our vast hardware inventory, contact us, or bring in your specs for your antique door hardware project, and one of our experts will be glad to help you match up a hardware set that suits your needs.
