Talk to me about knobs.....

[FishfingersAreOK]

Beginning to think about door handles/knobs for the 12 doors we need (gulp). At least 8 of these will be origional 1930s doors which are being dipped next week.

DH & I have had looked through some websites to get ideas and consensus seems to be black door knows - possibly/probably oval ones.

You can get original bakelite ones still but these are more than double the price and our pot of money is now very, very nonexistent small.

Never had knobs before. Is this an OK idea? Will we curse knobs rather than handles.
Doors will all be painted white satinwood. DH hates silver/chrome I have brass.

Before you buy check the diameter.

Now this is really boring but we took off your typical dull internal door handles and got some gorgeous round bakelite type knobs.

But they were too big and we ended up up trapping our fingers/hand ( I cannot explain properly why but we did) between the knob and the door frame.

So we had to remove them all and go back to boring old door handles and get rid of the knobs.

If you want doorknobs you need a longer backset thand with lever handles.

i.e. the spindle has to be further from the edge of the door.

Better Edwardian houses often had a five-inch horizontal mortice sashlock (look it up) which I think looks very elegant in a substantial panelled door and puts the spindle about four and a half inches from the door edge.

you can still buy them, the union range are about £30 each and a good quality 3-lever lock for internal use. There is a matching bathroom lock that can be operated by an internal thumbturn (no key) and a screwdriver from outside, it can also be used for bedroom privacy and there is a latch version in the same size case with no lock mechanism.

most modern houses are fitted with tubular mortice latches which are much cheaper and quicker to install. However they can be ordered in 125mm size which will give you the same backset.

If you are rich enough and have a big old house with substantial doors there is a 6-inch Chubb that costs about £150 and is sometimes fitted to front doors. It is a very fine lock with the five-detainer mechanism but does not meet the latest British Standard for thief-resistant locks so you would have to consult your insurers.

Have you thought about pewter? There are some nice ones on this website

We have knobs and don't trap our fingers but you do have to be careful - it depends where your existing holes are on your doors. If you ha knobs before, you'll be Ok, but if you had handles then it would be better to stay with handles.

You can often get handles at a good price from reclaim yards so might be worth checking there.

it's the backset (distance from door edge to spindle) that causes you to hit the frame with your knuckles.

If you have a modern 65mm backset then you need to change the lock or latch in order to use doorknobs.

We're in rented and have the original Bakelite knobs here
Aesthetically I love them. Practically they're a pain in the arse.
No trapped fingers but they're harder to open if the doors a little stiff. You can't carry something and open the door with an elbow and ds can't turn them at all. He's three and doesn't have the twisty strength.
They're higher than normal though so don't know of that makes a difference

This is all brilliant info thank you - will have a look tomorrow and see how things lie.

DH had already thought about the elbow opening thing and I had considered 4yo DS...but had no idea about the backset/squished hands issue.

I love MN..

www.screwfix.com/p/jedo-antique-oval-mortice-door-knobs-pair-black/84500#rating_link_anchor

Just FYI incase anyone ever finds this in a search the above is what we went for. Amazing value, really great quality and look fab.