hardware reveiw, found a new HQ source i think...

[Neal Clayton]

i've posted a few times, and seen others post as well, about buying hardware from a website called "house of antique hardware", which i believe is actually several websites under the same company.

i've used quite a few hinges, transom latches, and other such things from there without any complaints, but after seeing a couple of their door locks was pretty underwhelmed. the two mortise locks i got from them were quite flimsy, as were the door plates and strike plates and other such pieces. one of the strike plates didn't even have holes that lined up properly with the bolt and latch.

so i found another website called 'rejuvenation', and called them last week to order a door lock set, and found it much superior when i got it in today.

obvious differences...

1) the door plates are a solid 1/8 thick, unlike the others i've seen at hardware stores and HOAH which are 1/32 stamped pieces.

2) they include two different styles of strike plate, one 'old style' with a 1" protrusion where the latch hits, and another square one, for both there's a stamped brass liner to go inside the mortise on the frame.

3) the lock is heavy, seriously heavy. it even seems a bit sturdier than my 1908 originals. they did include the allen wrench and extended length socket required to take it apart, but i haven't disassembled it to reverse it yet. the visible gears from the outside are very solid looking, though, much more so than any other mortise lock of recent manufacture that i've seen.

4) they offer a thumb turn and matching plate for the inside, which i prefer, HOAH doesn't.

5) the only knock on the whole thing, is they sent me the wrong knobs. i was supposed to get glass knobs and got cast iron knobs instead. i'll have to exchange those.

here's a pic...

note: they appear to be in the middle of a website re-design, and the order i submitted from the site didn't work, got an error that suggested i call instead. on the upside, a live english speaking person did answer the phone and take the order, so until the website issues are sorted, if you inquire or order, i'd call them instead. said live english speaking person did know the answers to the basic questions i asked such as backset measurements on the various styles of locks they have which weren't clearly noted on the site, and whether or not all their locks were reversible.

[Keith Outten]

Neal,

I received this information from Bob Treuber in response to your post about their company. They have a No-Questions-Asked Return Policy and a 5-year warranty on all hardware, I expect that you will be treated well if you decide to contact them.

I work for House of Antique Hardware. I read the recent posting by Neal Clayton in which he made a few statements about HoAH that are inaccurate. He also mentioned his dissatisfaction with some products he purchased from us.

We cannot find any record of a customer by that name. However Mr. Clayton may have purchased as business or with someone else's account.

We'd like an opportunity to correct the misstatements but more importantly we would like to correct any problems he has with our products or service.
We have a No-Questions-Asked Return Policy and a 5-year warranty on all hardware.

The item Mr. Clayton refers to is one of the lowest priced items we sell and it is clearly described on our site as "stamped". We offer more than 200 door sets in different styles and finishes -- the majority of them are forged metal.

Folks familiar with antique hardware will know that stamped metal was the most commonly used material for "door plates" and we offer it for people who seek that level of authenticity in reproduction hardware.

A few other points of information:
- We do sell matching thumb turns
- We have staff of Hardware Specialists here in our West Coast headquarters to help shoppers with product selection and installation; they are available by phone during business hours
- House of Antique Hardware is one company founded in 1999, selling reproduction hardware and period lighting exclusively on the Internet.

We are passionate about what we do and the restoration community is important to us. We work hard to maintain high standards for both our products and our service. Our reputation for quality and authenticity is hard-earned and we are dedicated to maintaining that standard.

Your community is vital to our success and any problems with our service demand our full and immediate attention.

I hope you will allow us the chance to repair the negative experience Mr. Clayton reported on your site.

Thank you.

Bob Treuber
HouseofAntiqueHardware

[Neal Clayton]

well, my response would be...

a) they do have a record of me, by the name of robert clayton (i go by my middle name, but the first name is on the billing address of my credit cards), and by that name they'll notice that i've actually spent thousands with them.

b) the reason for looking for door hardware from another source, which i felt was prudent to post here after recommending them in a few threads, is the fact that one door lock in particular i ordered from them was advertised as having the plate on the lock itself in multiple finishes. when i received it, i found it to actually be a one-size-fits-all finish, delivered with a 1/64th thick cover in the advertised finish, that was punched improperly so it didn't line up with the bolt either. now, i didn't return any of the two or three different locks i ordered from them to try out, because i'm of the opinion that i can always use them on a shop door or attic door or some other such thing. i don't buy things, toss them around my shop, and return them. i don't think that's fair to retailers.

however the example of one being advertised in a choice of finish, then being shipped with a paper thin cover to attain the finish requested that doesn't even fit, with no indication of that being the means of attaining that finish on their site, is pretty shady, hence my looking elsewhere and pointing out that i found something better.

and no, they do not advertise it as 'stamped'.

here is the door lock in question, and its description (http://houseofantiquehardware.com/New-York-Mortise-Lock-Set-With-Waldorf-Crystal-Knobs)




2 Knobs
2 Backplate
1 Skeleton key mortise lock with matching face plate

1 Matching strike plate
Matching screws
All necessary mounting accessories

bob,

i didn't suggest that your company actually made the item in question, and i'm pretty sure everyone else realizes that other retailers don't make the things they sell for the most part either. so the fact that a widget from store A happens to be better than a widget from store B doesn't really bear any reflection on the stores, since they didn't make the widgets, and in case someone did think that, if you'll notice i went out of my way to point out that i had been satisfied with other things i bought from you, just not this thing. with that in mind, it would probably be wiser in the future to take complaints and negative discussion about product that you resell as a suggestion, rather than looking for bullets to shoot the messenger with. there's an old saying about the word assume...i'm sure you've heard how it goes. it's probably not wise to suggest by assumption that any non-positive discussion about a product your store sells is due to lying or ignorance, either.

[Keith Outten]

Neal,

Give them a call and the opportunity to make you happy. A No-Questions-Asked Return Policy and a 5-year warranty is very generous on their part and I doubt that anyone would disagree.
.