Salice "Silentia, Face Frame (inset) Soft Closing Concealed Hinges"

[Don Morris]

Anyone else have heartburn with these high priced and a little more "involved" to install hinges? Their installation brochure isn't intuitive and while I think I understand how they go in, after doing some more checking...the soft closure feature may not be worth the effort. Maybe it's the inset feature that makes it more involved, but unless I hear you get a dynamite result, I'm considering returning them and going with the old standards.

[Jamie Buxton]

I haven't used them myself, but the Salice ads say that they install just like the usual cup hinges. In fact, that's their whole sell: you can get soft-close without changing your existing installation process.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I've actually used that hinge. Very nice. I think it helps if you have a heavy door - I put them on some rather lightweight doors, and they won't close unless I give them a push. I'm considering re-making the door with a thicker panel to give it more weight.

They are just like installing a regular cup hinge. The adjustments give a good amount of movement, as well, if you're off a little bit.

The only real advantage is that you *can't* slam the door.

[Adam Cavaliere]

I used them recently when building my fish tank stand. I have to say I love them, though they do confuse people when they come over and open the doors and then try to close them. They push them closed and the doors don't close like they are expecting. I have to tell them that they close on their own. They then open the door again and definitely get a kick out of how nice they close.

I will say that if they aren't perfectly aligned, the closing mechanism doesn't seem to work properly. I realized that with the first door I mounted. The second door went on very easily after knowing what to watch for.

[Karl Brogger]

Salice hinges are garbage. I know blah blah, had great luck, or somebody you know, whatever. I don't care. They trully are junk. There's only a few companies that actually make worse hinges, but I can't think of them at the moment. Grass, Blum, even Amerock make a far better product, and in my eyes while a smidgen more expensive up front, are cheaper in the long run.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Salice hinges are garbage. I know blah blah, had great luck, or somebody you know, whatever. I don't care. They trully are junk. There's only a few companies that actually make worse hinges, but I can't think of them at the moment. Grass, Blum, even Amerock make a far better product, and in my eyes while a smidgen more expensive up front, are cheaper in the long run.

What have you found to be wrong with them, Karl? I'm just curious...

[fRED mCnEILL]

"Salice hinges are garbage. I know blah blah, had great luck, or somebody you know, whatever. I don't care. They trully are junk. There's only a few companies that actually make worse hinges, but I can't think of them at the moment. Grass, Blum, even Amerock make a far better product, and in my eyes while a smidgen more expensive up front, are cheaper in the long run."

My whole kitchen reno, done 5 years ago is Salice.
Dont' tell my wife!!!

Fred M.

[Don Morris]

I can't figure out the placement of the magnetic cylinder assembly from the Salice instruction sheet. "Opposite the hinges...." puts it on the other door of my two door cabinet. The drawing on their brochure isn't very helpful. I've done a dry test installation of the hinges on scrap wood, and that's no problem. They line up for inset doors just fine. Although my Rockler JIG-IT instructions said for face frame construction doors, to use holes in position B on their guide plate, and it turns out that when I did the test run, I needed to use the holes in position A (frameless) to get the required distance Salice wants for their hinges to the center of the cup hole. NOTE TO SELF = ALWAYS DO A TEST RUN, TRUST NO ONE. Back to question...position of magnetic cylinder assembly...photo anybody...Please and Thank you. I'm a visual learner.

[Dana Vogel]

I installed three on a mirror rail/stile framed door, after three months the soft close function stopped working.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Salice hinges are garbage. .."

While I have to agree, you are lucky the owner of Salice is not a member (or worse, a supporter) of SMC or you would already been drawn and quartered for offering such a blunt assessment! But my biggest issue here is not with Salice "per se" but with the whole ides of these "self close" hinges and drawer glides which:

A) Are "gimmicky" and mostly dependent on little plastic bits and pieces and so:

B) simply offer one more thing that can (will) wear out or break.

C) Illustrate in a way that nothing else could, the level of inherent laziness that has stricken our society.

As my cousin Mario would say "Puh-lese"

[Karl Brogger]

"Salice hinges are garbage. .."

While I have to agree, you are lucky the owner of Salice is not a member (or worse, a supporter) of SMC or you would already been drawn and quartered for offering such a blunt assessment!
Glad to see that SMC is more interested in their revenue stream, than they are about providing the service in which a forum of this nature is intended.





But my biggest issue here is not with Salice "per se" but with the whole ides of these "self close" hinges and drawer glides which:

A) Are "gimmicky" and mostly dependent on little plastic bits and pieces and so:

B) simply offer one more thing that can (will) wear out or break.

C) Illustrate in a way that nothing else could, the level of inherent laziness that has stricken our society.

As my cousin Mario would say "Puh-lese"

No argument here, but man does that stuff sell. The doors are an easy cheap fix should the little shock mechanism fail. The slides on the other hand are a bit spendier when you're looking at almost $20 per set. I do think this stuff has gotten much better over the years, and the longevity of the bits and pieces is also much better. I haven't gotten a call yet on the Blum 562H slides, and I've put in probably ~500 sets the past few years.

I guess I don't agree with the lazyness part. Doors/drawers that don't slam is pretty nice. I will say that the soft close feature does ease some stress on the drawer box as well, saving it from the drawer front from slamming into the face frame. (or, box if you're of the European variety)

[Horton Brasses]

I've actually used that hinge. Very nice. I think it helps if you have a heavy door - I put them on some rather lightweight doors, and they won't close unless I give them a push. I'm considering re-making the door with a thicker panel to give it more weight.


Being a hinge guy I have to ask: Why in the world would you remake a door to suit your hinges? Your hinges should suit your door, not the other way around.

I do a lot with hinges. But nothing with any "Euro" style or cup hinge.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...saving it from the drawer front from slamming into the face frame..."

Well, how hard do most people "slam" their kitchen cabinet doors and drawers? For many years we have used drawer glides with a closing "detent" and felt bumpers (on the doors too) so that they close quietly and with very little "effort". I have never been called back to fix one that broke because it "slammed" shut too hard. On the other hand, I have had to replace a number of the cheesy plastic clips on those expensive Blum Tandems. The thing is, these "soft close" glides and hinges have not been around for more than a few years. If my experience with "touch latches" is any indication, the soft close mechanisims will not withstand the "test of time".

[Don Morris]

OK, that's it, they're going back. Off to Woodcraft for some traditional Blums or whatever they've got.

[Bruce Page]

I just spent several weeks in a rented condominium that had the soft-close doors & drawers. I really liked them and plan on using them when we redo our cabinets & drawers.
I guess I’m just lazy.

[Don Morris]

I just got back from Woodcraft (used my $10.00 Holiday Gift card). Installed two traditional Blum's. Had my LOML take a look at the cabinet and told her she wouldn't have the soft close aspect, she would have to close it herself. She looked at me and said "I don't know if I can do that".

[Karl Brogger]

Which hinges did you buy? Most of the Blum hinges a soft close feature can be added. That is unless you bought a free swinging variation...

[Don Morris]

At that point I really didn't care. The sign on the bin just said Face Frame, inset, Blum hinges. The package says: 103 Blum Clip Inset Hinge. They aren't self closing in my book, unless you consider yourself to be the "self". The package has no information, instruction or guide sheet in it, but it's a pretty straight forward installation with no plastic magnetic thingamajig plus tack to hammer into the door.