Doorknob Background

Background

There are 114 million existing doorways in the United States, with about two million new ones added every year. Doors equipped with suitable hardware are used to close off these openings and protect the interior of the building from the environment. Very early doors were merely hides or textiles. Wooden doors were also popular in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Other materials used for doors include stone, metal, glass, and paper. Doors open by swinging, folding, sliding or rolling. Many swinging doors are installed with a lever or doorknob to open them with.

Door knobs have been used around the world for centuries, and were first manufactured in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Though spherical or ball-shaped door knobs are considered the hardest to turn, this shape is still the most common. Egg-shaped door knobs are the easiest for most people to use. Doorknobs have been made of many materials, including wood, ceramic, glass, plastic and different types of metal. Brass is one of the most popular materials because of its excellent resistance to rust.

The average doorknob is 2.25 in (5.715 cm) in diameter. The basic components are the knob rose, shank, spindle, and knob-top. The knob-top is the upper and larger part that is grasped by the hand. The shank is the projecting stem of a knob and contains a hole or socket to receive the spindle. The knob rose is a round plate or washer that forms a knob socket and is adapted for attachment to the surface of a door. The knob is attached to the spindle, a metal shaft that turns the latch of the lock.

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Types of Doorknobs

Entrance:
These door knobs are typically used on exterior doors and include keyed cylinders.

Privacy:
Typically used on bed and bathrooms, while they are lockable (unlockable with a generic tool), they do not have keyed cylinders.

Passage:
Also known as Hall or Closet, these knob sets do not lock and are used in hall or closet doors.

Dummy:
Single knobs that mount through backs of doors with single screws. These types are used for ball catch doors or other applications where a latch mechanism is not needed, but the look of a doorknob is desired. (info provided by wikipedia.org)