Door knobs buying guide
A door knob turns a latch by hand, and it comes in four functions: passage, privacy, dummy and entrance. The knobs in this collection are mostly solid or pressed brass, with some zinc alloy, and they cover everything from a plain round knob for a wardrobe to a heritage set for a Federation front door. This guide sets out what decides the choice: the function, how a knob compares with a lever, whether the set fits the door you have, what comes in the box, and which style suits the house. For the wider range, see door handles and door hardware.
Choose the function first
A passage knob has a latch but no lock. It has no button, snib or key, so it is simple to use, and the fewer moving parts mean less wear over time. It suits hallways, living areas, laundries, studies and bedrooms that do not need to lock. A privacy knob adds a lock that is set from inside the room, usually with a push button or a turn snib, and it suits bathrooms, toilets and bedrooms. A dummy knob is fixed, with no latch and no lock. It gives a door something to pull or push, on a wardrobe, a linen cupboard or the fixed leaf of a pair of doors. An entrance set is built for front and rear doors and includes a keyed lock.
The function decides the part you buy, so settle it for each door before choosing a finish. A bathroom door fitted with a passage knob cannot be locked, and a privacy knob on a hallway adds a lock nobody needs. For each function on its own page, see passage knob sets, privacy knob sets, dummy knobs and exterior door knobs. For internal doors in particular, see interior door knobs.
Knob or lever
The trade-offs are simple. A knob gives less grip than a lever, which can make it harder for children, older people and people with physical disabilities to use, and harder to turn with wet hands. The round shape works the other way for small children and pets, who find a knob harder to open than a lever they can press down. A knob is also less likely to catch loose clothing. It looks traditional and suits older homes, and it works where doors carry surface-mounted rim locks. A lever gives more grip, can be opened with an elbow when your hands are full, and suits modern homes, but loose clothing can catch on it.
Our call: use a knob where the style of the house is traditional or where a round shape is the aim, and a lever where grip matters. Many ranges offer both, so the two can sit in the same house. The TradCo Milton range is sold as a door knob and as a lever handle. For levers, see door levers, and for the full set of interior options see interior door handles.
Check the fit before you order
A knob must be set further back into the door than a lever, so the backset matters. The backset is the distance from the edge of the door to the centre of the handle hole, and the latch must match it or the door will not close properly. The Lane Bala knobs suit doors 32 to 45mm thick and a 50 to 54mm cross bore, and they are non-handed, so one set fits a left-hand and a right-hand door. The Nidus Manital K410 has a 55mm flat-top knob on a 50mm rosette with a 57mm projection.
The TradCo and Iver knobs suit a wider range: doors 35 to 60mm thick, with a 60mm backset on most sets. The exceptions are worth knowing before you order. The TradCo Milton entrance set has a 57mm backset, and the TradCo Rim Lock and Milled Edge passage set has a 112mm backset, because a surface-mounted lock sits on the face of the door and is measured differently from a latch set into the edge. The Zanda Cyclo sets go the other way and adjust, with a backset that sets to 60mm or 70mm and a door thickness range of 32 to 50mm. Where a door was drilled for a different backset, an adjustable latch is the simplest answer.
Thicker doors need longer fixings. The Iver Cambridge knobs are supplied with face-fix wood screws and tie bolts to suit doors 55mm thick, and extended tie bolts are available separately for doors 90mm thick. An adaptor plate is needed when retrofitting to an existing 57 to 60mm hole. The rectangular backplate privacy kit has 85mm centre-to-centre spacing and works with Euro and privacy locks. Measure the door you have, then read the spec line of the product page.
Height is a separate choice. Set the knob between 900 and 1050mm above the finished floor, with 1000mm the most common height in Australian houses. In a renovation, match the height of the existing handles so a row of doors reads evenly.
Entrance sets
An entrance set is for front and rear doors, garages, patios and storerooms. The product pages in this collection include entrance sets with a high-security lock, such as the TradCo Bungalow and Milton entrance sets, and an entrance kit that pairs the Iver Cambridge knob with a separate high-security lock. The lock is a different part from the knob, so read whether it is built in or supplied separately.
Their latch and cylinder, and these details decide the order. The Iver Cambridge entrance kits use a mortice latch with a Euro mortice lock and come with two keys. The TradCo Milton entrance set uses a Euro mortice lock with three keys. The Lane Bala entrance knob set lists a latch, a strike and three keys, and the Lane Bala security knob set adds a deadbolt. The Zanda Cyclo entrance set uses a keyed-different double cylinder, and the Cyclo combination set pairs the knob with a deadbolt. A mortice is a hole cut into the door so the lock body sits flush, which is why a professional should fit mortice locks. The TradCo Bungalow passage set and the Iver privacy kits use a tubular latch instead. Match the latch type to the door before you choose. For locks alone, see entry door lock sets.
Heritage and period styles
Knobs are the natural match for older houses, and four styles in this collection suit different periods. The TradCo Bungalow knob is pressed brass with ornament drawn from California Bungalow architecture, and its product page places it with Federation cottages and heritage renovations. The TradCo Milton draws on early 20th-century English hardware, with a rounded knob set in a neat rim, and it is solid brass. The Iver Cambridge is a rounded knob inspired by the Victorian era, on a round rose, an oval backplate or a rectangular backplate. The TradCo Rim Lock and Milled Edge knob is the oldest style: a surface-mounted lock that sits on the face of the door, in the Georgian pattern, supplied with a matching milled edge knob. It is not suitable for double doors or French doors and should only be fitted to a single leaf door.
Several of these sets sit on a backplate that hides the fixing screws, which keeps the door face clean and true to the traditional look. For more period choices, see heritage door hardware.
Fitting a knob
Fitting follows a short sequence. Remove the old handle, latch and strike plate from both sides of the door, measure the backset to confirm the new set fits, and slide the latch into the door edge with the angled side facing the direction the door closes. Align both knobs with the spindle and screw holes, tighten the screws evenly, and test the latch. Avoid overtightening, and use a level to keep the plate straight. Use a professional for mortice locks and for glass, metal and solid-core doors. A screwdriver, a tape measure, a pencil and, for new work, a drill and a chisel for adjusting the latch plate cover the tools.
Match the finish across the house
Choose one finish direction and carry it through the doors, hinges and other hardware so the house reads as one scheme. The finishes in this collection run through black, brass, gold, stainless steel, bronze, brushed nickel, gunmetal and chrome. To shop by finish, start with matte black door handles, brass door handles, gold door handles, bronze door handles, brushed nickel door handles, gunmetal door handles and chrome door handles.
Ranges by maker
Each brand has its own sizes, plates and fixings, so the comparison above carries across the lines. For the TradCo and Iver knobs, see TradCo door hardware and Iver door hardware. For the Lane range, see Lane door knobs, and for the Nidus Manital knobs, see Nidus door hardware.
Our recommendation
Start with the function for each door, then decide knob or lever by who uses the door and the style of the house. Check the backset, the door thickness and the hole against the product page, confirm what is in the box, and pick one finish for the whole house. That order avoids the common mistakes: a set with the wrong backset, a latch that was never included, or a surface-mounted rim lock fitted to a double door.
Questions about door knobs
Do all door knobs fit any door?
No. Door knobs differ in thickness range, backset, bore and function, so match the knob to the door. The Lane Bala knobs list doors of 32 to 45mm and a 50 to 54mm cross bore. The TradCo and Iver sets list 35 to 60mm. Measure the door across the edge, and measure the backset from the door edge to the centre of the hole, not across the hole itself. If the backset is inaccurate, the latch may not reach the strike plate and the door will not close properly.
What are the different door knobs called?
Knobs are grouped by function and by shape. The functions are passage, which has no lock, privacy, which locks from inside with an emergency release outside, dummy, which is fixed, and entrance, which locks with a key. Shapes vary too. The TradCo Milton is a rounded knob set in a rim with an inside thumb turn, and the Iver rectangular backplate privacy kit carries a knob on a plate with 85mm between the fixing centres.
