TradCo Milton door hardware buying guide
The TradCo Milton is a brass knob and lever range with a traditional early twentieth century English shape: a rounded form framed by a slim rim, set on a round rose or on a long backplate. It is made as a knob and as a lever, in passage, privacy and entrance sets, and in six finishes. This guide explains what each part of the range is, how the sizes differ between the knob and the lever, which finishes and coatings it comes in, and how to choose between the sets for a restoration or a new home that wants a period look. The brand overview is on TradCo door hardware, and the other TradCo shapes are on Victorian, Bungalow, Menton and Reims.
What the Milton looks like
The Milton draws on the hardware fitted to English houses in the early twentieth century, which makes it a natural match for Federation, Edwardian and interwar homes in Australia. The knob is a smooth rounded shape with a narrow rim around its base, and the lever is a gently curved bar that returns to the same rounded end. Neither shape has ornament, and that restraint is the reason the range works in so many houses: it reads as traditional without looking decorative.
The range is made in solid brass, and it comes in two layouts. On a round rose the handle sits on a small disc, which leaves most of the door face clear. On a long backplate the handle sits on a plate that runs down the stile, which hides the fixing screws and gives the door a more formal line. The long backplate sets are the complete kits, and the round rose pieces are the handles on their own.
Knob or lever
A knob needs a grip and a twist, and a lever works with a push of the hand or the elbow. For a hallway, a kitchen or any door used with full hands, the lever is easier. For a cupboard, a pantry or a period door where the look matters more than speed, the knob has more character. Both shapes are in the range, so a house can use levers on the busy doors and knobs on the quiet ones and still read as one set.
The two shapes reach differently from the door. The knob is 54mm across and projects 65mm on its own, and the knob on a long backplate projects 74mm. The lever is 125mm long on a round rose, 63mm wide, and projects 68mm, and the lever on a long backplate projects 68mm. The extra reach of the knob matters beside a wall, because a knob that projects 74mm needs more clear room than a lever that projects 68mm. If the door opens against a wall or a cabinet, fit a stop where the handle would meet it. See door stops for matching options.
Passage, privacy and entrance sets
The long backplate sets come in three functions, in both the knob and the lever shape.
A passage set latches the door and has no lock. It uses a tubular latch with a 60mm backset, and it suits hallways, living rooms, laundries and any internal door that is never locked. A privacy set adds a turn on the inside so the door can be locked from within, and it also uses a tubular latch with a 60mm backset. It suits bathrooms, toilets and bedrooms. An entrance set locks with a key. It uses a euro mortice lock with a 57mm backset, a key on both sides, and three keys in the box, and it suits front and rear doors.
The backset difference is worth noting. The passage and privacy sets use 60mm and the entrance sets use 57mm, so an entrance set does not swap into a door that was cut for a 60mm tubular latch without checking, and a door cut for a mortice lock takes a mortice entrance set. For sets by function, see passage door handles, privacy door handles and entry door lock sets.
Sizes that decide fit
All of the Milton sets suit doors 35 to 60mm thick, which covers most internal doors and many external ones. The long backplate is 200mm long and 50mm wide on every set, so the plate length is the same whether the handle is a knob or a lever. Measure the stile of the door before you order, because a 200mm plate needs a clear run of that length, and a narrow stile on a panelled door may not have it. If the stile is narrow, the round rose handles take less room.
The three numbers to check before you order are the door thickness, the backset of the old latch and the width of the stile. Photograph the old handle from both sides, and measure the spindle hole in the door. If you are changing from another make of handle, check that the plate fixing centres suit the existing holes, or be ready to fill and redrill.
Finishes and coatings
The Milton is made in antique brass, antique copper, polished brass, satin chrome, chrome plated and matte black. Antique brass, antique copper and polished brass are warm tones that suit timber, cream paint and period colours. Satin chrome and chrome plated are cool and suit a bathroom or a house with chrome tapware. Matte black is neutral and sits against most colours.
The coating changes by piece. The knob on a round rose and the privacy and entrance knob sets, along with the lever privacy set, are lacquered. The lever on a round rose, the passage sets and the lever entrance set are powder coated. Lacquered brass should be wiped with a soft damp cloth and never scoured, because scouring takes off the lacquer and leaves the bare brass to tarnish. A powder coat resists scuffs but can chip at an edge if it is struck. Check which coating your set has before you plan the cleaning.
Antique finishes are meant to show some wear over time, and that is part of their appeal. If you want the finish to stay exactly as it arrives, choose a coated finish such as matte black or chrome plated.
Matching the Milton across a house
The simplest way to get a consistent look is to choose one finish and use it on every handle, then match the hinges and stops to it. The Milton comes as a knob and a lever in the same finishes, so a front door can carry a lever entrance set and the rest of the house knobs, or the other way round, without the finishes drifting apart. Order the whole house in one go, because a finish bought months later can differ slightly in tone.
Hinges and stops are not part of the Milton range, but they should match. The TradCo robe hooks and door stops come in the same finishes, so a bathroom or bedroom door can carry a matching hook on its back. See hinges for matching parts and single robe hooks for hooks.
Reading the product names
The names follow a pattern, and once you know it the range is easy to scan. The name gives the range, the handle type, the plate, the function and the finish. In TradCo Milton Lever Long Backplate Entrance Set with High Security Lock Antique Brass, the range is Milton, the handle is a lever, the plate is a long backplate, the function is an entrance set with a keyed lock, and the finish is antique brass. The words Knob Round Rose and Lever Round Rose describe a single handle on a small disc, and these are the pieces to choose when you are replacing handles on an existing latch. The words Passage Set, Privacy Set and Entrance Set describe complete kits.
Door types the Milton suits
The Milton suits the doors found in period houses: four panel timber doors, ledged and braced doors, and flush internal doors. On a four panel door the long backplate should sit within the stile, with its upper end clear of the panel moulding, so measure the stile and the distance to the first moulding before you order. On a flush door the backplate sits flat and the full 200mm length is easy to accommodate. On a ledged and braced door, which is common on older outbuildings and laundries, the round rose handles and a surface-mounted latch are often the better fit, because the boards are thin and uneven.
The range suits doors from 35 to 60mm thick. Most internal doors are 35mm or 40mm, and most external doors are 40mm to 45mm, so one range covers both. If a door is at the top of the range, check that the screws and the tie bolts reach through the full thickness, since a short fixing will let the handle rock.
A room by room plan
Start at the front door and work through the house. The front door takes an entrance set, in a lever for ease or a knob for character. The hall and living areas take passage sets. Bedrooms take privacy sets, bathrooms and toilets take privacy sets, and laundries and pantries take passage sets or round rose handles on an existing latch. A wardrobe or a linen cupboard takes a single handle on a round rose. List every door against its function before you order, so the right kit arrives for each one and the finish matches throughout.
Care
Wipe the handles with a soft damp cloth and dry them. Keep abrasive pads and metal polishes away from lacquered and coated finishes. Tighten the fixings once a year, because timber moves with the seasons and a loose handle wears its spindle. Brass will darken a little with handling, and on an antique finish that is expected.
Choosing a set
Choose the knob or the lever first, then the function, then the finish. Check the door thickness, the backset and the stile width against the sizes above, and choose a round rose handle if the stile is narrow. For the whole range of traditional handles across the store, see heritage door hardware, and for the wider choice of knobs and levers, see door knobs and door handles.
