Cabinet Hardware – Page 2

7 Easy Steps to Clean Your Cabinet Hardware

Posted on March 12, 2014March 14, 2022 by MyKnobs Editor

It’s easy for cabinet hardware, particularly in the kitchen, to get grimy really fast. With grease splatter from cooking, touching them with dirty hands and spills that happen in the kitchen, it can only take a couple of months before your cabinet hardware needs cleaning. Here are a few tips to help you clean your cabinet hardware.

Remove the hardware from your cabinets and drawers before you begin. Sometimes cleaning solutions can damage the cabinets themselves, so you won’t want to replace them until they’re clean and dry. You should just need a screwdriver for this.
Fill a bowl with hot, soapy water. Dish soap should suffice.
Place cabinet hardware in the water and let it sit for at least half an hour. You want the hardware to be completely submerged in the water, so you may have to do this in batches.
While your hardware is soaking, clean the area on the cabinets that the hardware normally covers. It would be silly to replace the hardware onto a dirty surface. Use an appropriate cleaner and scrub the built-up grime off the cabinets.
Take a clean soft toothbrush and scrub the hardware to remove any gunk. Make sure to scrub the backs as well, as grease can often run down there.
Rinse clean hardware in cool water. Dry with paper towels.
If you are using metal knobs, use a metal polish to finish the job. This will help disguise any scratches on the hardware and prevent tarnish from forming.

Cabinet Doors: Hinge Anotomy Overlay vs. Inset Cabinet Hinges

Posted on January 20, 2014 by MyKnobs Customer Service

Measuring Cabinet Door Overlay

The cabinet door overlay is the distance that the cabinet door extends past the door opening in all four directions in order to cover it. Some cabinet doors show none of the cabinet frame, others will have a good amount of distance. However, this distance may not be exactly equal on all four sides. So in order to accurately measure this…

Close the cabinet doors.
Use a pencil to make a light mark on the cabinet frame using the edge of the door as your guide. Make sure you do this on the hinge side of the door. If you’d rather not use a pencil, a piece of tape will also work. Just make sure the tape is lined up well.
Open the door and measure from the mark over to the edge of the face frame.

This measurement is normally in the range of 1/4″ to 1-1/2″, and anything significantly larger or smaller than that, then you are probably measuring the wrong part of the frame.

Caring for Decorative Hardware — General Tips

Posted on January 17, 2014 by MyKnobs Customer Service

Caring for decorative hardware should provide our customers with years of beauty. Most modern day finishes should last a lifetime with the proper care and maintenance. However, keep in mind all hardware surfaces are “stain resistant,” not “stain proof.” The sooner stains and grease receive attention the easier they are to remove. Stains can set over time if they are allowed to settle penetrate into the surface of protective coating.

Do’s

Dry surfaces immediately with a soft, lint-free cotton cloth.
Use a soft, lint-free cotton cloth dampened with a mild detergent or soap, and warm water.
Keep sharp items, such as knives, away from hardware. Dropping a knife and having it hit your hardware can cause scratches and dings.
Use care when opening drawers and cabinets using a pull or knob. Most decorative hardware just requires you to place your fingertips behind the hardware and pull. You should not have to grab the pull and yank on it. Not only does tugging on the pull cause unnecessary strain, but the oils from your hands can damage the hardware over time. While it sounds a bit silly, caring for decorative hardware requires you to keep

Replacing Old Discontinued Furniture Hardware

Posted on January 28, 2011May 4, 2018 by MyKnobs Editor

When a piece of hardware on a cherished piece of furniture breaks the first thought is to try to replace it with a matching piece of hardware that will be consistent with the wear of the remaining hardware. Many people have luck locating the perfect piece of hardware through collectors, but it is a time consuming process.

Attempting to replace all of the hardware on the piece of furniture can also cause a problem if the hardware is discontinued. With luck and perseverance, the replacement for the original hardware can be located through the original seller or manufacturer, but it cannot be expected that they have ample storage space to stock discontinued items.

Luckily, the availability of new hardware that will compliment the discontinued piece of furniture can be found because of the popularity of reproduction hardware. This makes it easy to match the new hardware design with the manufacture era of the piece of furniture.

Difference in Crystal Quality

Posted on January 17, 2011 by MyKnobs Editor

Crystal Quality Hardware When looking for an elegant way to dress up wooden doors, drawers or cabinets, explore the possibilities offered with glass and crystal knobs, and handles.

Crystal quality is usually determined by the amount of lead that is used in the manufacture of the handle, knob or pull. Crystal is described as full lead crystal if it consists of 23% lead. The light that comes through makes it glisten and picks up color from the light refraction.

Lead crystal with lower lead content doesn’t refract the light in the same way, so the colors and sparkle of the sunlight in the crystal quality are diminished slightly, though still beautiful.

High lead crystal is easier to cut than lower lead crystal because it is softer. The high lead content crystal is also easier to decorate. If crystal is manufactured with less than 23% lead, it is considered a standard crystal.

Glass manufactured with minute lead content is really not considered a crystal product as it is just glass, although designers often use the term crystal when talking about the material.

Decorating with Cabinet Hardware

Posted on January 15, 2011February 13, 2017 by MyKnobs Editor

The purchase of large appliances or other major furniture acquisitions is a big step that takes time and planning. Once the new pieces have been delivered and arranged in the home, it’s often the case that something doesn’t seem quite right.

The discord may be simply that existing hardware doesn’t match the new décor. Luckily, this is an easy problem that can easily be remedied by changing out the existing hardware.

Kitchen cabinet hardware is available in a variety of materials, colors and finishes to complete the look that new appliances give a room. If the existing cabinet hardware doesn’t complement the new stainless steel appliances, simply change them out. You don’t have to choose stainless steel hardware in the same finish, although that would be perfectly suitable. Instead, you can choose a material or design that draws from the overall theme of the kitchen because the stainless steel appliances are neutral.

Choosing Hardware from the Same Collection and Manufacturer to Assure Color Consistency

Posted on January 13, 2011 by MyKnobs Editor

Many people who are doing large renovations or building projects with multiple pieces of the exact same hardware are often surprised to see a slight difference in color or finish when the pieces are unwrapped and placed side by side. The differences in color are usually not enough to be noticeable once the hardware is installed over a wider area as they are when they are in such close proximity.

In fact, in most cases the differences are so slight that no one but the handy man ever notices. But to a perfectionist, once the differentiation is observed, it presents a distraction that soon can lead to overall dissatisfaction with the result of the entire project.

Add a Touch of Style with Decorative Hardware

Posted on January 9, 2011 by MyKnobs Editor

Decorative Hardware When you want to add a touch of style to your kitchen or bathroom, installing decorative cabinet hardware can really make a difference. From polished brass or stainless steel to crystal and glass handles and knobs, it is quite easy to give the whole room a fresh, decorative look by incorporating different cabinet hardware. Imagine a kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The stainless steel can cause even rich wood cabinets and drawers to feel cold and stark. But when you add elegant rich gold tone cabinet handles and knobs you are adding a touch of warmth and richness to the room.

The same can be done in a modern black kitchen. Black cabinets look wonderful with stainless steel handles, intricate antiqued knobs and other stylish touches that you can add, and are sure to make a statement. Bathrooms are another place in the home where cabinet hardware can make a huge difference in the feel of the room. For example if you have a pastel colored bathroom with light airy colors you can easily find simple decorative pull handles for your drawers and cabinets.

If you have an opulent luxurious bathroom with rich colors like burgundy and gold, you can also find gold toned or brushed brass cabinet hardware to complete the look. The bathroom also offers many other decorative hardware options including towel racks and shower door handles. It is easy to add a touch of class to any color scheme or design by using decorative cabinet hardware.

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 5, 2011 by MyKnobs Editor

It’s less than a week into the New Year and most are going strong on their resolutions. Whether you are hitting the gym for the first time in months, redirecting your life down a new road or finishing something you once started – it is easy to get discouraged when you do not see immediate results. Let’s face it; this is why most resolutions fail. After working hard for a few weeks and having those skinny jeans still not button or feeling stuck after putting all your effort towards change can be really discouraging and it is easy to just give up. Instead of giving up, keep moving. Let’s create a plan now on what we want to achieve and do it.

Replacing Hardware for Existing Odd Size Holes

Posted on September 24, 2010 by MyKnobs Editor

Not all hardware is made the same and sometimes the hardware that comes with the cabinets that are in your home are odd sized. This can mean that there is an issue when replacing the existing odd size holes with other hardware. How do you make the new hardware fit the cabinets when the holes are too large or too small for your new hardware? There are a few things that you can do to get your new cabinet pulls and hinges to fit without having to get new cabinets entirely.

Large Holes – When the holes are larger than the screws for the new hardware you can do one of two things. You can either purchase inserts to make the holes smaller and allow them to be able to fit the new screws, or you can fill them with putty and drill new holes. Many people prefer to use the inserts because they are easier to use. It also keeps the cabinets from having too many holes. Drilling new holes can offer a tighter fit for the new hardware so that can be a positive for that method.