Well, the world sure is a disgusting, disgusting place! You may have received the email that has been going around for a while detailing how many litres of other people anal gases you inhale in a day … how many litres of urine you ingest in an hour of swimming in a public pool … what percentage of door knobs have traces of semen on them … and how many bugs you are likely to swallow in a year, while you are asleep. If you were as horrified as we were upon reading all of this, you may be glad to know that in a small way, you can fight the power of germs, by choosing brass door knobs! Apparently...

This is what can happen when you have a door with a knocker, but no backplate… but only if you have many centuries of knocking to wait around for! This knocker is another one from France – it resides in Lyon. You wouldn’t guess it from the photo though, would you? The dust, the grain of the wood, and the pitting of the metal all seem just a bit too raw and real to be in sophisticated France! This door knocker is a very far cry from the Louis-style hardware that is prevalent among antique doors. Photo credits: Rusty Old Door Knocker by Anthony Dawson

Many of our genuine antiques date from a time that your grandparents, or their grandparents may have seen. However, if you have a penchant for the times of swords and scabbards, damsels in distress, mead, quests and adventures … when men were men, and all women were ladies, princesses or fishwives, then you should love these dragon door knockers. Perhaps they might also be useful in scaring away people you don’t want to knock on your door … and they definitely shouldn’t be stolen! If I had lifted one of these door knockers from somebody’s door, I’d be worried about it coming to life...

This crazy knocker is in France, and not in general keeping with the usual charm and traditionalism of French architecture! It is in Grenoble, where there is apparently a ‘magic square’, and much of the surrounding architecture is themed around the occult and magic. As an interesting side note, his hair looks very similar to a lion’s mane – the most usual door knocker motif, worldwide! I wonder if the artisan was simply so used to making lion knockers, that everything else came out looking a bit lion-ish, too. The set of his eyes is also similar, although if it were a lion, the smile would...

Now, if you don’t like door knobs, you have no reason to be reading this blog … but perhaps you have just run out of inspiration for new knob themes in your house, or you now have an extra door, but can’t source a matching handle to go with your other antique ones. Well, this door handle might be a little big for us to ship – but it is definitely one of the more interesting ones we have seen around! It is actually a book. A Sherlock Holmes book, in a piece of intentional serendipity – and it opens the door to this person’s hot water service closet! While we can’t imagine it...

This door belongs to the Christ Episcopal church, in Greenwich, South Carolina. I’m not positive what sort of look the painters were going for when they chose the royal purple for the door, but I love that unexpected inclusion of colour and energy into religious life. For something which is essentially meant to be so joyful and life affirming, people can sometimes get quite stifled in tradition and things which are really boring … not like this door though! Awesome. And no holds have been barred – door handles are painted a wonderful ocean blue. Photo credits: Old door by Valorie Beaman

We had a look recently at some gorgeous, kitsch and quite funny Victorian door knobs notes that were a modern twist on traditional style … The door knob notes that Sacramento officials have recently come up with are a lot more serious, and more important in many ways. The city of Sacramento in America is quite prone to flooding, and with the effects of global warming creating a much wetter global climate, people are having to deal with floods much more often. The city has come up with a ‘Safely Out’ kit, which includes door knob note which people can place on their front doors to let emergency...

Well, we have said it before, that you only know that something has real value when somebody else in the world thinks it is worth stealing! It has been reported that gangs across Britain have been stealing brass and other items – tens of millions of pounds worth – in order to feed a growing demand for metals in India and China, as their construction industries boom. We are not talking about a few isolated incidents here, of things that are unusual to steal, but not inconceivable (like, for instance, a traditional and well-made door knob!). Apparently these thefts are on an absolutely huge scale...

You have probably heard the well-documented fact that one in seven door handles contains traces of semen … and it is all the more believable if this is one of those door handles! This unique piece has found its way into our collection through sheer good humour, and willingness to try something a little out of the ordinary. Whoever the lucky purchaser ends up being, we can imagine several scenarios that will ensue … They will hear just about every lewd double entendre possible regarding their ‘knob’ You can just imagine … there will be all sorts of jokes about your knob’s placement in...

We do realise, this post has only the most tenuous of links to door and door hardware … but we couldn’t resist writing about anything with so fascinating a name as ‘The Door County Fish Boil’! Some of you may feel differently … but for me personally, not being a fish eater, it conjures up an immediate acrid feeling in my nostrils and a rolling in my stomach, listening to the name. Knowing that the chef in this event (which is supposedly a culinary masterpiece!) is known as the boil-master makes me feel like I would be present at some sort of sadistic satanic ritual – no offense meant! Looking...