We love this beautiful fox shaped door knob as much for it’s surroundings, and the way they are captured in this photo, as for themselves. The entire shot almost seems like one of those cryptic puzzles, where you have to name things in photos and put them together to make either a different word, or the title of something. Like the shot, and the fox, are trying to tell us something.
Did you notice that the fox has only half come out of the door? Very clever three-dimensional effects…


Photo credits: Startled Fox by Mark Dodds

For those of us not growing up in a country where nickel could buy you lollies at the milkbar on a Saturday, you may not have been introduced to this metal until now! Nickel is a very popular choice for traditional door hardware … but why? And wherefore? And how come?

Nickel is chemically close to iron, and is produced in the universe by much the same forces. Along with iron, it is formed by much smaller and lower temperature stars than other metals (read: less heat and energy, on Earth!), and as such is very common in meteorites … and in the Earth’s crust, where anybody might pick it up and take it away.

While nickel is quite reactive – being easily damaged when it is in its pure form – the element is quite slow to react with air, so it doesn’t easily develop the patination that brass does, or bronze or iron do, in the forms of verdigris and rust respectively. Nickel is also capable of taking on a very high polish – this is the characteristic that really helped it rise to metal prominence. It is a prince among metals, at least, if not a king!

Nickel is actually magnetic – one of the few metals other than iron that can claim this. While the US nickel is actually 75% copper, so won’t stick to itself in your wallet, or wreck your credit card encoding (!), the Canadian nickel minted between 1922 and 1981 was nearly pure nickel. Not great for credit cards, or the occasional floppy disk that you might find in your wallet!

If you have nickel door hardware in your traditional home, then your knobs and knockers’ metallic cousins include things like Raney nickel, used in chemical reactions in laboratories; kupfernickel (the Devil’s nickel!), which is used to color glass green for beer and other funny coloured drinks; coins all over the world (the rich relatives); and of course, construction and magnets. I like the idea of the Devil’s nickel best… >:-D

Some unlucky individuals are actually allergic to nickel – it can cause mild contact dermatitis if you wear earrings made of nickel and you are sensitive to it. The good news is though, that if it merely on your doorknobs, you are unlikely to suffer any adverse affects from it. If you are concerned, you can easily lacquer your knobs with the appropriate commercial product, and you need worry (and itch!) no longer.

And that is the story of ‘Saint Nick’! Except of course, the many different stories told by the fascinating and individual knobs and knockers in the products section 



Photo credits: Nickel - plumose “crystals” by jeff-o-matic
Photo credits: Old school bottles by Jurek Durczak

This very unusual, very striking traditional door knob is Italian (although that information has come through a string of Chinese whispers!). Such an unusual shape, to have either a flattened or concave back half of the knob, and a rounded front half. It makes it seem like a lady’s parasol … albeit with quite warlike, Celtic designs adorning it! It is apparently part of a collection of old hardware, doorknobs and knockers that once belonged to a Teddy Craig … and we would love to see more! We are researching currently, and will keep you posted. Any information you have is always appreciated!

Photo credits: Front Door Knob by Mark Dodds

Poor old doorknobs often get quite a bad rap. We are culpable for contributing to it ourselves … blog posts report on the footpull used to avoid germy bathroom doors (where 34% of men, and 12% of women don’t wash their hands!), and also on the bactericidal properties of brass. But we only just recently came across a wealth of information on other ways and means people have of avoiding horrible, horrible public door knobs … which are nothing like your gorgeous home ones!

There are the old standbys – low tech but high wastage methods like using a paper towel to touch the actual doorknob. Unfortunately though, if there is no rubbish bin installed right outside the door, you either have to carry around a supposedly germy paper towel (ewww … they’re crawling around onto me!), or chuck it on the ground. Definitely not good for the planet, or the look of halls outside public bathrooms. Or you can try to throw it in the bin next to the door as you are leaving – but you have to be quick and tricky, because there is no going back in! Logically flawed, that solution is.

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