The latest addition to our wine cellar hardware collection

Cabinet Pulls for smaller spaces – latest addition to the Grapevine Collection

Our holistic approach to door hardware is one of the reasons we like to design complete collections that allow the consumer to continue a theme from entry door, to interior door to cabinet pulls and bathroom accessories. It also means that we are constantly adapting designs to give the designer a more complete range of hardware to chose from.

Our collection of wine cellar door handles led us to design a vine leaf cabinet pull which at 6"W x 3"H x 1 1/2"D works well as a drawer or cabinet door pull. However, for smaller confined spaces we saw a need for a smaller piece and have just added a new complimentary vine loop pull. The loop pull measures 2 ¼”W x 1 1/4”Hx x and projects 1 ½”x making it easy to grip. The pattern for this petite piece was carved by hand from a block of blue wax which is typically used by jewelry artists to sculpt ring patterns. A simple rubber mold was made and then used to create red wax replicas which went through the casting process from shelling to pouring to chasing and were finally finished with a light antique oil rubbed patina.

We mounted the larger vine leaf and the new loop pulls on cabinet drawers that were made using a cherry wood for the frame and myrtle burl cross hatched with wenge for the panels.

Wine cellar cabinet hardware

These images below show the fine hand- carved details of the wax pattern. For smaller pieces blue wax is a good sculpting option and you can achieve quick results with good eye hand coordination.

What determines the direction of a door handle

For many the question of a door handles direction is seen as a question of door handing and not a question that has much to do with design and possibly whimsy.  While it is true that the handing of a door lever is determined by the location of the doors hinges this need not always apply to door pulls or door grips. The answer is further complicated when the designer, in our case, Martin Pierce has a keen sense of what is correct from a natural perspective. This recently came up in a conversation with James Cunningham a photographer who we recently worked with to enhance the background of our Morphic Scroll door pull. The scroll pull is clearly a vertical pull but the curved grip can just as easily face outwards or inwards. Martin designed the piece for the Baha Mar project in collaboration with Mike Hong the projects architect. The   concept drawings have always shown the piece with the curve pointing outwards but this is not how James Cunningham saw it.

Very tall Door Handles

There are some door pulls where it is up to the artistry of the designer or consumer to determine the best direction for a piece.

Then there are the practical aspects to consider - when a door stile is narrow while the width of the grip may fit the space it may be wiser to have the grip face away from the door jamb as this will reduce the risk of grazed knuckles that would occur if the grip direction were reversed.

Tree Door Handles - when to through bolt

The Hedgerow tree handles are made either as large scaled heavily canopied door grips or as smaller door pulls. When they were designed we had planned the larger 19” handle to function as an entry door handle and its smaller cousin as a 9” cabinet door pull.

The different functions impact how the tree is mounted as cabinet pulls are typically mounted through the back of a cabinet with a wood screw that is screwed into the back of the threaded and taped tree. Occasionally the smaller trees are surface mounted as was the case recently when they were mounted on a wall and used as decorative fixtures for curtain ties

The small tree is increasingly been used as door pull for smaller interior  doors where its scale is more appropriate or on wood framed glass doors where a lighter handle is preferred. When used as an interior door both sides of the door are seen and so 2 trees (a left and a right) are used. The 2 trees are connected with a custom bolt one end of which is welded to the tree while the other passes through the door into the back of the second tree where it is held in place by 2 discreet Allen screws (set screws)

Through mounting works equally well for larger entry door grips though for added security the welded bolt should be attached to the exterior handle thus preventing its removal by someone equipped with the necessary Allen wrench.

Anatomy of a bronze door handle-part 3

Whew!  I am tired just reading about this lengthy process.  But excited about the outcome! Onward... now that we have “lost” the wax that melted out we are left with a hollow shell with the ceramic gates or funnels.  Try to envision a hollow wall around the body of the bird that we are now going to fill with molten bronze.

We will pour the molten bronze into  the shells and, once cooled, we are left with castings. The gates will have been turned to bronze and will need to be removed.  In the photo you can see the flat areas on the body and feet that are a result of the gates being removed.

These areas are ground off leaving behind a scar or rough section that will require further grinding to smooth them out.  The details such as the vein of a wing will have to be "chased" or added by hand.

In the next photo we show the top side of the casting before the piece has been assembled.

This beautiful representation of the magnificent jay hawk can be modified for use as entry door handles or hung on the wall and enjoyed as a wall sculpture.

To view our collection of architectural hardware, sculptures and custom furniture, visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.