Gold Cabinet Pulls or Polished Bronze?

When is gold truly gold and when is it polished bronze? This is a tongue in cheek question and the answer reflects (pun intended) the high luster and jewel like appearance of polished bronze.
While we do occasionally gold plate our door hardware and while this clearly adds value to the item, for many, the appearance of gold is what is needed to create an accent to cabinetry.
Bronze is an alloy containing copper and this is what makes it a golden color. Copper and Gold are both elements on the Periodic table Cu and Au respectively and while they are both malleable and were used by early man they differ considerably in terms of scarcity and hence cost. A visit to https://www.jlab.org/ revealed that the “name Copper comes from the Latin Cuprum meaning “from the Island of Cyprus” which is where the Romans obtained the majority of their copper ore. The name gold comes from the Sanskrit word Jval and the Anglo-Saxon word gold.” Gold and bronze are both very soft mediums and in the case of silicon bronze tin and silicon are adding to copper to create a harder more durable alloy.

Frog Cabinet Pulls Polished Bronze

To create a highly polished surface the casting goes through 3 stages of progressively finer buffing;
First, we buff it using a high strength non-woven nylon disk on a mechanized buffing wheel, as the disk is not woven it is pliable and can buff irregular shapes. The material of the disk contains aluminum oxide a mineral that makes sharp very fine cuts into the surface of the bronze which helps to create consistent brush marks over the entire surface. We use a medium grit disk made by Standard Abrasives.
The piece is then hand polished using a 400-grit fine wet/dry sandpaper.
Lastly, we buff the pull on a cloth buffing wheel. Buffing compound is applied to the edge of the rotating cloth disk and when sufficiently coated the pull is pressed against the edge of the disk to create a high luster.

Post Oak Hotel - Originality in Door Hardware

Our work in the Post Oak Hotel in Houston began in spring 2015 and culminated in our designing and manufacturing 3 unique door handles. The design process was a collaborative process and we were fortunate to work with Gensler in Houston and their wonderful creative team of designers and architects.

The first concept drawings were for the smaller 12” closet and shower doors and 2 alternative handles were designed and cast as protypes in steel for the model room. For those unfamiliar with the process, the model or mock-up room is where alternative samples of fabric, wall covering, and hardware are assembled for review and hopefully selection. We had submitted 2 handles for the barn doors and our braid prototype was selected as the handle for the closet, shower and French doo

The braid handle was inspired by an image of a chain bracelet that the Gensler team were using as a starting point. The interlocking woven nature of a gold chain was re-conceived by Martin Pierce as rows of braided rope that would ensconce a rod of solid steel.

The alternative handle “ribbon” was a more abstract design loosely based on vertebrae and building blocks.

In posts that follow we will be sharing photos of these pieces and will continue to discuss the other original handle designs made for this luxury hotel.

Trees That Inspire Door Handles

Not all trees lend themselves or rather bend themselves to work as luxury door handles so when creating a tree door handle we use considerable artistic license.  With our Hedgerow design we blended several different trees and tree parts. Which trees inspired us? I am reluctant to name any one tree in part because this iconic design reminds different designers of different trees but also because the design came from Martin’s imagination and not from studying any particular tree. So, if the handle reminds you of a California Cypress or gnarly wild oak or even of a Bunyan tree, then you are right.

Heroic Trees Hedgerow Collection

We are in the process of adding different finishes to the Hedgerow tree and as you may know from previous posts are also developing a new tree design which if all goes well will be lit with interior LED diodes, so please do follow our post for progress reports. As with the Hedgerow heroic handle, while the new design is instantly recognizable as a tree the family it belongs to is imaginary.

The canopy of the Hedgerow tree shown above flows from the trunk of the tree and it is pitched and so that the back of the canopy lies flat and flush to the front of the door. The tree handle is attached to the door by through bolts that screw from the inside of the door into the back of the canopy.

The gnarly Bunyan reminiscent roots also flow from the trunk and similarly have a flat back where another though bolt supports the hefty handle that is cast from 10lbs of solid bronze.

Banyan tree roots inspiration for Hedgerow Pull mounting point

A Textural Approach to Luxury Door Hardware

While much of what we cast is visually dramatic where possible we like to add a textural note to our Luxury door hardware. The lost wax method of casting is perfect for creating deeply textural pieces that would be almost impossible to achieve with less expensive casting methods such as sand casting. The depth of a particular detail is limited only by the pattern makers skill and by the gravity flow of the molten metal.             

The pattern is the 3 dimensional original and is the starting point for the casting. The mold is made from either a latex solution that can be brushed on or from a catalytic 2 part silicone solution that can be poured over the pattern. While both solutions take an almost perfect impression from the pattern, the latex solution will require several layers and will require a more rigid casing to support the floppy mold.

Vortex of Swirling Leaves

The Willow heroic door pull is a good example of the type of detail and texture that can be achieved from a silicone mold that was made from the pattern above. The pattern was carved by Martin in bass wood which is a pale and tightly grained wood and then painted with a grey primer to more clearly reveal any imperfections and to also help fill in any pores in the wood grain. The undulations in the leaf tendrils left good impressions in the mold and the result is a casting that is an almost perfect facsimile of the original but when rendered in bronze creates a stunning door handle.

Section of the pattern with grey primer to show any imperfections and to fill the wood grain

A new adventure awaits Martin Pierce Hardware

UBM launches "PORTA", a boutique for the finest door                                       hardware, the first of its kind in the Middle East." Thus begins a new chapter for Martin Pierce Custom Hardware.  We are thrilled and proud to be associated with Universal Building materials (UBM) and their CEO, Raghunath, as they open their new store in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia.  According to their press release, "Universal Building Materials has established itself as a pioneer in the construction materials  business of the KSA for more than three decades."

We will be joined by other luxury hardware brands as UBM delivers "door jewelry" to the discriminating designers and architects in the area.  The display areas will provide a real see and touch experience to assist clients in making their buying decisions as you can see by these photos of not only our display but others as well.  We were able to be involved in the display decisions so that our products are shown to their very best advantage.

If you would like to join us on this new adventure, view our complete line of hardware and get the latest news on what is happening at Martin Pierce, please visit us at www.martinpierce.com.