Glossary

Here is the French square, its length is variable, depending on your doors, its thickness is 7 millimeters, the European standard has never been created, elsewhere we are often in 8 millimeters, in Germany, on safety doors it there are 10, even 12 millimeters, and in England we are in 7.6 mm…

We use that key to tighten the screw which is used on most of our door handles.

Aluminium is a soft metal, light but resistant. It has a mat silver-grey aspect, due to a thin layer of oxidation of five to ten nanometers, which forms rapidly when it is exposed to air, and which stops corrosion from progressing under normal chemical exposure conditions. This film, composed of alumina, forms fast and spontaneously when the aluminium comes in contact with an oxidising environment such as oxygen.

Contrary to most other metals, it is usable even oxidised. Without this layer of oxide, it might even be improper for most of its functions. It is possible to artificially increase the thickness of this oxidation, through anodising, which allows both for better protection and for the metal to be coloured for decoration. Whereas aluminium is a great conductor, aluminium oxide is an excellent insulator.

On a rose or on a plate, it allows to get privacy in toilets and bathrooms.

(1) BEC-DE-CANE n. m. (pl. Becs-de-cane). XVIe siècle. TECHN.
1. Lock comprising a bolt which can be operated without a key using a button or a lever handle.
2. Door handle shaped like a spout, which allows the bolt of a lock to be moved without using a key.

In the plural of the becs-de-cane.

Term still in force, used by many professionals.

Certainly for the image it conveys, and despite the evolution of the field. Evolution that we have mastered at La Quincaillerie, quite well.

To unite all the wires of an office and avoid atrocious mixes…

A color given to brass that could be compared to a shiny burnished chrome.

Principal object of this web-site.

(1). STAND n. f.
Seventeenth century. Regressive derivative of crutch, “small beak”.

(2). (2). LOCKSMITH.
Handle of a lever. The term we use most often, because the word “handle” can be applied to furniture or window parts.

A very discreet but necessary element to fix our handles on your doors.

For furniture and cupboards, two screws in every product, separated in most of the cases by an entreaxe of 32 mm.

See Bathroom privacy-set. Exist with or without a green/red indicator, depending on the makers. Just ask us.

We use that key to tighten the screw which is used on most of our door handles.

These knobs are usually placed only on the outside of main doors, and serve to pull the doors towards us when we close them. There are many exceptions, when they are placed on both sides of doors, on glass doors or as rotating handles, on locks adapted to their size.

To avoid your door banging on your glass shelves. Door-stoppers are commonly used on the floor in private places. You won’t use them if you possess a floor-heating system or a very beautiful marble or nice tiles. You’ll have to use a wall-mounting door-stop (see this term). It is interesting to match the door-stopper colour to the door-handles’one. You can also try to get black on a dark floor or white on a clear one.

For cabinets’ doors and for drawers. At La quincaillerie, our designers’ dreams are made true. From the simplest, discreetest brass sphere to a true teddy bear for children’s cupboards.

To keep a door or a window opened or closed.

To hang everything. There is only one contraindication: hollow doors.

A handle for doors without locks, or for sliding or push/pull doors.

This is a charming term. Much prettier and meaningful than “pull handle”. We carry some beautiful ones, often drawn by architects or designers based on a door handle model. Their lengths vary up to two meters and more. They are half-measure products, often made on demand. We do not stock them.

Small flat lock used to close from the inside a door or a window.

A noble metallic material. It is a family of steels, iron and carbon alloys, to which we add mostly chrome, which, above 10.5% of a solution in the mould, causes the formation of a protective layer of chrome oxide, which makes these steels stainless. In order to be recognised as stainless, a steel must contain at least 10.5% of chrome (EN Norm 10020). In most cases, cleaning it with soap is sufficient.

Made exclusively for antique locks. They allow the use of these handles without banging oneself against the side of the door. They can be used on newer doors, but only if they are equipped with horizontal locks.

When you don’t want to drill your nice floor for example. Or when you are using a floor central-heating.

Zamak is the result of an alloy of metals. It mainly contains zinc with touches of copper, aluminum and magnesium. Robust and durable, zamak is a perfect metal for creating handles or coat hooks.