Antique Glass Door Knobs

Antique glass door knobs are often hard to come by. Some antique stores and flea markets offer these types of knobs, but they can be very expensive. People who are remodeling an older home will usually pay the price for these glass knobs, in order to have the house appear as it did long ago. Many older homes have had these all replaced with new door knobs that are larger and easier to grasp.

Glass knobs for doors are rather small and intricate in design. Each knob has a variety of facets. These make it look like a gem on the door, almost like a giant diamond at times. They are very eye-catching, but tend to be more for looks today. The doors these types of knobs were once used for required a skeleton key to get lock and unlock the door.

Since most doors have dead bolts and people don’t carry around a large set of skeleton keys, these door knobs aren’t used for security purposes. People will place these on closet doors and other doors within the house that don’t need to be locked. These knobs are merely for decoration and aren’t really necessary for the door to latch securely.

There are plenty of online places that sell reproductions of these glass knobs. They are cheaper than many of the antique versions and don’t cost as much either. These will usually come with a set of instructions on how to place the door knob properly into the door. Having an old knob that used to fit a particular door is helpful, but not always probable.

Some of the styles commonly seen on glass knobs from the past almost always had some sort of design etched into them. It may have been a simple swirl pattern on a rounded door knob or deep star-like etches carved into each knob. The rare glass knobs are more expensive when they are found at antique stores, flea markets, and from collectors selling items online.

Glass Door Knobs Photo by greeblemonkey via Flickr

Glass knobs can add quite a bit of elegance to a room, no matter what room they are found in. Many of these are added for aesthetics, not function. It is hard to find authentic glass door knobs that aren’t chipped. Since they are crafted from glass, they have been known to chip from excessive use, mishandling, dropping, or any type of blunt force.

Collectors who specialize in antiques will sell glass door knobs for a higher price than someone who just has a couple that were found in the basement in an old cardboard box. This is because they have a lot of time put into forming the collection and they feel they should be paid for this time. Many will also charge a lot for glass knobs they believe to be great collector items.

Searching the Internet for a great deal on antique glass door knobs can be quite tiresome, but well worth it in the end. Being able to find just the right glass door knob for that added bit of flair can make all the difference.