Door Handles for Dummies

Doorknob without visible screws

One of the staffers was looking through the new, "improved" version of HomeSteady.com not long ago and noticed an interesting sequence. If you haven't looked at the Leaf Group niche filled with old eHow.com content recently, the alleged improvement is stacking of similar content. We guess that's so you can get a right answer if you scroll long enough? Anyway, Carl Pruit had two consecutive posts on similar topics; we'll look at the first of the pair: "How to Remove a Door Handle."¹

Carl wrote this one back in 2009 when he was C. A. Pruit; the other post in the pair dates to 2012. According to Carl, here's how you remove a door handle:

1. Locate the screws that are holding the door handle onto the door. They are normally found on the interior side of the door, on the plate behind the door handle. [the "plate" is called an escutcheon, Carl, and in decorative locksets is a "rosette"]
2. Unfasten the screws...

He then continues by instructing the reader to remove the other handle and then take out the bolt (which he calls a "door jamb latch"). Although what he's actually done is describe  removing a lockset, we'll agree that most people asking for help on "how to remove a door handle" are actually trying to remove the lockset.

Pruit's problem? Well, as he discovered some time in the three years before writing his other post, the screws "holding the door handle onto the door" aren't necessarily visible. We'll also note that the screws actually hold the two sides together, and don't fasten anything to the door. Too subtle? Sure...

The point, however, is that when you can't see the screws, it's because the manufacturer thinks they're unattractive (they are) and has hidden them. To get to the screws you have to take off the rosette; and to take off the rosette, you have to remove the knob.

There are a couple of different systems for securing the knob. Some companies use a small set screw (a grub screw), which requires either a hex ("Allen") wrench or a tiny screwdriver. Others use a spring-loaded catch, which you depress to slide the knob off. Either use the tool provided at installation (fat chance!) or a small screwdriver to push in the catch, which is located on the bottom of the shaft of the know. Once the knob is off, you can remove the rosette and access the screws.
Carl didn't know that yet; still, he shared his ignorance with the world for a few bucks. Guess that makes him our Dumbass of the Day, doesn't it! He also ignored handle-type locksets, deadbolts, mortise locks, and anything else besides the pass-through on the door to the pantry...

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_5106877_remove-door-handle.html

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