Copying a Door Hardware Sample: What a Factory Needs to Match It

Updated 2026-11-05 · RAYEN 雷茵

Can a factory make hardware from a sample alone?

Yes. You do not need a drawing. Without one, a sample does the job just as well. We take the sample, read the mounting face, the hole positions and the spindle size from it, and send you a checklist to confirm. From there it follows the same five steps as a drawing.

What a sample cannot do is speak. It shows what the part is. It does not show why it is that way. The rest of this guide is about filling that gap.

What does a sample show, and what does it hide?

A sample shows the outline, the hole positions, the screw types, the weight and the look of the finish.

It hides other things.

• The material grade. Two stainless parts can look alike and be different grades. Tell us the grade if you know it.
• What is worn. A used sample has worn edges, a tired spring or a marked finish. We need to know what it looked like new.
• What is essential. A hole that must line up with an existing lock case matters more than a chamfer on the edge. Only you know which is which.
• What the part mates with. A lever on its own does not show the lock case behind it.
• The range. One sample shows one door thickness, but your market may need a range.

What should you send with the sample?

• The complete part, with screws, spindle and every loose piece.
• The part it fits to, if you can. For a lever, that means the lock case. For a keep, the lock.
• Both hands, if the part is handed.
• A note listing what must stay exactly the same.
• A note listing what you want changed: finish, plate, logo, material.
• Door thickness, backset and spindle size for your market.
• Photographs of the part fitted to the door.
• Any old drawing or catalogue page, even a poor one.

Mark the sample if you can. A strip of tape reading keep this hole tells us more than a page of email.

Should you copy the sample exactly?

Usually not all of it. A sample is a good start, and a chance to fix what never worked. If the old part had a weak point, say so. If a screw was always hard to reach, say so. Decide this before the tool is cut, while a change is still on paper.

The reverse also applies. If the part must drop into doors already in service, tell us to keep every hole and face as they are, and we treat those as locked.

A worked example. A distributor sends a used lever on a backplate. It has to fit doors already in their market, so the plate and the lock case centre must stay. The finish must change, and the lever needs their logo. The checklist comes back with the plate size, the centre distance, the door thickness range, the material and the new finish. The note on the plate says fixed. The note on the finish says changed. Everyone can see what was agreed. On a comparable model such as 5039-340, that means a 230 × 50mm plate and a 50mm centre distance written down as locked figures.

Do you always need a new tool?

Not always. First we compare your sample with what we already make. We list 240 lever handles and 105 stainless steel handles, and a near match may mean a modification rather than a new tool. A different structure needs a new tool. Cost and lead time are quoted per part.

Sometimes the honest answer is that one of our catalogue models already does the job. We will say so.

How do you approve the copy?

The new sample goes to you and onto a real door before anything is decided. Lay it next to the original. Check each locked item. Then fit it. Changing it at this stage is far cheaper than after production.

Match the finish against the sample, not a screen. Colours on a screen are only indicative.

Once it is right, sign it off and keep it. From then on, your signed sample is the reference. Hole positions are fixed when the tool is cut: the part in the tenth container has to match the sample in your hand.

What about logos on the sample?

The copy carries your brand. Send your logo file, and say where it goes on the part and on the box. If the sample carries another maker's mark, tell us so that it stays off your part.

What to write on the order

Refer to the signed sample and the confirmed checklist, not just the part name. State the material, finish, door thickness range, packing and quantity. Cost and lead time are quoted per part. Ask us where to send your sample, or read how custom work runs.