Lots of companies say they are custom, why is this different? Many companies let you pick a finish or give you a choice of levers or escutcheons. That's not really custom. Our internal mechanism was designed from scratch so the exterior can look like almost anything. There are no exposed fasteners, key holes, buttons, or strike side latch plate. Your hardware can now truly match your building design, changing shape, size, material, finish, nearly anything. The entire exterior becomes the design pallet.
What is special about the mechanism? Besides being designed for external customization, the Caav mechanism is made from solid machined parts, sealed ball bearings, industrial grade components, and patent pending designs you won't find elsewhere. It is without exaggeration designed to last generations with no change in feel or operation. This contrasts with the plastic and stamped materials in even the highest end hardware on the market now. You can feel the difference as soon as you turn the handle. Speaking of that, we can change handle feel just for you if you prefer more, less, or variable resistance.
Is customizing your hardware hard to do? It's as hard or easy as you want it to be. The easiest way is to start from one of our basic shapes, for example the rectangle on the home page. You can easily change the size, shape, material, or finish. You can add basic curves, etchings like are shown in the second image, grooves, fins, or whatever. If you want to go further, you can work from the ground up from our design envelope. This is a 3D modeling file that delineates the areas you cannot design into: i.e. our "core" mechanism and the door and jamb of course. Nearly anything else you want is possible. If you want a fully free form or custom design but don't have the in-house capacity to develop the model, we have modelers who can work from your sketches to bring your design to life.
Who makes the parts? We do, mainly. We make the core mechanisms and either in-house or through our network of shops and artisans we can make nearly any exterior you design. We then do the final assembly, testing, packaging, and shipping. If you have a favorite artisan, we can provide the design parameters and work with them to fabricate the exterior. Contact us for details.
What is the point? After years of concealed hardware, minimalism, and nearly identical levers, we are excited to see bold, eclectic designs coming back. Clients are also looking for unique homeware that reflects their tastes and character more than something picked out of a catalogue. It's about time. Clients come into contact with little else in their homes as frequently as their door and cabinet hardware.
Does your mechanism use any special technology? We have three patents pending and a number of features specific to our mechanism. For example, the privacy release mechanism is magnetic. The lock could not have any exposed fasteners or holes that might interfere in the exterior designs. However, privacy locks must have a means of unlocking them from the outside, like if a child locks themselves in the bathroom. Our locks release by placing a piece of metal against the outside. You can also activate the lock from the outside using a magnet. This is particularly useful if you are having a party or children over (for example) and want to keep guests out of certain rooms. A patent is also pending for an electronic deadbolt release mechanism that operates from the jamb side of the door so never needs batteries replaced. We also have a mechanism that retains the latch in the lock until it seats in the strike. This precludes the needs for a metal strike plate. No one else does any of this.
What can your exteriors be made from? Pretty much any shape or material can be used: machined metal, cast metal, concrete, wood, fused glass, poured acrylic or other types of plastics and rubbers, ceramics, embedded vegan and real leathers, parts of family heirlooms, anything that can be 3D printed, carbon fiber, pretty much any material or combination of (non-magnetic) materials and finishes that can be imagined. Due to the magnets used in the mechanism, ferrous metals cannot be used in some parts of the exteriors.
Does it have to be a rim lock? No, you don't need to have an exposed strike if you don't want one. We just like rim locks because we like big bold hardware and history. They were the standard lock type in the world until the mass produced cylinder lock took over in the mid 20th century. They were often individually and elaborately crafted to reflect the designs of the buildings they were installed in, just like our hardware. Our design overcomes all of the security and quality issues that characterized many earlier rim locks.
It is expensive? Pricing reflects the quality and originality of the piece. They are not for everyone. That said, their price is consistent with other high-and hardware and no more than any quality, original item you would put in a home.
Is it hard to install? A carpenter will be able to readily install our mechanism on either a new door or retrofit it onto a door that previously had a cylinder lock in it. We provide templates, instructions, videos, and if needed customer support. It will be more difficult to retrofit these onto a door with a mortise lock due to the amount of material removed during the mortise lock install. See the note directly below.
What if I already have mortise locks? We recognize that some customers will either want or need to use or keep their existing mortise locks. We have a product in final stage development that allows the exterior of mortise locks to be customized in much the same way as our rim locks.
Do you just do door hardware? We can customize door and cabinet hardware, at this time.
How do I get this? Contact us. We are currently only working through professional architectural designers and contractors.