Period Furniture Hardware Co — Local services in Concord

They have great material - desultory service - as if they weren't really interested. I wanted replacements for two knobs - 2 broken out of sixteen I had bought there several years ago. By email, I got a quote and I mailed the broken sample - off into a void, it turns out.. A month went by - no knobs, no call, no nothing. I called to follow up - they said "we'll get right on it." Another month to mail back the knobs. They were wrong style and wrong finish. They said "we matched them correctly." I sent a photo - they said Oops! I mailed them all back A month went by - no knobs, no call, no nothing. I called. They said "obsolete; we can match only one." I said "Okay. Do your best on the other" They said "We'll do them over, but you need to pay us $5 for us to ship them back to you." Another month (four in total Aug to Dec) I called left message. They left message that they'll call back for a credit card number. They didn't I called left message. I called left message. They called and asked me to pay $15 to ship them back.

You'll get better service, if your project has three or four...

Paul and Quinn are two of the most knowledgeable and helpful people when dealing with antique hardware. Do you need to shim an 8mm antique knob to fit a modern 7.2mm spindle from Baldwin? .... No problem. Do you need the European or American Baldwin multi-point lock profile? ... No problem. The point is hardware is complicated with many different types of configurations and combinations. These guys have an encyclopedia of knowledge to help you avoid problems in the field. An invaluable resource that should be supported if you care about hardware that is not made in China and looks as beautiful as it works. Basically, the place is more of a well curated museum of beautiful things than a store. Go take a tour and see...

I ordered a very specialized, and very expensive (almost $1,000) doorknob for my front door last autumn and was told to expect about an 8 week delay. I clarified that this for the front door. Eight weeks turned into 12, into 15, into 6 months. Over that time i repeatedly called to check in. Half the time my calls were not returned. I was often told they would check into it, and would call me back. They usually did not. When the knob finally arrived it turned out that it was NOT a front door knob, and would not work for a front door. A nightmare; you have...