Ironmongery Blog

These brass and iron Rim Locks, together with the Knobs and some other products, can be found in the Restoration section of our Brass and Bronze web site.

      These are not an exclusive product and can be found on other sites and in magazine adverts.
However, we have noticed that quite a few of the companies showing these products are stating or, at the very least, stongly indicating that these products are British made. We have even seen some antique reclaimation yards claiming that they are restored originals.
As an honest company we do not make false or inaccurate claims as to the country of origin of any of our products. Indeed, we are happy to point out that, whilst being of reasonable quality, these products are imported into the UK from India and this is, or should be, reflected in the price.
If you come across these products elsewhere with a view to purchasing them we would urge you to consider your choice of supplier with care. If they are advertising them as being British made who knows what other false claims they are making.

Along with every other business in our trade, we have, at the start of 2007, seen the first of many manufacturers price increases. Coupled with the increases imposed during 2006, many products have seen an increase of upto 20% on January 2006 prices. This applies not only to British manufactured goods but also to goods imported from India and the Far East.
The main reason for these increases is the world price of raw materials which continues to escalate - for example Zinc up 100%, Copper up 20% (source London Metal Exchange). Other rising costs, such as energy, have also contributed to the increased price of finished products.
In our opinion, consumer led demand for cheap, inferior quality products is, in no small way, partly to blame for this. This applies not just to ironmongery but right across the board - electrical goods and clothing must surely be at the top of the list of culprits.
Buying “cheap” products is, of course, a false economy - they never have the life span of better quality products and, as a result, need to be replaced more often.
It is our policy to promote high quality British products whenever possible as this not only helps UK manufacturers and the UK economy but, albeit in a very small way, eases the demand on the earths resources - the lifespan of a good quality, British made set of brass door handles is much greater than a cheap imported set.