Door plate/bar?

Door Push Plates and Door Push Bars

Google those terms for many a result.

Grainger is just one of the many places that carry them.

I'm pretty sure you're talking about metal plates, but if the door is nice enough, you could use a glass push plate. They're kind of old timey but still fresh and you don't hide the wood. The objective is really just to give people a target to land their hands on a nice, easy to clean surface.

First link I clicked - I'm sure you can get them cheaper.

Here's the second link - they have some astronomically priced ones, and some that are certainly affordable.

Steve B wrote the following:

Is that called a bisexual door? :-)

Your local glass supplier/outlet should have appropriate handles/push plates in stock.... where you got the etched glass from (if you didn't buy the whole door unit off the shelf at a Big Box store).

Sonny

Yeah, it was from the Borg, and for what they wanted elsewhere, this one really looks nice with the light on in the pantry behind it. They wanted something ridiculous for swinging hinges, but we found one that works at the bottom that allows it to be pushed open in either direction, and a lot less money.

I believe I will watch ebay auctions till I can get something vintage for reasonable. Currently a pair of brass plates on there for $10 current bid. The new stuff is way too much.

Steve

there are some new door handles for kithen cabinet that look like push/ pull bars that are brushed stainless steel.

You should have built this:

Make your own!

Can you turn a door knob, to possibly match (design-wise) any existing drawer pulls? Or make your own push plate, since you've stained the door frame, you know what color and finish to use.... or use a contrasting/coordinating color (match the hinges, if they are exposed)?

Will a piece of copper sheeting work (match), edges sanded/filed and polished with 1000+ grit sand paper.... or some other readily available matching metal sheet/plate?

Sonny

On 1/4/2011 9:26 PM Joe spake thus:

... except that such plates probably won't have really nice edges, unless you pay extra for them to carefully dress them. Sheet metal shops tend to leave either raw cut edges, or just hastily run a die grinder or something over them. Not exactly the finished look you probably want.

David, your sheet metal people must be some real clods to not to be able to cut stainless with a virtually burr free edge and at zero extra cost. I have used SS on back splashes, whatever, for years and no such aberrations have ever been present in the things I ordered. In fact, most shops can put an almost unnoticeable bend near the edges that ensures total flat contact with the substrate. If you have really had such a bad experience as you suggest, best look through the Yellow pages for a better shop. From my personal experience in CA (way south of you) there are some fine journeymen in the sheet metal trades. So, having been there, done that with SS scuff plates and such, I'lI stand by my suggestion that it is a cost effective way to do a project.

Joe