If you want to add a truly fascinating and unique air to your home, or if you are already styling your home in a rustic or old-style manner, you may want to take a look at some of the antique or reproduction rim locks currently on the market such as the Victorian rim lock. There is a huge market for restored antique doors and rim locks, which people are adding to their homes purely for decoration purposes. They really do give an old-style and authentic air to your home. You can add them only to your external doors as front door locks or, if you want to go all the way and it matches with the overall décor of your home, you can add them to all of the doors inside your home as well.
As everybody is most likely aware, rim locks are not the most secure locks even though some of these old-time replications look like you would need a crowbar to get them to budge at all. So, if you do end up putting one on your external doors, be sure to add additional lock on the inside as well so that you can properly secure your home.
Earlier rim locks, made during the 18th and 19th centuries, were mainly made from either wrought iron or brass. It wasn’t until later in the 19th century that cast iron locks were added to the selection. Some of the most ornately crafted keys were made during the Renaissance, when locksmiths were called on to design locks for the wealthy all across Europe. They not only made locks and keys, but very often each key was a work of art in itself, as were many of the locks. They were often designed with either the coat of arms on the lock, or carvings or engravings of different animals and other symbols.
If you are interested in a restored rim lock, you can find them very easily online. Often the copies are made according to the way they were made in the past, when originally created. One such method is sand-casting. Using this method, the metal of choice is melted and then poured into a mold that is actually drawn into sand. Once the metal hits the sand it hardens into its proper form. When it has cooled down, the works is then finished off by hand. This method is often used for making reproduced bronze, iron and the brass rim lock.
In order to get specific designs, patterns are copied from old original locks, and are drawn directly into the mold made from sand thus it is possible to get the exact details and the same final texture and finish as the original lock had.
If you are interested in actual genuine antique rim locks, you are usually able to find some dating back to mid 1800’s. Prior to 1830, all locks were imported into the US from Europe or England, and those locks are almost impossible to come by. However, it is possible to find locks dating from around 1850 on, in perfectly restored condition. Prices usually depend on the age of the lock, its condition, and the material that it was made from. You could expect to pay up to $200 for an antique rim lock set, though cheaper sets can be bought for under $100.