Since I was five years old, I wanted a house with one of these. On the outside, it’s a door knocker, which nobody these days would ever think to use …
On the inside, it’s a portal that opens to lets the person outside declare themselves friend or foe. You know: “Joe sent me” (I could run a speakeasy!) or, “The eagle flies at midnight” (I could be a spy!) …
I was thrilled when my new-old house came with one in its front door. Alas, after having this brass relic for one year, less three days, my potential careers in bootleggery or selling secrets have ended. The front door had to go and with it my childhood fantasies.
You can see the deplorable condition of the old door. Or part of the deplorable condition. You can’t see that the old door was also two inches too narrow for the opening (cobbled in with an ugly board) and almost 1-1/2 inches too short (cobbled in with nothing; the sunporch became a lake when it rained). It also wouldn’t lock from the outside with its Depression-era (or perhaps even Edwardian-era) hardware.
Last weekend at a garage sale I scored a brand-new, still-in-the-wraps, pre-hung steel door with a pretty window in the top. It’s even the right size and has the correct direction of swing. $80 — Garage sale kismet strikes again. The sellers even delivered it for me. This weekend, out with the old, in with the new.
Will probably post a picture once I’ve finished painting the new door and its frame. It’ll be more attractive — and no more indoor swimming pool. But oh, I’ll miss scaring Mormon missionaries, pamphlet-waving church ladies, and cookie-bearing Girl Scouts by suddenly appearing to them as a shadowy (and I hope sinister!) figure through a hole in the door.
If I were to have gone to your house with the door knocker I would have used it.
Nice that you were able to score such a nice replacement for it though.
hanza, if you’d have used the door knocker, you’d have been the only one ever. And for that I’d have surely invited you in for a cup of tea.
Hope you kept that wonderful Portal anyway! You never know …
I second the hope that you kept the Portal/Door Knocker. Wasn’t there a way to “salvage” it? Even if you can’t use it right away? After all, someone had to put it in.
Yes! I haven’t seen one of those door knockers in years.
Put it on the back door. A side door. Basement door. Attic door. A retreat door. Or give it to The Independent Spirit for one of their doors. But it’s too useful to throw away…
Save the door knocker, install it in the bathroom door, should make an interesting conversation piece, assuming you entertain guests.
Knocked on a lot of doors when I was a kid and truly despised those door knockers. The majority were made for looks not use and you could knock all day with no on hearing you. Even if someone had the old heavy brass style, modern doors and foyers are not made to reverbrate the sound through the house.
That’s the nice part about door knockers — they CAN’T always be heard!
I agree it should be saved for another door – bedroom or bathroom as Matt, another says says. Or auction it off or sell it on ebay, but I’d keep it.
LOL, great minds on keeping that old brass knocker/portal. I have no idea what I might eventually do with it, but I’m hanging on to it for sure.
And Matt, another, and Pat … yeah. What you said. The knocker part really is useless (a mixed blessing). But scaring the church ladies was fun …
You know a good welder who cut inlet your new steel door and install your door knocker/window combo? (I believe the name for those in-door viewports is “Judas.”)
By golly, Victor. You’re right! I had no idea, but after a little non-googling (via StartPage), I find “Judas gate” and “Judas window.” Well, the things I never knew …
http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/judas_window/
As to trusting somebody to cut a large hole in my brand new door … um, I’ll give that some thought. I’d really love to keep the Judas window, but aside from fear of what might happen in the process, I’m not sure it would go well with the design of the door. I’m definitely thinking on it, though.
Claire, I’m with Victor … keep the knocker/Judas window and install it in your new door. Be sure to keep the brass screws. Another suggestion – before you toss the old door, measure the opening, make a tracing of the opening, and check the old door thickness in case your new door is thicker or thinner.
I imagine that a skilled workman or handyman could drill holes and cut the opening with a good Skill saw and metal blade. I don’t think you’d actually need a welder or fabricator, unless you need to fit it into a thicker or thinner door. Finally, check the internet. There are a lot of specialty types out there.
Plus one on the keeping it tally…….that is just to cool to get rid of, and I love the bathroom door idea, LOL……
Yeah. I really like these ideas. I’m not sure the Judas window (now that I have a name for it) would work on the front door. But I definitely want it, and these are some cool ideas.
The new front door is already installed. I haven’t yet removed the Judas window (I just have to keep saying that) to see whether it might fit there or someplace else, but there’s not a chance eBay, Freecycle, or Craigslist will ever get its hands on that little doodad.
Now, if I lived with somebody else, I’d definitely put the thing on my office door, with a big “Do Not Disturb — Wild Writer” sign.
Id be cuttin a hole…….
I’m with bumperwack – steel doors have holes cut/drilled in them for mail drops, pet doors and 180 degree peepholes. Find someone with the correct tools who knows how to use them, and cut that hole. That thing is priceless. I want one. And I have a steel door.
There are 3 of this type of door knocker on ebay now, for all of you who want one.
Or, Claire, this looks like a money making home business if you can make a mold, do brass casting and polishing.
I was planning on making one of those for my house (after building the house, of course). Nice to know the name of it, thanks!
(And I vote for keeping it, too)