SCHLAGECustom FC21 BWE 622 COL Bowery Knob with Collins Trim Hall-Closet and Bed-Bath Lock, Matte Black

While I've been putting brushed brass door levers in part of the house that's being renovated (replacing awful polished brass), I ran into a special case of space constraint in the bathroom. I've included a picture, but the problem was that there was no room for the door handle because of a towel bar. I decided to look for something that was finish and décor compatible, and decided on the Schlage Custom Bowery Knob with Collins Trim (FC21 BWE 608 COL, Satin Brass).At $40, the Schlage is about $10 more than I'd typically pay for Kwikset doorknobs (even privacy ones). Then again, the Schlage has the promise of "custom" quality. Hmm. The doorknob arrived in a large-ish manufacturer packaging. Inside the package you start to get a sense of what you paid the extra money for. The bolt looks pretty normal and can collapse/expand to work with the two most common hole spacings. The bolt flush plate is a two-piece affair, with the outer plate finish matching the knob pretty well. Similarly, the strike plate matches well. The bolt slides into the door, but it was EXTREMELY tight fitment for me - so much so that I had to rough out material to get the barrel of the bolt to slide in. Fitment issues continued, as I had trouble with clearancing of the lock module. I resolved this by mounting the lock halves upside down. While this is not what you're intended to do, it worked well for me, having the side effect of putting the lock button over top of the knob. I actually prefer that, as it make the lock easier for me to engage. Once you screw together both lock halves, it's time to snap on the fascia plates. Because I mounted the lock upside down, I had to do the same with the inner lock (so the hole would line up with the button). That has the unfortunate side effect of having the removal slot visible, but it's not very noticeable. These plates have quite a bit of mass to then - they feel cast or machined, and not like a cheap piece of stamped sheet metal. Nice! In general, I'd say this doorknob takes a bit longer to install than most.In operation, the knob rotation is smooth, and the force feels linear. The lock works fine, but the pin does feel a bit cheap, compared to the rest of the pieces. The emergency key is an odd shape, and will not just sit nicely on top of the door frame. There's no PTFE pad on the center of the latch, but people differ on if they think that makes a latch more "upscale".So... there's no getting around the schtick/gimmick/party trick of the Schlage Custom. You see, Schlage claims that they've constructed their lock hardware to allow you to change the external look of your doorknobs/door handles whenever you want (after you've installed the bolt and the plates on either side of the bolt. I guess that's THEORETICALLY true, but it's really just a cost savings move for Schlage... it's not for the consumer at all. To test this hypothesis, I tried to locate Schlage Custom retrofit hardware, where you can just buy the external pieces. Well, you can't. ANYWHERE. So, while it's true that if you buy a WHOLE NEW DOORKNOB, you can leave the existing Schlage Custom interior core in place, YOU ARE WASTING MONEY ON PIECES YOU WON'T USE. Ugh. Realistically, you're not going to be changing this type of hardware frequently anyway (hopefully), so I'm sure that this was just the fever dream of a marketing person somewhere. Regardless, this should not be a factor in you selecting a Schlage Custom piece of door hardware (IMHO).I've included pictures of my installation. I still need to sand, prime, and paint the door, but I wanted to show what it looked like with a similar finish on a different piece of hardware.Door hardware is pretty sneaky. Any particular knob won't be very expensive, but you probably have more doors than you realize (or normally think about)... so the cost adds up quickly. The Schlage Custom is a bit pricier than what I normally buy, but the quality still makes it a solid value, IMO. Recommended

The color is a nice deeper brass color and not the bright yellowy color. I like the clean traditional style. It is heavy and well made

The media could not be loaded.  I like 100% of them and what they do. They were fantastically easy to install, came with all necessary materials, the written instructions and diagrams made the process a breeze, and they fit my dark academia aesthetic super well, yet are also so versatile in looks that they’d absolutely compliment a wide range of design styles from mid century modern to farmhouse. Don’t him and haw- level up that builder grade crap and go for these little beauties

They are gorgeous. A huge improvement from the old handles. I was worried they were going to be flimsy when i first opened the box but once i got them all put together they feel like a normal handle- they look fancy. There was a learning curve for installing the first one but went on quiet easily on the rest of the doors. I only installed the lock, which is optional in my bedroom door. I was worried that my 5 year old daughter was going to lock herself in and not be able to unlock the door. I might just be being paranoid but I'm not willing to risk it. They look like real brass and they might need polished to keep them at their current state.

But seriously, this is a very lovely doorknob. Solid but not crazy heavy, modern, looks high quality. I bought this for an RV renovation and if there were more than ONE doorknob to replace, I would have been scared off by the price point. It's overpriced. It's also a little tricky to install—took two tries and a lot more time and effort than any other doorknob we've replaced before. But it's beautiful and the locking mechanism works smoothly. Love it.

This door knob is beautiful and functional! I looked on 21 different sites and I always came back to this particular design and this was the best price. It's spendy for a door knob but I'm doing a lot of remodeling in my home and even with new paint colors or new floors. Every single person points out these knobs! I've installed it with and without adding the locking mechanism and it's very easy install. They are very durable and heavy Simply Beautiful!

AttractiveMy only complaint is that I couldn’t install the locking pin. Didn’t really need it but if I did I would have returned it

This door handle is definitely for looks it didn't quite fit in my standard size hole for the door locking mechanism so I had to chisel it out to make it fit. I could have also bought a drill bit to make the hole larger but I wanted to put it in right away. They're definitely lightweight but don't seem flimsy.

Very high quality! Beautiful finish!

It was too flimsy and light!