Short brass door handle "Bernadette" model - B137

The essentials

Small duckbill door lever handle in solid brass, made in France. Sold individually, supplied with its spindle, fixings and Allen key. Designed for rim locks, it can also be fitted to a mortice lock with the appropriate roses.

• Material: solid brass, a solid, weighty piece
• Length: 73 mm
• Spindle supplied: a 7 mm spindle, the French standard for mortice locks. Let us know if you have a rim lock and we will supply a 6 mm spindle at no extra cost
• Door thickness: up to 44 mm
• No return spring: the lock provides the spring return, making this lever handle suitable for lift-to-lock mechanisms as standard
• Finishes: from bright gold to anthracite
• Pack contents: one lever handle for one side of the door. You need two to fit both sides
• Manufacturer’s warranty: 2 years

The duckbill gets its name from its profile: a straight stem that curves downwards and ends in a flattened tip. It is one of the oldest designs in French architectural ironmongery, and one of the most understated. At 73 mm, the Bernadette is compact: it projects only a little from the door leaf and is gripped with the fingertips rather than the whole hand. This low projection is useful where a longer lever handle would get in the way – on a cupboard door, in a narrow corridor or beside a passage where people walk close to the door.

Is your door more than 44 mm thick? Write to us before ordering and we will check whether it is suitable.

Rim lock or mortice lock?

This determines what you need to order. Look at your door: is the lock case mounted on the wood and clearly visible, or hidden within the thickness of the door?

The rim lock

The metal lock case is screwed onto the face of the door. It is visible and forms part of the look. This is how locks are fitted in older houses, and what this lever handle was originally designed for.

On that side, the lever handle mounts directly onto the lock case, which already houses the entire mechanism: nothing else is needed. On the other side, it passes through the bare wood. You can add a rose there, not for its function, but to conceal marks from an old hole.

In that case, request the 6 mm spindle: it is the standard for rim locks and is not supplied by default. Just leave a note in the order comments.

You can find all our suitable models among our lever handles for rim locks.

The mortice lock, also known as a recessed lock

The lock case is recessed into the door leaf: only the faceplate is visible on the door edge. This is how modern doors are fitted, and the 7 mm spindle supplied as standard is suitable.

In that case, you need three components on each side: the lever handle, its rose and a function rose chosen to suit the lock – cylinder, keyhole or privacy for a bathroom or toilet.

The roses that match this model are shown higher up this page under related accessories. Not every rose in the catalogue is suitable for DCG pieces: these have been selected to go together.

Not sure which lock you have? Send us a photo of the door and we will tell you what to order.

Choose a finish

Something to know before choosing a gold finish: untreated brass tarnishes in the air within a few months. Our gold finishes are lacquered to prevent this, so the lever handle retains the shine it had when fitted.

• Gold finishes - Polished gold, also called bright gold: the vivid shine of brass, protected by lacquer. Matt gold, or satin gold: the same warmth, without the shine.
• Light greys - Polished chrome, the most reflective. Satin nickel, also called brushed nickel, and Lacquered nickel: more muted, and they do not show fingerprints.
• Deep shades - Bronze, darkened brass with warm highlights. Copper, with a pinker hue. Brushed chrome, an aged grey. Anthracite, also called matt slate, almost black, for contrast against a light-coloured door.

The difference between satin nickel and brushed chrome is hard to see in a photo. If you are unsure which of two similar shades to choose, write to us.

Where it comes from

DCG manufactures its pieces in Vimeu, Picardy, and has been a family business since 1989. Each piece is gravity-cast in a sand mould, silver-brazed and polished by hand.