Oak Hardware

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Author Message Paul Sweet (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 02:10 pm:    One of our colleges wants to use Oak or Best as the standard for their locksets. I've heard of Best, but have never heard of Oak (except for the hardwood). Is this a new name for an old company, a new import, or something else? George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 623 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 02:32 pm:    www.oaksecurity.com/ George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies St. Louis, MO David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1292 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 03:02 pm:    I know a lot about door hardware and have never heard of Oak. I contacted my hardware consultant and he had never hear of them either. We both determined Oak it is a knock-off imported brand of Best Hardware. My professional opinion is to avoid this brand. Best Locks has been around for years; locksmiths and contractors are familiar with them; repair parts are readily available and stocked. So I would stick with them. PS I notice that a lot of cheap imported brands us names that seem American. For example "Chicago Electric", "Pittsburgh Pro", "US General" are all imported Chinese tool brands. Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: rlmat Post Number: 486 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 04:08 pm:    I have to agree with David. I spent 25 years of my career doing doors and hardware. Never heard of "Oak". I would stay with Best (now part of Stanley) Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 1429 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 04:40 pm:    Did y'all look at George's credentials? I'm not saying he knows all, and he'd be the first to agree, but I think he's a good authority on door hardware and I think if Oak were not reputable, he'd have mentioned it. I'd definitely check Oak out before agreeing to spec them, but their website indicates something like 200 years combined experience. I'd also ask why the Owner wants to use them. Have they performed well in prior projects? Or were they recommended by the president's wife? I'm not about to radically suggest that we could learn something new or use a product we've never used before, just that we should investigate as best we can. (I don't think Best is of the best quality; perhaps the two are comparable) Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: rlmat Post Number: 487 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 05:01 pm:    glancing at their website, I do agree with Lynn that they maybe on par with Best. Also, noting their location in Indianapolis, I have to think the 200 years experience is made of a group of people who used to work for other manufacturers in that area - not mentioning any names. George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 624 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 09:39 pm:    My previous post was limited to the website because I really don’t know much about Oak, and I also don’t think it is appropriate in my current role to be overly critical - or complimentary for that matter – of our competition. But for general guidelines in evaluating hardware, much of what has been posted is helpful. More thoughts: Look for membership in DHI, involvement with standards organizations like BHMA, ANSI, NFPA, and support for CSI and AIA. (Our local CSI chapter boasts active members and officers representing four different hardware manufacturers) The standards for testing locks are ANSI/BHMA 156.2 for bored locksets and 156.13 for mortise locks. Ask the manufacturer for written third-party documentation for performance claims – you should be able to get independent, verified, current test results for all the appropriate tests in the standard. David commented about locksmiths and contractors – talk to a few and see what they think. They can tell you which are the premium brands and which are “economy”. Also talk to the college to see why they think Best and Oak are comparables. And get samples and compare them side by side. Pull them apart and put them back together, too. Paul, I’ll email you with my contact information in case you want to discuss further offline. ...and Lynn, I'll see you in Omaha in a few weeks. George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies St. Louis, MO Paul Sweet (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 02:30 pm:    Thanks for everyone's help. I was just told that Oak Lock is a spin-off of Stanley buying Best. When that happened several employees of the Best Lock went to work for the Oak Lock. Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: rlmat Post Number: 489 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 04:12 pm:    Gee - where have I heard that before! Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 500 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 10:32 pm:    I suggest sitting down with your AHC friend with a Best lockset and an Oak lockset and have the AHC tear them down into their components. Websites and BHMA standards are nice, but "the proof is in the pudding," and it's what the innerds are made of that determine whether a lockset will make it past the statute of repose (or even the period for correction of work).