I have the Emtek rosette with levers. My parents used Schlage on their lakehouse. There is no comparison, imo. Be sure to see each in person before making your decision.

Also, I like the egg shaped knob too until I saw it in person. It is harder to turn than a regular door knob and since we are here long term, I went with levers for old age.

I splurged on Emtek for the front locks and we used Schlage for the back locks. The finish on the Emtek is holding up much better.
Our Emtek locks are much heavier feeling than the Schlage.

I went through the exact same dilemma a few months ago. I couldn't believe the difference in the price of doorknobs and was trying to figure out it the more expensive doorknobs were worth it. Here is that thread with people's responses. For me, the backplate was very important. I agree that it, with the "feel" of the doorknob, makes the hardware and while you might never notice a builder grade doorknob in a house, I argue that you will notice a great doorknob. I finally found and purchased reproduction mission doorknobs that I'm really excited to see go on our doors, although not in the shiny brass color. They have a substantial backplate and a great weight to the knob.

I obviously also looked extensively at Emtek and Schlage. I think that that backplate on the Emtek knob you've posted above makes it, so, if you can stretch your budget and it is a priority for you, I think they would be well worth the investment.

I had emtek at my old house and loved it. We have schlage now as it fit the budget and I figured once I tire of the oil-rubbed bronze I will replace them with what I really want.

I had exactly that rosette, but with a handle as I have a hard time turning knobs.

While I'll agree that the front door knob is visually important -- especially if one has a long walk to it, I really doubt that knobs in general are particularly noticeable. For instance, of the last three houses you were in (other than your own), how many door knobs did you actually pay any attention to? People notice balky knobs, dirty knobs, flimsy knobs, wriggly knobs, hard-to-use knobs, and non-working knobs. A few MAY notice that a knob is nickel while the hinges are brass, but don't bet on it. While we are making choices for our own house, the item seems of paramount importance, but in everyday life... do you remember any knobs from 5 years ago? I suspect that only designers and knob-makers do more than glance at a convenience, or have any memory of knobs that they weren't personally involved with.

If there is a design or finish that appeals to you, and your budget can afford it, then go for it. Otherwise, go for quality, but don't break the bank because there are many other items of more importance on which to spend money. A year from now everyone will notice whether or not the knob is working, but only interior decorators and you will be likely to notice style or finish.

Parkejo,

You may want to consider the Weslock Julienne to get the look of your Emtek in the top picture without the price. My wife nixed the egg knob idea but I got a similar one in a round knob (Impresa) and they seem substantial enough to me. People do notice them, especially the rosette.

What I did was order just one to get the feel for it before placing the big order. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Weslock Julienne at Handlesets.com

Klabio- Thanks for providing that link. I will check that out and maybe order one to see the finish. I really like the backplate. I just want something different than the levers I have now.

Meldy nva- I like this forum because it give you perspective over the whole building process. Sometimes you need to take a step back and see it spending a little more will matter here or there. I just want to put my own individual touch on our house. This is our first build where the others the previous owners had made all the choices.

We'll see what I decide. I want to see the finish of the Emtek in person. I called to find a local retailer and got the names of 2 stores I hope to visit soon. And this month there are a couple of home shows I want to visit to get ideas for the new house so maybe I will see something I like more. Anyway thanks for your opinions!

I am also curious as to the difference.

I have Schlage in brushed nickel throughout my house.
I am planning to replace my front door.
The installer said to keep the warrant I need to purchase an Emtek with them.

Help! Not sure what I should do.
Do I buy a Entek handleset just for the warranty or buy Schlage to match existing handles?

The Emtek finish has lasted much longer.
My Shlague finish has worn horribly.
I have both.

This is making me feel good about spec'ing out all Emtek a couple of weeks ago.

LSST ~
FYI Schlage has a lifetime warranty on mechanical and finish wear.
Emtek Finish Warranty: Door Hardware in Polished Nickel-Lifetime finish and PVD carry a lifetime limited finish warranty. There is no finish
warranty on Deep Burgundy, Medium Bronze, Flat Black Patina, Silver Patina, Rust, Polished White Bronze, and Tumbled White Bronze finishes.
All other finishes carry a five year finish warranty.

DD2 has a Schlage entry set and it started looking awful at 2 years. It will be 4 in November, and I just looked up the warranty - finish is only 4 years.

My Schlage hardware is over 1o yrs old and it still looks brand new.

Thanks for that info red lover - I love GW! I was trying to decide between round and a square rosette and your comment reminded me that my parent's have the Schlage Camelot rosette on an exterior door and it keeps loosening up and tilting, which drives me and them nuts because it looks crooked. I will definitely go the round route!

Also, we have an ORB Schlage handle on our garage pedestrian door. It faces SW and the finish is not wearing well at all. It's less than a year old. The other exterior Schlage handles are fine, but they are covered by porches. The satin nickel may do better, but we are not happy with the ORB.

Just a comment on the egg knobs. I chose them as a compromise between the round and the levers and love how easy they are to open, easier to grasp and turn compared to the round and yet does not stick out like the levers to catch clothing. I also prefer the round backplates so that I don't have to worry about adjusting them. Form over function in this case, but the I've gotten lost of compliments on the form from visitors in the house. I don't think the egg shaped knobs are very common in my area so they get noticed.

RQHome ..you are welcome.

Parkjo--this is one of those things that you may think you will upgrade that you never will. Try to get what you want (within reason). I just told my dh the online price of the one I want...the one I pinned 2 years ago. He said "forget that dear". I will have to work on him ;-)

My Bravura door hardware has worn just awful. it was a "Living Finish" in ORB. I knew that going in 10 yrs ago. Some people love the look. I should have known I wouldn't be one of them. FYI for anyone thinking about a living finish.

Keep in mind that any living finish (brass or bronze) will wear or tarnish over time. Some are lacquered coated but that lasts until there a scratch, sunlight or chemicals (household cleaners) that remove or breakdown the coating. Oil Rubbed Bronze is one of the most complained about because the finish comes off. Actually it wears where it is is touched and highlights which it is supposed to do. There is a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) finishes which is a plating tinted to a color like Bright Brass as an example. It is a hard finish that wears like chrome and should wear well if you don't like the high lights to tarnishing. PVD is also used on jewelry and other products.

Some of my Schlage oil-rubbed-bronze stuff aged funny. I just sprayed it with clear laquer. I've not had any problem with my Emtek front door set but it is pretty protected compared to the Schlage stuff I have on the other doors.

Sorry, but Schlage and Emtek are not in the same league. And they don't pretend to be. Once you've handled them in person, the difference is obvious.

Last house we built for ourselves featured Emtek sandcast bronze "living" finish. Previous custom builds used Gainsborough porcelain with 24K gold trim covers. (After gold prices soared, Gainsborough substituted brass at a much lower price point.) Sadly, future owners will likely dispose of the knobs without a clue to what they are; not one in a hundred prospects realized they were gold. Only the occasional architectural student!

We're building a house and like the Emtek hardware a lot. The rep indicated the finishes are coated and much more durable than SchLage.

However, emtek makes no automated locks, and we have gotten used to the zwave Schlage locks on our existing house. No one ever gets locked out anymore, and I can unlock a door for someone to get in remotely from my cell phone anywhere.

Does any any higher end lock company make more automated locks? Emtek etc... seems pretty backward technologically.

thx

mike

Just completed a home with some new Emtek locks. They have failed after only a couple of months of service--a word which I would not otherwise use in the same sentence as Emtek. I'd go with Schlage unless you would likek to work as Emtek's free product testing/development department. Emtek, if you're reading this...well, please fix the problem with your design and don't expect us to do your product testing.

emtek makes no automated locks

Try EmtekLiscio.Not a remote Smart system though. But from what I've read about how hackable such systems are, I'm not rushing to install them.

**

failed after only a couple of months of service

Surprising. Even the cheapest Kwiksets I installed in rental properties worked fine for years.

Yes, a surprise for us, too. Our experience with the particular (new) Emtek design with larger levers suggests that the internal parts are not appropriate for the higher torque that can be produced by the larger levers.

we installed the emtek egg shaped knobs with the rosette backplate throughout the house except in our mudroom, where we installed a round knob with a combination lock. i don't find the egg shaped knobs harder to turn at all. they all operate perfectly. i have them in ORB throughout except the master and my daughter's room; there i chose the silver rosette (or do they call it platinum? i can't remember) with glass (also egg shaped) knobs. omg, i LOVE the glass knobs! we also have the levers on our patio doors. emtek puts out a great product for sure. good luck.