You can easily remove that paint from the hardware by boiling it in a old pot and then gentle scrubbing it off with a soft cloth or soft tooth brush.

Here's your lock:
{{!gwi}}

hi, thats a rim lock, probably about 1890-1920, hard to tell exactly under the paint. Porcelain knobs were used for a long time, and are still made, but hit a high point about 1890 and stuck around till the 1950's in some areas.

Be cautious about boiling off the paint - it will work, but could rust out your lock. I soak my iron hardware in mineral spirits, turpentine or acetone (in that order, from mildest to harshest) and one of those usually gets off the gunk. the inside of the lock may need some cleaning and oiling, but thats pretty straight forward once you take it apart.

GOOD LUCK

Thanks, everyone! Taking the paint off all the hardware is on the "to do" list. I'll avoid the boiling water technique in favor of something else - I'd hate to have it rust!

graywings, could you please tell me how you inserted the image in your message? Thank you so much! :)

Mineral Knobs were first made in 1851. (I recently did some quick research on them trying to determine if they could have been original to my 1858 house.) I associate your type of rimlock to a later period but the age probably depends on the maker. My house has rimlocks but they were made by Carpenter in England from the 1840's(?) to about 1865; instead of the latch going in & out, it goes up & down. When it came to hardware, I don't think there was a hard & fast rule about combining it judging by the assortment I've been able to piece together as original - just like today, people had different tastes, priorities, budgets, & back then, availability.

When you remove the lock, look for other 'ghosts' of previous locks on the door & jamb, or any indication that this is not the first thing that was mounted there.

I had great success boiling my paint-encrusted hardware in Worchestershire sauce. The paint just fell off. I then used a small bristle brush to get into the smaller areas.

jlc102482: I right clicked on your photo, copied the image location (starts with http) and then pasted it into the body of my post.

Directly in front of it I typed the following with no space after the = sign:
img src=

Then I added carets at the beginning and end - these things:

Click on Preview Message. If it does not appear there, you have done something wrong.

oops, need to add a step:

jlc102482: I right clicked on your photo, left clicked on View Image Info, copied the image location (starts with http) and then pasted it into the body of my post.

Directly in front of it I typed the following with no space after the = sign:
img src=

Then I added carets at the beginning and end - these things:

Click on Preview Message. If it does not appear there, you have done something wrong.

To post a picture within the post, I just copy the html link, then right click in a blank part of the message and paste it in. Easy.
Diane
PS. Love those locks! Please post a picture once you have romoved the paint.