The door hinge is an invention that could not have appeared before the door itself. And people for a long time could not decide on the door structure. First, there were skins on rope hinges, then products made of sticks and clay appeared, and only then - doors made of wood, reminiscent of modern ones.
Sealing several boards together is a simple task. But how to make this rectangle cover the entrance to the house and at the same time open without serious effort, people did not come up with immediately. So the skin curtains at the entrance have been around for hundreds of years. However, some African tribes still hold them in high esteem.
Iron "discovery"
Even a modern door leaf, not to mention the rough door of the past, has a solid weight. The first master who invented the door hinge had to make it so that a person did not feel this weight. But in addition to the appearance of a door to create a hinge, people had to be able to handle metal. It was with the development of bronze processing that the first forged hinges appeared. They were overhead.
The most ancient "hinge" artifact is considered to be a huge door hinge excavated in the territory of modern Turkey. Historians believe that it was a loop from the city gates of the ancient metropolis of Hattusa and date its appearance to 1600 BC.
A distinctive feature of the loops of the past were inscriptions and drawings. They were applied for different purposes - to show the wealth of the house or to protect the home from envious people and evil spirits. It is interesting that the shape of the overhead loops was different and carried an ideological meaning. Some of the craftsmen made loops in the style of a phallic symbol. Others preferred to forge them in the form of a woman in childbirth.
Unfortunately, bronze door hinges were short-lived, as copper is a soft metal. Mastering the art of working with iron made it possible to make hinges from this harder material. Such hinges were not subject to deformation and could withstand significant loads. That is why the craftsmen made them not only to easily open doors, but also to strengthen the door itself. Forged hinges from past centuries have a long part that could span up to 2/3 of the door width.
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The advantage of overhead hinges is that their installation does not require preliminary preparation of the door leaf. The loop is nailed to the canvas, and then it is set in the desired position and fixed with wedges. Then the other part of the hinge is attached to the box. Such loops are still found in ancient castles in Europe and in various themed buildings.
Door hinges stretched across and reinforcing the door leaf are called zhikoviny. Archaeologists believe that these loops appeared in antiquity and their history goes back at least 4000 years.
Craftsmen for making overhead loops in Russia were called nests. The name comes from the fact that one part of the loop (ring) was a socket for another part. In 17th century Moscow, such craftsmen lived not far from the Passion Gate, the place was nicknamed Gnezdnikovskaya Sloboda.
Time requests
Overhead hinges were necessary not only for doors, but also for the lids of caskets and chests, and later for caskets. The same hinged hinges coped with this task best.
The appearance of an elegant paneled door required the Renaissance masters to create a hinge of a different design. In the end, one of them created a card loop. It consisted of two parts, which were recessed into the jamb and into the end of the door itself. When the door is closed, the canopy plates ("cards") are hidden, and only parts of the plates that wrap the pivot pin are visible. With this arrangement, the door tightly entered the doorway and was a reliable barrier. At the same time, easy to open. The cardinal difference between card hinges and overhead hinges is that they make it quite easy to remove the door leaf without unscrewing the hinge itself. In this case, card loops are right and left.
The development of hinge craftsmanship has resulted in a butterfly hinge that does not require stitching. Unlike mortise hinges, "butterflies" adhere to the door surface, and you do not need to cut grooves in the end for them. The sides of the fastening are made so that one part, when closing the door, enters the other. The diverging and converging details really resemble the wide wings of an insect.
Also an interesting solution is the double-sided hinges, which allow the doors to open in two directions. Usually such doors (and hinges, respectively) are installed in cafes, taverns, hotels. But screwed-in loops look even more creative. They appeared only in the XX century and became widespread due to the simplicity and speed of installation. Due to the immersion of the hinge pin into the door to the required depth, the door leaf itself can change its position in two planes. There are also options for screw-in hinges that can adjust the door in height. This adjustment makes it possible to fit the door to the frame with filigree precision. Today there are a lot of options for the execution of screw loops, but they all work according to the same principle.
"Cup" Saliche
In the 20th century, making furniture from solid wood became economically costly. The advent of particle board has partially solved this problem. But the traditional hinges for furniture doors were completely unsuitable. The loose edge of the chipboard could not hold the screw that held the hinge for a long time. In addition, such a hinge could not adjust the gap and position of the door in a wardrobe or nightstand. And this was extremely important for the aesthetic perception of furniture.
A way out in 1939 was found by the Italian inventor Arturo Salice. He invented a door hinge called the four-hinge hinge. But its other name stuck more - the cup loop, or simply "cup". The name is associated with the method of attaching the hinge to the sash - not at the end, but in a recess that resembles a cup.
The classic Salice hinge is a case with a two-lever mechanism. One of them is rigidly fixed to the body of the opening with a hinge, and the other holds the "cup" of the hinge, which is attached to the recess on the inner side of the door. The cup hinge body is attached to the mounting platform - a striker, which is located on the side wall of the cabinet frame. Initially, the installation site was a U-shaped part. But later they began to be made in the form of a bar from a light metal alloy.
The Salice mechanism provides only two fixed positions - "open" and "closed". The design of the mechanism that brings the levers to these two extreme states is the main difference between Salice hinges and a large family of classic hinges. Initially, the cup hinges were made from two spiral springs. But later they were replaced by flat springs. The force of the latter gives the door adhesion reliability when closed. Later, regulators of the effort were invented, with which the Salice hinge was supposed to pull or hold the door. At present, numerous hinge options have been invented, providing an easy connection of the hinge body with the striker plate through a latch. This fixture is called Clip-on or Anyway Clip.
One of the last in the history of mankind to appear hidden, or secret, loops. All of the products mentioned above, even when closed, have a noticeable pivot axis. And hidden loops are not visible at all when the canvas is closed. Such hinges have a complex design, since they have at least three pivot axes. Their main disadvantage lies in the price - $ 50-70 per loop. But on a heavy door, as a rule, there are three such hinges.
Alexey MARTOV
