Hinge at a Rolls Royce Level is important

Let’s hear it for the hinge, a component at the very heart of every storage unit and one we all take for granted until it no longer works. In a busy healthcare environment, a hinge could be opened and closed hundreds of times a day and yet it will still carry on working for 10 or even 15 years or more.

Manufacturers like us have an enormous respect for the hinge, a quality component that continues to operate without complaining on storage units and cabinets, even when they have to support doors that weigh up to 80 pounds or 36 kilograms. That’s why we only use the best, those manufactured by Blum, widely considered to be the Rolls Royce hinges of choice.

Hinges do most of the work, supporting the weight of doors and allowing them to swing in and out of their openings with ease. It is the reason why we only use the best door hinges available because storage units purpose built for emergency areas and robust environments such as hospitals have to work extra hard.

Such are the importance of hinges that the word has become engrained into our language. When we are said to be unhinged it implies that all is not well and of course the same can be applied to furniture when cupboards no longer open and close properly.

Hinges have quite a history. The earliest ones ever discovered date back to 1600 BC, but even before then our earliest ancestors were using hinges consisting of a hole bored into a stone, with openings above and below. A fixed pin could be inserted into the holes, allowing the door to swivel or pivot.

It is believed that it was the Egyptians who were responsible for developing the metal door hinge and bracket, and we know that the Romans used hinges for many ordinary everyday needs on simple household items such as cabinets. The Romans were particularly serious about hinges to the point where they even designated a Roman goddess of the hinge, Cardea, to preside over both door and cabinet hinges.

Hinges have been found in ancient societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and other places across the world. Most of these very early hinges graced massive palaces, sacred structures, and protective gates, operated with help from load-bearing metal hinges.

Metal was expensive and labour-intensive to fabricate, so ancient rulers who wished to show how powerful they were, could flaunt their wealth by purchasing metal hinges. The peasant class mainly had houses with no hinged doors, or even no doors at all.

In medieval times we can record that hinges were fixed to armour for greater mobility and in English colonies, particularly in the US around the 16th and 17th century, blacksmiths were said to have improved the hinge by using different types of reinforced metals.

Metalwork had advanced considerably during this period, and a hinge became a must have item for everyone and every house. Local blacksmiths could create wrought iron hinges at an affordable price.

The upper-classes continued to construct larger buildings with big doors requiring the load-bearing power of bigger scale hinges.  These are still visible in old castles with massive oak doors with wrought iron hinges which stretch across the entire door face. Many of these hinges are both decorative and functional.

Door hinges also played a major part in warfare starting with the drawbridge which had to be strong enough to support heavy loads when lowered and robust enough to withstand breach attempts from attacking armies. Hinges were also used on many weapons such as the Trebuchet designed for hurling large rocks.

In more modern times and with the development of steam power, the hinge really came into its own being used on machines and a massive range of different products and have continued to develop until this humble component has come to be used on just about everything.

The story does not stop there. Nowadays we have hinges that are self-closing and that can accommodate a wide range of different movements in addition to simply just opening and closing. So perhaps it is time that we took a closer look at hinges and acknowledge just how important they really are. As manufacturers we would be lost without them and so would the rest of us.

We deliver excellent healthcare furniture projects therefore, contact David Bailey today and let’s design your space. We look forward to working with you.