Spent 6 months avoiding soft-close hinges after a bad batch

Back in 2021 I got a box of knockoff soft-close hinges from a liquidation place in Portland and every single one failed within 2 months. Swore off the whole concept after that. Then last fall a client insisted on Blum soft-close for their kitchen remodel and I caved. Seven months later they still work perfect and I have to admit I was being stubborn about a bad first impression. Anyone else write off a whole product category after one junk batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix1474d ago

You're setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointment chasing fancy hardware lol. That one bad batch was a sign, not a fluke. Soft-close hinges are just moving parts with more things to break, plain and simple. I've got cabinets from 1998 with basic spring hinges that still snap shut like new every single time. Meanwhile my buddy spent $400 on Blum stuff for his RV kitchen and two of them started sagging within six months, had to shim them up with cardboard. Give me a solid steel hinge with no gimmicks any day, that knockoff box saved you from a whole world of future headaches.

adam_thompson534d ago

Fair point but I think good soft close hardware is actually more reliable than the old spring stuff once you get past the cheap junk. A $400 set from Blum going bad in six months sounds like a bad install or maybe a counterfeit batch more than a design flaw honestly. Have you tried the newer adjustable soft close hinges or are you still running the old spring style?

simonp474d ago

Flip the problem around and think about installation. Most people jam those hinges into pre-drilled holes without checking if the cabinet face frame is actually square. I spent a weekend redoing my brother's kitchen after he blamed "cheap hinges" for doors that wouldn't stay closed. Turns out his cabinets were racked 3/8 inch out of square and no hinge on earth was gonna fix that. Bad install kills good hardware way more than bad hardware ruins a good install in my experience.