Cabinet Drawer Pulls and Handles

Cabinet drawer pulls: one number decides the fit

A cabinet drawer pull is any handle you grab with your fingers that fastens with two screws through the drawer front or door. Bar pulls, cup pulls, arch pulls, edge pulls, appliance pulls: they're all pulls. Knobs take one screw and live on their own page.

The number that matters is center-to-center, or CC. It's the distance from the middle of one screw hole to the middle of the other. Not edge to edge, not end to end. If you're replacing pulls and the new CC matches the old one, the new pulls go into the existing holes. No filler, no paint, no drill.

The table above lists every cabinet pull in our data, sorted by stated CC. It covers every brand we track for pulls, rechecked each week. Where a listing doesn't state a field, you'll see a dash. Plenty of listings skip overall length or material. We don't fill in the blanks.

Here's my one opinion for this page: if you're replacing pulls, match the existing center-to-center. You can check it in a minute with a ruler, and it turns a weekend job into an afternoon.

What to look at in a cabinet pull listing

Center-to-center, in inches and millimeters

Pull spacing comes in two systems, and listings use both. Metric pulls come in steps like 96, 128, 160, 192, 224 and 256 mm. Inch pulls come in steps like 3 inches, 3 3/4 inches and 4 inches. Some sizes overlap: 96 mm is the same as 3 3/4 inches, which is why you'll see both on one listing.

Others are close but not identical. 128 mm is a hair over 5 inches, and you'll find it listed as "5 in", "5-1/16 in" and "128 mm" across makers. That's the same pull spacing written three ways. If your old holes measure a true 5 inches, a 128 mm pull is about a millimeter wider. Test one before you buy a box of 30.

In our data, the most common stated spacings are 128 mm, 3 inches, 96 mm and 160 mm. Long bar pulls for wide drawers and pantry doors run 192 to 256 mm, and a few go to 12 inches and past it.

Overall length

Overall length is the pull from end to end. It's always longer than the CC, because the bar runs past each screw. Two pulls with the same CC can have very different overall lengths. A slim bar might add half an inch at each end. A chunky one adds more. If the listing gives it, the table shows it. It matters for small drawer fronts, where a long overhang crowds the edges.

Finish, by the maker's name

The finish column uses each maker's own finish name: matte black, champagne bronze, brushed brass, satin nickel, brushed nickel, oil-rubbed bronze, satin bronze, chrome, polished nickel, pewter and more. Matte black is the most common finish in our data, then champagne bronze and brushed brass.

Finish names belong to the maker. "Satin nickel" from one brand and "brushed nickel" from another may look nearly the same, or not at all. "Champagne bronze" from two makers rarely match side by side. If you're mixing new pulls with knobs from a different brand, buy one of each and hold them together in your own kitchen light.

Material

When the listing states it, the table shows the material. Zinc alloy is the most common in our data by a wide margin, then stainless steel, steel, solid brass and aluminum. Most pulls are plated or coated, so the material is what's under the finish. A solid brass pull and a zinc alloy pull in the same finish can look alike on day one. What the listing tells you is what you're paying for underneath.

Pack count

Pulls sell one at a time or in packs of 5, 10, 25, 30 or 50. Count your drawers and the doors that will get pulls, then add two spares. The spares are for the one that gets scratched in the drawer and the one that rolls under the stove. Every kitchen has both.

A pack of 30 for a kitchen with 18 drawers isn't a deal unless you've got another room waiting. Leftover pulls become residents of the junk drawer. Ours has four. They have tenure.

Projection

Projection is how far a pull sticks out from the drawer face. It's how much room your fingers get. Many listings skip it. When they don't, the table shows it. A low projection looks sleek and can be tight for big hands or for anyone with stiff fingers.

Kitchen cabinet pulls by style

The style column, where makers state it, sorts pulls into a few shapes:

• Bar pulls: a straight bar on two posts; the most common style in our data
• Square bar pulls: the same idea with a square profile
• Arch or D pulls: a curved handle; easy to grab
• Cup or bin pulls: a half-moon shell you hook from below; for drawers only
• Edge or finger pulls: a thin tab on the drawer's top edge; nearly invisible
• T-bar pulls: a short bar on one post, which works like a knob
• Appliance pulls: long, heavy pulls for refrigerator and dishwasher panels

Our types of cabinet pulls guide walks through each, with where it works and where it doesn't.

Cabinet pulls and handles that are easy to use

If anyone in the house has arthritis, a weak grip or uses a wheelchair, the shape of the pull matters more than its finish. The U.S. Access Board's guide to the ADA standards says operable parts must be usable with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist, and with no more than 5 pounds of force. It notes that standard U-shaped pulls and lever-shaped handles are acceptable, and round knobs are not.

Those rules are written for public buildings, not your kitchen. They're still a good test. A bar or arch pull with room for four fingers passes. A tiny edge tab or a small cup pull may not. The same guide puts the unobstructed reach range at 15 to 48 inches, which is worth knowing when you're deciding where on a tall pantry door the pull goes.

How to replace cabinet hardware, in the order I'd do it

1. Take one pull off and measure its CC.
2. Measure three or four more on different cabinets.
3. Count drawers and doors, and write both numbers down.
4. Buy one sample pull and check fit, finish and screw length.
5. Order the rest, plus two spares.
6. Swap them one drawer at a time.

Step 2 is the one people skip. Older kitchens were built by people who used whatever spacing they had that week. Matching one drawer and assuming the rest is how you end up with a drill in your hand on day two.

Dell's take, from a man who keeps a notepad for everything: "Write the center-to-center on the inside of a drawer in pencil. In twenty years somebody will thank you. It might be you." He's right, and I've started doing it. The pencil is behind my ear. Probably.

Kitchen drawer pulls, bathroom pulls and the rest of the house

Kitchen cabinet pulls and the pulls on a bathroom vanity or a dresser are the same products. What changes is the drawer. Kitchen drawers are often wide and deep, so they can carry a 160 mm or 192 mm bar. Vanity drawers are usually shorter, and a 96 mm or 128 mm pull suits them better. A tall pantry door wants a long bar mounted vertically, where your hand naturally lands.

A few things to check room by room:

• Kitchen: the most drawers and the most hands; count both before you order
• Bathroom vanity: short drawer fronts, plus a faucet and towel bar in a finish right next to them
• Dresser: older furniture often has its own spacing, so measure every drawer
• Appliance panels: use appliance pulls, which are built for the heavier door

Iris counted the drawers in our kitchen for me last spring. She got a different number than I did. She'd counted the dishwasher, which has a panel and, she pointed out, a handle. She wasn't wrong. I changed my number.

Screws and drawer thickness

Most pulls ship with machine screws sized for a standard drawer front. If your drawer fronts are thicker or thinner, the screw may not reach or may poke out the back of the thread. Some listings say what thickness the included screws fit. Measure your drawer front with the ruler before the pulls arrive. Longer or shorter screws in the same thread are easy to find, and they're the cheapest part of the whole job.

If you're changing spacing and the old holes will show, a backplate can cover them. It's a flat plate that sits behind the pull. See cabinet hardware backplates.

Brands that make cabinet pulls in our data

Many brands supply the pulls in this table. The ones with the most listings right now include Jeffrey Alexander, Signature Hardware, Atlas Homewares, GlideRite Hardware, Hickory Hardware, Cosmas, Amerock, Kohler, Franklin Brass, Richelieu, Laurey and Top Knobs. Each has its own brand page with its full lineup. The table sorts by spacing, not by brand.

For finish and size pages, the narrower lists build from this one: matte black, brass, brushed nickel, 3-inch, 4-inch and others. For where to mount pulls on doors and drawers, see cabinet hardware placement. For sizing a new kitchen from scratch, see cabinet pull sizes.

Measure twice, buy one, then buy the box.