I am reviewing all three variants of these lever handles, and there will be some repetition because they share a common basic design.These handle sets follow the common bolt-through mounting method where the handles are connected together through a large hole in the door, and sandwich the door when the two screws are tightened, removing the need to find a solid fixing in the door fabric, which is often tricky with hollow doors. The method also makes changing handles a simple task, requiring just the removal of the two screws.It is unusual to find lever handles with this bolt-through design, most of those available being knobs. These XFORT handles have a sinuous curve to the solid cast alloy levers, but the rose and internal mechanism has a similar construction to knobsets, being made from thin steel bent and spun components that don't feel as solid as simpler cast handles, but work perfectly well. The cast levers here give these handles a bit more weight.The handles have a matt black coating that seems to be tough, but time will tell how well it wears.Installation is very easy if the existing handles are also bolt-through, but if not, some work will be needed to prepare the door. This involves making the large 54mm hole right through the thickness of the door using a hole saw, and the deep 25mm hole to accommodate the tubular latch, for which a long twist drill is the best tool. The instructions include a template to aid placing the holes on the door. Alternatively, dedicated kits and jigs can be bought, which might be worthwhile if several doors are being converted.The handle-fixing screws are long, and take some time to insert and remove with a manual screwdriver, I tend to use a small power driver. Round knobs usually prevent a perfectly square approach to the screw heads, but the angle is shallow and slipping can be avoided with care. With lever handles, this is not a problem, although access to the inner one requires the handle to be turned slightly against the spring. Some re-centring may be needed when the screws are fully tightened, to ensure the handles operate freely.The kit also includes an adjustable-backset tubular latch with a matching black face, a matching striker plate and fixing screws.The privacy handle type has a thumbturn lock, with no key, but it can be opened from outside in an emergency. The handles are handed, being non-symmetrical. It seems they will need to be used 'upside down' with the levers curving down at the end in some cases. The supplied instructions are not helpful on this matter, being rather generic, showing knobs rather than levers.These handles sets are well-made and good-looking, and they work very well. The current price is £18.99, the same as for the simpler passage set, and therefore better value.
