Baldwin 0310102MORT Surface Bolt Mortise Strike, Oil Rubbed Bronze

It's the mortise strike that receives the bolt on a Baldwin surface bolt. The surface bolt itself mounts on the face of the door; this brass strike gets mortised into the frame, the door edge, or the inactive leaf so the bolt drops into a clean pocket instead of a drilled hole. It's ordered separately from the bolt, and it comes in 102 Oil Rubbed Bronze.

It's the strike for Baldwin surface bolts 0345, 0370, 0378, 0379, 0380, 0381, 0382 and 0383. If your bolt is one of those, this is the matching mortise strike. If it's another brand's surface bolt, don't assume it drops in, the strike has to match the bolt's rod diameter and the mounting hole spacing.

The strike plate measures 3/4 x 2 inches, with 1-3/8 inch center to center between the mounting screws. Lay out the face cut to 3/4 by 2 and route the bolt pocket behind it. Because the plate is only 3/4 inch across, it fits on a standard door edge or a narrow frame rabbet without running past the stop.

The screw holes on this strike are 1-3/8 inches apart on a plate 3/4 by 2 inches. Measure hole center to hole center on what you're pulling off. If your existing strike is on the same 1-3/8 inch spacing you'll land in the old holes; if it isn't, you're plugging and re-drilling, and the 3/4 by 2 plate won't cover a much larger old cutout.

Baldwin lists it as residential hardware. For a house, a condo unit, or light interior use in a multi-family building it's the right part. On a high-traffic commercial opening, or anything on a fire-rated pair, specify commercial-grade flush bolts or surface bolts made for that duty instead.

One strike per bolt. A typical inactive leaf carries a surface bolt at the head and another at the sill, so that's two strikes, one in the frame head and one in the threshold or floor. The strike is sold separately from the bolt, so count your bolts and order to match.

A drilled hole works but it chews out over time, especially in a wood jamb or a threshold where the bolt drops down. The mortise strike lines the pocket in brass so the bolt engages the same way every cycle and the edges of the hole don't wear. On a pair of doors where the inactive leaf gets bolted top and bottom daily, that's the difference worth paying for.

It's Baldwin finish 102, Oil Rubbed Bronze, in the dark bronze family. That's the same 102 code Baldwin uses across its trim, so it keys to the rest of a 102 opening. Oil rubbed bronze is a living finish that darkens and burnishes with handling, so a new strike set next to a ten-year-old bolt will read lighter until it ages in.