Deltana DL35 Drop Latch 3-1/2"

The DL35 is a surface-mounted drop latch: a pivoting solid brass arm that drops into a keeper to hold a door or cabinet shut. It's rated residential, so think interior cabinets, closets, pantry doors, and light-duty applications, not a commercial opening that has to take daily abuse or carry a life-safety function. It secures from one side only, so put it on the side you want to be able to open it from.

Different jobs. A drop latch like the DL35 is a deliberate mechanism, you physically lift the arm to open, so it holds a door that would otherwise swing or that you want to keep a child or a guest out of. A catch just holds the door shut against its own swing and releases with a pull. If all you need is to stop a door drifting open, the Trimco 802 and 804 3-way cabinet catches do that job with no visible arm to operate. If you want something closer to the DL35's look but smaller, the Emtek 2270 brass cabinet latch is 2 by 2-1/4 inches.

The Emtek 2270 brass cabinet latch is the smaller footprint at 2 by 2-1/4 inches, against the DL35's 3-1/2 inch arm. On a narrow face frame or a small upper cabinet door, the shorter body is the one that fits without the mounting screws running off the edge of the stile. Both are brass, so either will sit alongside brass or bronze cabinet pulls without looking out of place.

The Emtek 2270 Brass Cabinet Latch is the closest peer in the same family. Both are solid brass cabinet latches, and both mount to the face of a cabinet door and frame rather than requiring a mortise. The difference is footprint and shape: the DL35 is a drop latch measured at 3-1/2 inches, where the Emtek 2270 is a 2 inch by 2-1/4 inch cabinet latch. If you want a longer, vertical drop-arm profile on a cupboard or built-in, the DL35 is the one; if the stile is narrow and you need a compact square body, the 2270 fits the smaller face.

For hold-closed only, it is. A drop latch like the Deltana DL35 is a positive latch: an arm drops into a keeper and holds the door mechanically until someone lifts it. If all you need is for the door to stop swinging open, the Trimco 802 and 804 3-way cabinet catches do that job with a catch instead of a latch - the door pushes closed and friction holds it, with no arm to lift. Choose the DL35 when the door must be held deliberately shut, and the Trimco 802 or 804 when a simple catch on the door will do.

When 3-1/2 inches will not fit on the stile or the rail, the Emtek 2270 Brass Cabinet Latch is the smaller-footprint alternative at 2 inches by 2-1/4 inches, in the same brass cabinet latch family. It keeps a latching action on the face of the door while taking up under two and a half inches in either direction, which suits narrow face frames and glass-front cabinet stiles where a 3-1/2 inch drop latch would run past the edge of the wood.

Solid brass, both the material and the substrate. The finish is applied over brass rather than over zinc or steel, so a scratch won't expose a different base metal and it won't rust the way a plated steel latch does in a damp closet or bath. That's also why the PVD Polished Brass version holds up: PVD is a hard vapor-deposited coating rather than a lacquer.

Eight finishes: PVD Polished Brass, Polished Brass, Antique Brass, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Brushed Nickel, Antique Nickel, Polished Chrome, and Brushed Chrome. That covers the standard Deltana finish palette, so if the knobs, pulls, and hinges on the job are already Deltana in Oil Rubbed Bronze or Brushed Nickel, the latch will read as the same family. For a property manager standardizing across units, note the two polished brass options are different: PVD is the durable coating, plain Polished Brass is the traditional lacquered look that will mellow over time.

The DL35 is a mechanical drop latch, not a lock. There's no cylinder, no keyway, and no key. It holds the door closed and can be operated by anyone who can reach it. If the requirement is actual security or keyed control on a cabinet, you want a cam lock or cabinet lock rather than a latch, and you'd specify the keying with that.

The DL35 is a residential-duty cabinet latch intended for interior use, and it is sized and finished for cabinetry rather than for a commercial passage door. For commercial cabinet and casework applications, the Trimco 802 and 804 3-way cabinet catches are the peer to look at, as Trimco's 802-804 series is a commercial casework line. Specify the DL35 where the application is residential cabinetry and appearance matters; look to the Trimco 802 or 804 where the cabinet is institutional casework.

The Deltana DL35 drop latch is solid brass and comes in eight finishes - PVD polished brass, polished brass, antique brass, oil rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, antique nickel, polished chrome, and brushed chrome - so it can be matched to brass, bronze, nickel, or chrome hardware already on the unit. The Emtek 2270 is also a brass cabinet latch if the opening calls for a smaller 2 inch by 2-1/4 inch body. Both are brass-bodied, so either will sit consistently alongside brass door trim rather than a plated steel catch.

The DL35 is sold each, one unit per order, and the pricing shown is per unit. Order one per door leaf you're latching. If you're doing a run of closets or a bank of cabinets, count openings and order that quantity, there's no pair or set packaging on this one.