Deltana SCWB1225 Wood Screw, Solid Brass, #12 x 2-1/2"

Solid brass, not a plated steel screw. Both the material and the substrate are brass, so the finish is over brass rather than over steel. That matters in two ways: it will not bleed rust into a painted jamb or an exterior door, and it is softer than steel, so drill a pilot hole and drive it slowly rather than running it in with an impact driver.

Deltana lists the SCWB1225 as residential. For a house, a condo, or light interior trim in a multi-family unit it is the right screw. For a commercial opening carrying a Grade 1 closer, a heavy continuous hinge, or anything on a fire door assembly, use the fastener the hardware manufacturer specifies with that device rather than a decorative brass screw, since brass is softer than the hardened steel machine screws and wood screws that come with commercial door hardware.

Ten finishes: Polished Brass, PVD Polished Brass, Antique Brass, Polished Nickel, Brushed Nickel, Antique Nickel, Polished Chrome, Brushed Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze, and Paint Black. That range is there so the screw head disappears into the hinge, strike, or door stop it is holding rather than sitting on it as a mismatched dot. If you are matching existing Deltana trim, order the screw in the same finish code as the piece it fastens.

On an entry door or anything getting weather and hands, PVD Polished Brass is the one to specify. Standard Polished Brass is a lacquered bright brass that will patina as the lacquer wears; the PVD version is a physical vapor deposited coating that holds its color far longer under handling and sun. Both are offered on the SCWB1225, so the choice is purely about where the screw lives. Interior cabinet or closet trim, standard Polished Brass is fine.

Yes, and skipping it is how these snap. Solid brass has far less shear strength than steel, and a #12 is a fat shank to force into hardwood dry. Drill a pilot for the threads and a clearance hole through the piece being fastened, then drive it with a hand screwdriver or a drill on low torque. In oak, mahogany, or old growth fir, running a steel screw of the same size in first to cut the thread and then backing it out and replacing it with the brass one is the standard trick.

Order by model and finish. The model is SCWB1225 for the #12 x 2-1/2 inch solid brass screw, and the finish name should match what is on the hardware it fastens, whether that is Oil Rubbed Bronze, Antique Nickel, Brushed Chrome, or one of the other seven Deltana offers on this screw. Deltana uses the same finish names across its brass hardware line, so a screw ordered in the same finish name as the piece will read as part of it.

Door trim and accessories are the intended home: hinges, strikes, door stops, kick plates, flush bolts, and any surface-mounted brass piece where the screw head shows. The 2-1/2 inch length is the long option in the Solid Brass Wood Screws line, meant for fastenings that need to reach past the jamb into the framing rather than seat in trim alone. For shallow surface pieces, a shorter screw in the same series and finish is the better fit.