Rockwood 602 Secret Gate Latch

There's no visible operating trim on the 602. The bolt is released by pressing a button concealed on the bottom of the latch case, and the latch ships with a dummy knob so the door reads as normal hardware from the face. That's the whole point of the "secret" designation: someone who doesn't know to reach under the case can't work it. Worth knowing before you spec it for a gate the public uses, because nobody will find the button by looking.

The 602 is reversible, so one part number covers either hand. It is single acting, meaning the gate swings one direction only, so plan the latch and strike for the swing side rather than expecting it to work both ways. For a property manager buying several for a run of gates, reversibility means you order the same item regardless of how each gate is hung.

The 602 latch case measures 2-1/16 x 2-7/16 inches and the strike measures 2-1/16 x 3/4 inches. Lay out from those two numbers when you're checking a stile or gate rail is wide enough to carry the case and that the strike lands cleanly on the opposing post or jamb. The case and strike share the same 2-1/16 inch figure, which keeps the two sides visually aligned.

Mounting screws are included: 5 each #7 x 1-1/4 inch oval head wood screws. Those are wood screws, so they land in a wood gate or a wood-cored stile as supplied. If you're mounting to metal or to a hollow section, you'll be sourcing your own fasteners and anchors, since nothing in the box will bite.

The 602 body is cast brass and Rockwood rates the product for commercial use, which is the material and duty class you want on a gate at a hotel courtyard, a school yard, or a multi-family pool enclosure rather than a stamped residential latch. Cast brass also holds up outdoors better than plated steel where the gate sees weather.

Use a secret latch like the Rockwood 602 where you want the gate to look unhardwared and stay closed to casual traffic, restaurant patios, courtyards, pool surrounds, service yards at institutional and hospitality buildings. The concealed button under the case keeps children and passers-by from operating it while staff who know the trick get through in a second. Where you need controlled access with an audit of who holds a key, this is the wrong device and a keyed gate lock is the right one.

Two: 606 satin brass and 626 satin chrome. If you're matching existing hardware on a building, 626 is the usual satin chrome commercial standard and 606 is the brass equivalent, so pick whichever the adjacent levers and pulls already are. Both are the same cast brass latch underneath, just a different plated finish.