# Locking doorknobs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409 "2011-07-18T04:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/1 "2011-07-18T04:00:22Z")
In my experience there are two type of locking doorknobs for exterior doors. One allows you to lock the door and still open it from the inside, the other prevents the knob from turning even on the inside when the lock is engaged. Is there an industry term for these two configurations? Something that would appear on the packaging at a big box home improvement retailer so I could tell the difference? Being accustomed to the ‘knob will not turn when locked’ variety, has led to many hilarious adventures outside the house in a bathrobe or less for me. I know my neighbors and I would both like to reduce the number of these excursions. Thanks -rainy ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/2 "2011-07-18T04:09:36Z")
The type that doesn’t need to be unlocked before opening the door is a so-called “panic-proof” lockset. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/3 "2011-07-18T04:13:32Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > In my experience there are two type of locking doorknobs for exterior doors. One allows you to lock the door and still open it from the inside, the other prevents the knob from turning even on the inside when the lock is engaged. > > Is there an industry term for these two configurations? Something that would appear on the packaging at a big box home improvement retailer so I could tell the difference? > > Being accustomed to the ‘knob will not turn when locked’ variety, has led to many hilarious adventures outside the house in a bathrobe or less for me. I know my neighbors and I would both like to reduce the number of these excursions. > > Thanks > > -rainy It’s generally one of the defining differences between Schlage and Kwikset. A basic Schlage lock with still allow the inside knob to turn while it’s locked where as a Kwikset when locked does not allow the knob to turn. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/4 "2011-07-18T13:01:46Z")
Ah, I wondered if it might fall along manufacturer lines. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/5 "2011-07-18T13:29:06Z")
Another option, if you’re buying a new doorknob, is to get one that does not lock at all, or can be set to not lock at all, and use the deadbolt to secure the door. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/6 "2011-07-18T13:44:50Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > It’s generally one of the defining differences between Schlage and Kwikset. A basic Schlage lock with still allow the inside knob to turn while it’s locked where as a Kwikset when locked does not allow the knob to turn. This is interesting news to me. In the years I have been buying my own locksets, I have only encountered the kind that can always be opened from the inside. I find them somewhat frustrating, because all my life I’ve tested to make sure I’m not about to lock myself out by wiggling the door knob as I’m leaving, but I always wiggle the knob from the inside, because that’s the one I’ve already got my hand on. I simply assumed it was a new safety feature to prevent delay in evacuating in the event of a fire or something similar. But … guess what brand of locksets I buy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-doorknobs/589409/7 "2011-07-18T13:46:27Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Another option, if you’re buying a new doorknob, is to get one that does not lock at all, or can be set to not lock at all, and use the deadbolt to secure the door. Without a lock, that’s called a “passage lockset” in the biz.