i sell doors and hardware. My opinion is, Must get a feel of all knobs of interest, before you go any farther. Then look at your purchase. Amortize your purchase, this long term or short term. Then look at your budget, but you spent $20k to $100k on a remodel or over $500k plus to build a house and you decided to save money on your locksets? You spent $1,000 plus on an entry door and your going to put a $100.00 lock on it? really? Our sales here are 90/95% Emtek. No one offers what they do. - Randy

Medeco locks can be bumped (my DH's boss demonstrated at DEFCON last year), they're just harder. With all the glass in the doors (or even accessible windows), if someone really wants to get in they won't bump your door, they'll break the glass. So don't worry too much about the locking mechanism, just the durability and the installation. My builder didn't mortise the strike plate for my Yale deadbolt in correctly, it was always hard to close and lock, it broke in the *locked* position this winter, I had to disassemble it (from inside the house - can't be done from outside) and replace the innards that Yale sent me free of charge. My cousin remortised the strike plate but still we have flimsy screws and jambs and someone could just kick the door in (or break a window on the porch). If you're really worried about security, get an alarm system.

Thanks to all for the posts on the brown color. I'm perplexed by DearMrsRobinson's experience with Schlage and Kwikset being brown. I saw those in person at the big box stores, and they looked black to me. I held them out in the aisle, I asked another customer and the employee. We held a black stool next to them. There was almost no difference between the black stool and the handlesets. The employee said that it was probably the lighting in the store, and that in the light, they were more brown. But the bronze porch lights and such in the store, in the same lighting, looked brown. So...I don't know. Maybe the employee was right. Anyway, I got an Emtek handleset. I have bronze-brown lamps and potpourri holders. When I hold the handleset next to them, the handleset is noticeably darker. But it IS brown, most definitely. And now that it's on the door, you can tell it's brown and not black, even from the street, and matches the bronze hinges perfectly. It's a beautiful handleset. with some subtle edges of gold here and there. I'm very happy with it. Got a good price online, too. I went with a curvy lever for the inside. I was nervous about that, since I've never had a lever. I checked with the online vendor, and if I wanted later, I could order a knob for it. But the lever works great! I love it. So easy to open. Thanks to everyone for your recommendations and information. It was so helpful. I'll post a pic soon.

I had a great experience with Emtek warranty. The replacement for my door hardware took a total of five days, from reporting scratching issues to the retailer to receiving the replacement. I've never used Baldwin, out of my price range. From Emtek: Finish Warranty: Polished Brass-Lifetime and Polished Nickel-Lifetime finishes carry a lifetime limited finish warranty. There is no finish warranty on Deep Burgundy, Flat Black Patina, Medium Bronze Patina, Polished White Bronze, Rust, Silver Patina, Tumbled White Bronze, and Unlacquered Brass finishes. All other finishes carry a five year finish warranty.