email: Sales@DorrisWoodCreations.com       phone: (260) 336-0764

 

About Our Cabinets

The Process...

     We plane the dried lumber ourselves when your print is pulled and placed in the "build line up", which starts the entire process. Your cabinet is hand crafted in every operation from selecting the lumber to the final finish. This gives us greater control over the quality of your display than what is possible in a "production" type facility.

     The knife "rests" are made from antler. Each one is selected, cut, sanded, and shaped by hand. A slot is then cut into the rest which holds the blade end of the knife so that your knife will sit down into the antler rest, rather than just on top of it. This design prevents your knives from sliding forward, and falling off the display rests, and possibly causing damage. The antler pieces are buffed to a high sheen for a very elegant look overall. The knife rests can be made from wood dowels as well, for those of you not interested in the look of antler. 

     The door knobs, or "pulls", are also cut from antler and buffed to a high sheen which provides a unique look that completes the overall theme of the cabinet. For those of you not interested in the look of antler, we also use a bronze door pull to match the hinges. These door pulls are very popular on cabinets with wood rests. We are happy to use other pulls if you prefer, just state your preference when ordering.

   Hand painted wildlife scenes are available on the face of the antler door pulls, and are available in several styles. Click on the "Options Available" tab in the navigation bar to view photos of the various knobs. These knobs are ordered when you place the order for your cabinet. Depending on everyone's schedule, the painted knob could hold things up a bit, but well worth the wait in my opinion.

   Hand painted wildlife scenes are also available on the curved top, or "Deluxe" style door rails. These scenes are absolutely beautiful and together with a painted knob, are a way to customize your cabinet to your own personal taste.

   Interior lighting is available in both electric fluorescent, and battery powered LED fixtures. There are advantages and disadvantages to each style... these are discussed on the "options available" page.

     We install a magnetic latch to keep the door in the closed position if displaying on a surface such as a desk or tabletop that is not perfectly level. Keyed locks are available on custom orders as well for those of you with children, or just to prevent others from opening the door and touching your collection.

     Double strength glass panels in the doors provide a clear view of your collection while still preventing the knives from being easily touched. The glass is dry fitted in the shop, then removed and packaged separately for shipping. It is shipped inside of the box with your new Dorris Display. You will need to install it after receiving, with the mounting clips and screws provided. We previously shipped with the glass installed, but had too many of them crack during transit. There is not much more that is as disappointing than to wait for months on a custom built cabinet only to find the glass cracked upon arrival. Even though we have additional packaging this way on our end, we find it is better for you if we ship in this manner.

     The back is covered with high quality, and expensive velvet (not felt) material which is usually stocked in black, navy blue, dark green, bright red, dark red,  and burgundy. Other colors may be available upon request. We will check the availability, and try everything possible to get the color you desire.

The Finish...
     The finish we choose is one of the best available. Our displays have three coats of clear Danish Oil hand rubbed into the wood. We use an oil finish because it protects the piece, enhances the natural grain pattern, and gives you all the magnificence you would expect from a hand made piece. The colors you see in the photos. of the various cabinets are the result of the wood's natural beauty, enhanced but not changed by the oil. Each cabinet is wet sanded with fine grit paper between each of the three coats of oil (one coat per day) to allow the finish to penetrate deeply into the wood, filling the pores. Once the pores are filled, much more light reflects off the surface as opposed to getting trapped down inside of the pores resulting in a nice, smooth surface. Although this method is somewhat time consuming, we prefer to invest the extra time into the piece rather than just brushing on a simple coat or two of polyurethane, or using a high production spray-on finish. This way there are no artificial surface coats to chip or peel, crystallize in the sun's UV rays, or show evident and pronounced wear on frequent contact spots such as doors and drawers. The overall result is a beautiful cabinet that is protected and much smoother to the touch.

   There is also an additional finish of bee's wax upon request. Three coats of wax is applied over the Danih oil, each being buffed to a high sheen. The bee's wax finish is also a hand rubbed and hand buffed procedure that provides protection from water/moisture, feels smooth, and looks great! The cost of the added wax finish over the oil is an additional $20.00 Just mention that you would like to have it added when placing your order.