How to Read the Spec Sheet of Furniture Handles and Legs

A handle looks great in a photo. But will it survive being pulled hundreds of times? Does that slim leg really carry a sideboard full of books? Until recently, answering these questions meant digging through manufacturer websites. Now the answers are one click away: in the Téchne configurator, every handle and every leg carries its own manufacturer spec sheet, shown right in the list behind the info button. More than 50 sheets, with each model's official data. This guide shows you how to read them — and why each number matters.

Where to find the spec sheets

In the configurator, open the Doors & handles section or the Legs section and tap the info symbol next to any model in the list. A tooltip opens with the manufacturer's specifications: exact dimensions, material, colour, mounting method, and for legs — load capacity and levelling adjustment. These are the figures from the official technical drawings, not marketing copy.

Reading a handle's spec sheet

Let's take a real example from the configurator, the RiexTouch XH01 bar handle in its 168 mm version:

• Length: 168 mm — the handle's total length, the one you see on the front;
• Hole spacing: 128 mm — the distance between mounting points. This is the number that truly matters: if you ever want to swap handles years from now, the new model must have the same hole spacing, otherwise you are left with visible holes in the front. 128 and 320 mm are widespread industry standards, so replacements will always be easy to find;
• Height: 32 mm · bar Ø12 mm — how far the handle stands off the front and how thick the bar is. Height matters for grip clearance: a handle that sits too flat is hard to grab with your whole hand;
• Material: steel / Colour: matt black — the material dictates weight and feel; steel and aluminium are the durable choices, while zamak (a cast zinc alloy) allows more sculpted shapes, as on the XH63 with its ribbed Ø10 mm bar.

For knobs — XK01, XK02, XK05 — the sheet lists diameter and height (for instance XK05: a conical aluminium knob, Ø25 mm, 30 mm tall) and notes the single-point mounting: no hole spacing involved, so any knob can later be replaced by any other.

A special case is the 3996 edge profile: an aluminium profile handle mounted on the edge of the front, with screws driven from behind, no routing required. It comes in 120, 300 and 1200 mm lengths and four finishes (aluminium, matt black, matt gold, stainless), leaving the front completely smooth — the go-to solution for minimalist designs.

Reading a leg's spec sheet

For legs, the key figure is the load capacity. Real examples from the configurator:

• Riex GS26 — a steel leg with a 25 × 25 mm square section, 100 mm tall, 120 kg per leg, with levelling adjustment; available in matt black or polished chrome;
• Riex GA88 — a cylindrical aluminium leg, Ø38 mm, carrying up to 500 kg, with +15 mm of levelling;
• Riex GW20 — a conical leg in FSC-certified solid oak, Ø45 mm at the top tapering to Ø25 mm, also rated up to 500 kg;
• Riex GL13 — an adjustable glide only 17 mm tall, rated 100 kg, for furniture that should sit nearly flush with the floor;
• castors — 70 mm tall, 40 kg per castor, with a brake and a rubberised tread that keeps wooden floors unscratched.

Load capacity multiplies by the number of legs, so even the small models comfortably carry a fully loaded sideboard. What matters more in practice is the levelling adjustment: on floors that are not perfectly flat (which is most floors), a few millimetres of adjustment separate a rock-solid cabinet from a wobbly one. And leg height changes the character of the piece: 17 mm visually grounds it, 100 mm lifts it and lets light pass underneath.

Why informed choices pay off

Handles and legs are the parts you touch every day — and the first to betray furniture chosen in a hurry. The spec sheets in the configurator give you exactly the information you need at the moment of decision, without leaving the page: compare two models, check the dimensions, then instantly see them in 3D on your own cabinet. For the aesthetic side we have a separate piece on choosing handles and knobs, and if a piece needs legs bought separately — say, for an existing cabinet — you will find the Riex models in the shop's legs collection, covered in a dedicated guide.

Next time you configure a sideboard or a wardrobe, spend ten seconds on the info button. Those small numbers are the difference between “looks good today” and “works flawlessly ten years from now”.