To remove a doorknob with hidden screws, follow these steps:
Loosen the set screws. Pull the handle off and use a flathead screwdriver to pry the escutcheon (rose) off. Once free, slide the escutcheon off. Remove the hidden screws.
Hold the handle in place and unscrew the set screw located on the interior handle.
Remove the knob and latch mechanism. Kwikset door handles come in various types, so there’s no need to call a handyman for replacement. With the right tools and knowledge, you can easily replace an interior doorknob yourself.
To re-key a Kwikset Key-In-Knob Lockset, start by removing the lockset from the door or packaging. Separate and set aside the interior half of the lockset, holding the lock so that the side with the keyway is facing.
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Remove a door handle with exposed screws by undoing the screws and sliding out the door handle. If adding a new door handle, remove the latch mechanism.
Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from any loose parts and be aware of potential lead paint hazards.
Expose hidden set screws. A set screw is typically installed along the base of the lock on the interior side of the door. Inside knobs are often removed via a small slot or hole at the stem of the knob. Use a sharp tool or paper clip to pinch the inside door handle side and pull the handle towards yourself.
Push through the small hole on the knob using a small nail or pin. If it’s a Kwikset knob lock, use a pipe wrench to force the knob to turn.
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I didn’t see where I could post a comment so I’m doing this reply as a comment. Your article is very clear – best of three. I wish I’d seen it before I tried to do this. Kwikset sent me the tool and instructions free, but they don’t have a article. Their other instructions were clear, but I couldn’t figure out the instructions for removing the spindle. I called their tech support and it was no help at all. I finally got it done but in retrospect I’m surprised I didn’t damage the mechanism.
This does help tremendously replacing the doorknob but keeping the lock and of course the keys that go with it. But I do have another problem … is there a way to fix the spring within the mechanism? I don’t know how to explain it otherwise… I would like to keep the doorknob as it is fairly old and matches all the other ones around the house.
This was SO helpful! Thanks for posting this! I then went to another article to actually re-key without the original key. (It didn’t explain how to get the cylinder out of the knob, however. It focused on dead bolt application.) I purchased two sets about 3 years ago and installed them right away but procrastinated the re-key so that I could use one key for both. I’m painting my porch and now need to be able to unlock the one door from the outside for access while the paint dries but inadvertently threw away the original keys months ago while on a house-cleaning spree. (I found the tool and instructions, however, which are now completely worthless, lol!) Once I understood exactly where you were placing the allen wrench and screwdriver in order to get the cylinder out, everything else was easy. (It’s just not simply placing them in the hole and pushing, in other words. Each tool needs to be inserted between a spring and the corresponding sidewall. I needed a small flashlight to see down in the hole. From the top and to me at first, the springs just looked like half-moon machine keys or something similar.) You demonstrated where those side springs were with your fingers relative to the knob and that was a big part of my success. Everything is re-installed and works great!
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thanks, I appreciate your article. I’d wanted to rotate the cylinder 180 so I’d insert the key teeth up (no comments on *that* debate :). After a couple tries it worked great with allen wrench and small screwdriver. You might not know how far down in the hole the spring clips are. Don’t go too deep. It helped me the first time to depress the spring tab so that I could see the depth of both clips with a flashlight. Also, the orientation of the clips is fixed, so you don’t need to hunt for ’em.
Thanks so much for this info. I had done it about 25 yrs ago but completely forgot how to do it. I needed to rorate the lock cylinter so the key was cut up. BTW, you probably realize by now that you state to turn the spindle cc to the “unlock” position when you’re actually turning it to the “lock” position.
And it’s 2020 and these jerks at Kwikset STILL aren’t marking the boxes the locks come in as to which way the cylinder is pointing so you still have to waste your time removing this cylinder and flipping it. And these locks are expensive too. Why do any quality control when you can just force the customer to do the repair? Shit company.
This method doesn’t apply to newer quickset locks (Sept 2018). Instead there is a U-shaped clip on the outside of the cylinder seat housing. The clip can be pushed out of place with a small flathead screwdriver. There is no need to align or remove the center post. Thanks for the article, It helped me with some older locks.
Thank you for this article. I had a new kwikset locked keyed to my other door key and I didn’t notice that the lock was reversed. I decided yesterday to research how to reverse it. I came across your tutorial. After some frustration with getting the lock out, I used a smaller screwdriver with a longer one and I had success! Thank you!
leqid, you can add another person to someone whom you helped out. When turning my door handle towards the right, the knob was sticking because the little spring clip inside was sliding beyond the metal stop that’s supposed to hold it. So I needed a new door knob, but wanted to keep using my existing key (since this one, my garage door and both dead bolts use the same key). Your article helped me out tremendously. Thank you so much !!
Thank you for such a great instructional article. I kept returning the Kwikset locksets until I found one that had the bolt facing the proper direction. Well, with very little help from the people at home depot I decided to check you tube and viola….. I have now changed the bolt direction successfully on 5 new locksets without calling a locksmith or damaging the knobs. Thank you !!!!!
Thanks a LOT for taking the time to post this. It was a huge help to me replacing the locks on my doors. The Kwikset site has articles on how to remove the locks on handles, but not for knobs. I don’t think I’d have a lot of trouble figuring out the handles on my own -pretty straight forward- but I’d have broken something doing the knobs on my own!
Yes! Thanks! My landlord, bless his heart, changed a dysfunctional doorknob/latchset for me but took the “quick” way and left me with all my locks keyed for one key except one. Doing this myself and exchanging the older lock into the new knob “set” everything right again! Very good article btw…simple, to the point and easy to see what your narrating.
i got the knob free, just wanted the core. i was tearing that shit apart looking for the release. i guess it was that flat piece, and not the button looking thing. while you used an alan wrench, and screw driver. i used a rubber mallet, and a long screw driver, and with a single wack, that core went flying.