Hardware
Cabinet hinges explained: overlay, inset, opening angle and soft close
Replacing a worn drawer box is often one piece of a bigger job that includes the door above it, and the hinge aisle has its own language. Overlay, inset, opening angle and soft close describe how a concealed hinge sets a door against the cabinet and how it closes, and this guide works through which of our hinges and mounting plates fits a given door.
Quick answer. Overlay, half overlay and inset describe how far a door sits over the cabinet side, set by the hinge’s cranking, straight, half or full, paired with the right mounting plate height, not a formula. 110 degrees is the everyday opening angle on a concealed hinge; wider and narrower angles in the line cover thicker doors, tighter clearances and specialty cabinets. BLUMOTION is Blum’s soft close built into the hinge cup, and it can be switched off on one hinge for a small or light door. Face frame cabinets generally take a Compact series hinge or a CLIP top hinge on a face frame plate. Gritly stocks Blum CLIP top BLUMOTION hinges and mounting plates alongside our dovetail drawer boxes, so a hinge or plate replacement ships with your next drawer order.
Gritly builds dovetail drawer boxes, not cabinet doors, so hinges are not our main product. We carry them because the jobs overlap: someone replacing drawer boxes is often rehanging the doors above them in the same trip, so our hardware line stocks hinges and plates next to the drawer slides. For the boxes themselves, see replacement drawer boxes, drawer slide types, undermount drawer slides explained, soft close side mount drawer slides and custom drawer boxes.
How a concealed hinge works
A concealed hinge, also called a European hinge, has two parts, bored and screwed on separately, then clipped together. A round cup is bored into the back of the door and holds the hinge body. An arm reaches from the cup to a mounting plate screwed to the inside face of the cabinet side, and clips onto the plate so the hinge can be lifted off without unscrewing anything. Per Blum’s CLIP top BLUMOTION brochure, the cup hole and the smaller dowel holes next to it both need at least 13 mm (1/2 in) of depth, and boring distance, the gap from the door edge to the near edge of the cup hole, runs 3 to 7 mm.
How far the arm is cranked, or bent, sets where the door ends up. A straight arm gives full overlay, covering the whole cabinet side. A half cranked arm (9.5 mm) gives half or twin overlay, used where two doors share one center partition. A full cranked arm (18 mm) gives inset, where the door sits inside the cabinet opening instead of over it.
B is boring distance, the gap from the door’s edge to the cup. O is overlay, how far the closed door covers the cabinet side. Not to scale.
Full overlay, half overlay and inset
Overlay is not one number. It comes from pairing the hinge’s cranking with the mounting plate height under it, and Blum publishes the combinations as a table, not a formula, shown below in millimeters for the CLIP top BLUMOTION 110 degree hinge.
| Cranking | Mounting plate height | At 3 mm boring | 4 mm | 5 mm | 6 mm | 7 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight arm, full overlay | 0 mm | 14 mm | 15 mm | 16 mm | 17 mm | 18 mm |
| Straight arm, full overlay | 3 mm | 11 mm | 12 mm | 13 mm | 14 mm | 15 mm |
| Straight arm, full overlay | 4.5 mm, frame cabinets only | 9.5 mm | 10.5 mm | 11.5 mm | 12.5 mm | 13.5 mm |
| Straight arm, full overlay | 6 mm | 8 mm | 9 mm | 10 mm | 11 mm | 12 mm |
| Straight arm, full overlay | 9 mm, panel cabinets only | 5 mm | 6 mm | 7 mm | 8 mm | 9 mm |
| Half cranked (9.5 mm), half or twin overlay | 0 mm | 4.5 mm | 5.5 mm | 6.5 mm | 7.5 mm | 8.5 mm |
| Full cranked (18 mm), inset (reveal shown, not overlay) | 0 mm | 4 mm | 3 mm | 2 mm | 1 mm | none |
Two notes on that table: 4.5 mm plates are for frame cabinets only and 9 mm plates are for panel cabinets only, and every 35 mm and 8 mm hole, cup or dowel, needs to be bored at least 13 mm (1/2 in) deep.
A plus version of the same straight arm hinge reaches further. Our self close and BLUMOTION 110 degree plus hinges reach up to 22 mm of overlay at a 0 mm plate, set by boring distance:
| Boring distance | 3 mm | 4 mm | 4.5 mm | 5 mm | 6 mm | 7 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overlay, 110 degree plus, straight arm, 0 mm plate | 16 mm | 17 mm | 17.5 mm | 18 mm | 19 mm | 20 mm |
Opening angle: 95 to 170 degrees
110 degrees covers most kitchen and vanity doors, but Blum’s CLIP top line runs from 94 degrees up to 170 degrees, plus thick door, angled and blind corner versions. 100 degrees, 107 degrees, 120 degrees and 120 degree plus hinges sit on either side of the everyday angle, for a door that needs to clear an obstruction or swing further open.
155 degree hinges come in a zero protrusion version, where the hinge arm does not stick out past the edge of the cabinet side when the door is open so a drawer or roll out behind it still clears, and a wide angle with BLUMOTION version. 170 degree hinges open almost flat against the cabinet side, for a corner cabinet or a door that needs to stay fully out of the way. Our free swinging version holds the door open at any angle instead of swinging it shut, while the self close version snaps shut like a standard hinge.
Thick doors get their own family. Per Blum’s brochure, 95 degree thick door hinges are built for doors up to 1 3/16 in, in all three crankings; we stock the full overlay, half overlay and inset versions, plus a 125 degree zero protrusion thick door hinge with BLUMOTION. A separate 95 degree free swinging hinge is not a thick door version; it just holds the door at whatever angle you leave it.
A 94 degree mini hinge is a smaller cup hinge for a narrow stile or a small door, and a bi fold 60 degree hinge is built for a two leaf folding door, where one leaf folds back against the other. Blind corner 95 degree hinges are inset hinges built for a blind corner cabinet, where the door sits inside the opening at an angle into the corner; we carry self close, soft close and with BLUMOTION versions.
Positive and negative angle hinges are for a cabinet where the door is not parallel to the box, such as an angled corner unit. Blum’s full angled hinge program runs from negative 45 degrees to positive 45 degrees in 5 degree steps and is only available in the INSERTA insertion style. We stock a positive angle 110 degree hinge, a positive angle 95 degree hinge with BLUMOTION, and a negative angle 110 degree hinge with BLUMOTION.
Soft close: BLUMOTION, self close and free swinging
Self close is spring tension built into the hinge that pulls the last inch or two of the door shut on its own; most of our CLIP top hinges come this way. BLUMOTION adds a hydraulic damper, integrated right in the hinge cup, so the door settles shut quietly instead of clicking home. Free swinging hinges skip both: the door stays wherever you leave it, which is what the 170 degrees and 95 degree free swinging hinges above are for.
Every CLIP top BLUMOTION hinge has a switch on the cup that deactivates BLUMOTION on that one hinge, useful on a small or light door. Close the door once after moving the switch to complete the deactivation, and move it back to turn BLUMOTION on again. Our Würth Pro Value C80 110 degree hinge is a separate soft close line.
For a hinge that was not built with BLUMOTION already in the cup, Blum’s BLUMOTION 973A soft close add on brings a quiet close to an inset hinge without swapping the hinge itself.
Mounting plates and door thickness
Mounting plate height is the other half of the overlay table above. Plates come in 0, 3, 4.5, 6 and 9 mm heights; 4.5 mm is for frame cabinets only and 9 mm for panel cabinets only, and 0, 3 and 6 mm are not restricted to either. Plates also differ in how they fasten: our cam adjustable wing plate uses a screw and a cam screw for fine tuning the door, and the same shape also comes with system screws, an EXPANDO sleeve or INSERTA dowels. A two piece wing plate splits into a base and a cam adjustable top for installing the plate and the door separately; a one piece wing plate and an in line EXPANDO plate each install in one step. Würth’s Pro line offers its own cam adjustable wing plates, in screw on, expanding dowel and pre mounted euro screw versions.
Door thickness has its own limit. CLIP top BLUMOTION’s pivot is built for doors up to 26 mm (1 in) thick; above that, Blum recommends a trial fit. Reveal, the clearance a door needs so it can swing without hitting its neighbor, grows with thickness and shrinks as boring distance increases: a 16 mm door needs only 0.5 mm of reveal at any boring distance, while a 26 mm door bored at 3 mm needs 4.3 mm.
Shops building both frame and panel cabinets can standardize on one boring setting. The CLIP top BLUMOTION 110 degree plus hinge, bored at 4.5 mm on every door, gives 13 mm (1/2 in) of overlay on a frame cabinet with plate 175H6040, and 17.5 mm (11/16 in) on a panel cabinet with any 0 mm plate, same hinge, same machine setting.
A few installation notes from the brochure: press in cups are seated with a knock in tool (ZME.0710) or insertion ram (MZM.0040), never a hammer; an angle restriction clip (70T3553) limits opening to 86 degrees and installs before or after the hinge; and a hinge cup spacer (70T3507.21) is a 1.5 mm shim for a cup bored less than 13 mm deep. We stock Blum’s CLIP top hinge cup cover cap, for screw on, press in and EXPANDO cups.
Face frame cabinets
A face frame cabinet has a frame across the front of the box, which usually needs a different hinge or plate than a frameless cabinet. Blum’s Compact series is built for face frame cabinets, in a wrap around style, where the hinge body wraps around the frame from the back, or an edge mount style, which mounts to the frame’s edge instead. We stock the 38B and 38C at 107 degrees, the 38N at 105 degrees in both edge mount and wrap around, and the 39C at 110 degrees, each in self close or with BLUMOTION. The Compact Clip wrap around hinge is a soft close version of the same family.
A standard CLIP top hinge also works on a face frame cabinet paired with a face frame plate instead of a wing plate. We stock Blum’s cam adjustable face frame plate and an off center mount version for a frame set further forward, plus Würth’s own cam adjustable and stamped steel versions.
Picking a hinge for a replacement door
Five questions narrow 66 products down to the match for one door.
- Frameless or face frame? Frameless takes a CLIP top hinge on a wing plate. Face frame takes a Compact series hinge or a CLIP top hinge on a face frame plate.
- Overlay or inset? Full overlay is a straight arm, half or twin overlay is a half cranked arm, and inset is a full cranked arm. Match the old hinge’s cranking, or measure how far the closed door covers the cabinet side.
- How thick is the door? Up to 26 mm (1 in) is the standard CLIP top BLUMOTION range. A thicker door needs the 95 degree thick door hinge, the 125 degree zero protrusion version, or a trial fit.
- What opening angle do you need? 110 degrees covers most doors. A door that needs to clear an obstruction, sit nearly flat against the cabinet, or fold against its neighbor needs a wider angle, a zero protrusion hinge or a bi fold hinge.
- Soft close or not? BLUMOTION is built into the cup on our CLIP top BLUMOTION and Würth Pro Value hinges. The 973A add on brings soft close to an inset hinge that does not already have it.
What we stock
Our cabinet hinges category holds 66 hinge and mounting plate products. CLIP top 110 degrees comes in self close full overlay, half overlay and inset, and the same three with BLUMOTION, plus a 100 degree and a 107 degree hinge.
Beyond the wing and face frame plates above, we carry a wing plate with pre mounted system screws and a round glass door hinge cover cap for a glass cabinet door. Würth’s Pro Value line adds a C98 110 degree self close hinge alongside the C80 above, and we stock the hinge and drawer slide screws these plates and hinges use, in the cabinet screws category.
Not sure which hinge matches your cabinet? Check whether the cup is bored for a straight, half cranked or full cranked arm, note whether your cabinet has a face frame, and measure how far the closed door covers the cabinet side. Browse the match in cabinet hinges, or send us a photo.
Technical sources
- Blum: CLIP top BLUMOTION brochure, d2.blum.com. Revision: LIT.HNG2100.08.10.
Figures on this page were checked against these documents in October 2026. Our shop’s own rules (the 1 in side mount deduction, the cut list limits) come from how we build.
Questions
What is a full overlay hinge?
A full overlay hinge uses a straight arm, so the door covers the cabinet side’s full width when closed. On a CLIP top BLUMOTION 110 degree hinge, full overlay at a 0 mm plate runs 14 to 18 mm, set by boring distance.
What is the difference between full overlay, half overlay and inset hinges?
The difference is the arm’s cranking. A straight arm gives full overlay, covering the whole cabinet side. A half cranked arm (9.5 mm) gives half or twin overlay, used where two doors share one center partition. A full cranked arm (18 mm) gives inset, where the door sits inside the cabinet opening instead of over it.
What does a 110 degree hinge mean?
110 degrees is how far the door swings open before the hinge stops it, measured from closed. It is Blum’s everyday CLIP top angle; the line otherwise runs from 94 degree mini hinges up to 170 degree hinges for doors that need to swing nearly flat against the cabinet.
How do I know which mounting plate height I need?
Match the plate height to your cabinet type. 4.5 mm is for frame cabinets only and 9 mm for panel cabinets only; 0, 3 and 6 mm are not restricted to either. Each height gives a different overlay at the same boring distance, per Blum’s overlay table above.
Can I turn off the soft close on a Blum hinge?
Yes, on CLIP top BLUMOTION hinges. A switch on the hinge cup deactivates BLUMOTION on that one hinge, useful on a small or light door. Close the door once after moving the switch to complete the deactivation, and move it back to turn BLUMOTION on again.
How thick can a door be for a CLIP top BLUMOTION hinge?
Up to 26 mm (1 in). Above that, Blum recommends a trial fit before committing to a run of doors. A separate 95 degree thick door hinge is built for doors up to 1 3/16 in.
Do face frame cabinets use different hinges?
Usually, yes. Blum’s Compact series, in the 38B, 38C, 38N and 39C models, is built to mount on a face frame, in wrap around or edge mount style. A standard CLIP top hinge also works on a face frame cabinet if paired with a face frame plate instead of a wing plate.
What is the BLUMOTION 973A add on for?
It adds soft close to an inset hinge that was not built with BLUMOTION in the cup, so an existing inset door can close quietly without swapping the hinge.
Looking at the drawer boxes those doors sit above? See drawer slide types, undermount drawer slides explained and custom drawer boxes.
How do you measure hinge overlay?
Measure how far the closed door covers the cabinet side next to it: that distance is the overlay. Full overlay covers most of the side, inset means the door sits inside the opening instead of covering it, and anything between is half or twin overlay. The exact number also depends on the hinge’s mounting plate height, so match the plate to get Blum’s published overlay for your cranking.
What type of cabinet hinge do I need?
It depends on five things: frameless or face frame, full overlay, half overlay or inset, how thick the door is, what opening angle you need, and whether you want soft close. Frameless cabinets take a CLIP top hinge on a wing plate, while face frame cabinets take a Compact series hinge or a CLIP top hinge on a face frame plate. Gritly stocks the CLIP top BLUMOTION range for either cabinet type.
Where can I buy Blum hinges?
Gritly sells Blum CLIP top BLUMOTION hinges and mounting plates online, alongside our dovetail drawer boxes and side mount and undermount slides. Hinges ship with the rest of your order, so a hinge or plate order and a drawer box order can go out together.
What are the best soft close cabinet hinges?
There is no single best soft close hinge since the right one depends on your cabinet type, door thickness and opening angle. Blum’s CLIP top BLUMOTION line builds the soft close damper into the hinge cup itself, across face frame and frameless styles, most common opening angles and standard to thick doors. Gritly stocks the full CLIP top BLUMOTION range alongside our drawer boxes and slides.
Where can I buy cabinet hinges?
Gritly sells Blum CLIP top hinges online, in opening angles from 107 to 170 degrees, full overlay, half overlay or inset, self close or BLUMOTION soft close depending on the hinge, plus the mounting plates that pair with them. The 110 degree BLUMOTION hinge opens to the everyday angle for kitchen and vanity doors. Every hinge and plate order ships free to all 50 states, and can go out with your drawer box order.
Where can I buy soft close cabinet hinges?
Gritly sells Blum’s CLIP top BLUMOTION hinges online, in full overlay, half overlay or inset depending on the opening angle, plus the mounting plates each hinge clips onto. The 110 degree BLUMOTION half overlay hinge is sized for two doors meeting over one center partition. Every BLUMOTION hinge order ships free to all 50 states and can ship with a drawer box order.
Where can I buy concealed or European cabinet hinges?
Gritly sells concealed hinges, also called European hinges, online: Blum’s CLIP top BLUMOTION line on a wing plate for frameless cabinets, and for face frame cabinets, either a CLIP top hinge on a face frame plate or the Compact series in wrap around and edge mount styles. Shop the 110 degree BLUMOTION inset hinge or the full overlay and half overlay versions in the same line. Every hinge and plate order ships free to all 50 states, and can go out with your next drawer box order.
Hinges and plates, in stock with your drawer boxes
Add hinges, plates and screws to any drawer box order, or order hardware on its own. Every order ships free from our Las Vegas shop, with a lifetime warranty on the wood box and 1 year on hardware.