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Blum hinges buying guide

Updated: 23 October 2026

A slamming cupboard door on a frameless UK kitchen usually needs a Blum hinge only after you know how the door sits, whether a plate is already on the carcass, and how many hinges that door should carry. This Blum hinges buying guide is that sequence. Stars come afterwards. The [Blum hinges comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/blum-hinges) ranks the twelve amazon.co.uk packs. Prices below are the figures captured on 19 October 2026. Peter F., editor for DIY & tools, compared those listings and Blum's published notes, not in a laboratory. A qualifying purchase through our amazon.co.uk links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

A slamming cupboard door on a frameless UK kitchen usually needs a Blum hinge only after you know how the door sits, whether a plate is already on the carcass, and how many hinges that door should carry.

Our top picks

Blum Blum 8-pack with plates

Best overall

Blum Blum 8-pack with plates
9.2/10about £40.99
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Blum Blum 71B3550 hinge only

Alternative

Blum Blum 71B3550 hinge only
9.2/10about £4.19
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Blum Blum inset BLUMOTION 8-pack

Alternative

Blum Blum inset BLUMOTION 8-pack
8.8/10about £44.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Crank before the star rating
  2. 2.Plate and screws
  3. 3.How many hinges
  4. 4.When this set is the wrong part

Crank before the star rating

Look at the closed door before a review count. On a full-overlay door the front covers the carcass side, so the arm is straight: 71B3550. On an inset door the front sits inside the opening, and the arm is a full crank, 71B3750. A straight arm will not pull an inset door back. Both specification sheets use a 35 mm cup about 13 mm deep, so the cup does not tell them apart. Half overlay, 71B3650, is for two doors on one partition, and this set does not clearly include it. Most packs here are 71B3550 or 71MB3550. The inset pair is 71MB3750. The overlay or inset page stays on that distinction.

Plate and screws

A correct crank still will not hang if the mounting plate is missing. B004US3N0M is one 71B3550 at £4.19, and the bullets say the plate, cover cap, arm cover, and screws are not included. It clips only onto a plate you already own. B06Y1QV6KT is the opposite single: £4.40 with plate 173L8100, stated for 18 mm cabinets. Screws are not in the bullets. The eight-piece at £27.48 names 173L8100, and reviews describe slots too narrow for old fat system screws. If the carcass is bare, buy a pack that names a plate. The best Blum cabinet hinges page argues two full-overlay packs on that box-contents test.
Blum Blum 8-pack with plates

Testsieger

Blum Blum 8-pack with plates
9.2/10about £40.99
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How many hinges

Blum's planning note says two hinges for about 4–6 kg and three for about 6–12 kg, handles included, for doors up to 600 mm wide, and an extra hinge up to 650 mm wide. A light 600 mm kitchen door sits on two. A tall larder door, or a heavy pull, is the moment you add a third. That note is not the 30 kg line printed on two of the packs. Eight pieces means eight hinges, not eight pairs. That is four ordinary doors at two hinges each. A ten-piece overlay set at £39.51 is ten hinges and ten cam plates.

When this set is the wrong part

The face-frame pack, model 33B355AF22, is four COMPACT hinges at £26.95. They are 107°, sprung, for 16–19 mm doors. The bullets do not say BLUMOTION. A 71B3550 will not become a face-frame hinge because you own a Forstner bit. The bi-fold pair at £19.03 is 60°, self-closing, with a 0 mm cam plate and a 45 mm boring pattern. It joins two leaves. It does not hold a normal door to the carcass. If the door is lacquered and has no cup, or it still sags when the hinge count already matches Blum's note, that is a fitter's job. None of these packs shows a BS EN 15570 test report.

Common questions

Do I need full overlay, half overlay, or inset?
Close the door and look at the carcass side. If the front covers the side, you want a straight-arm full overlay, 71B3550. If the front sits inside the opening, you want a full crank, 71B3750. If two doors share one partition, you want half overlay, 71B3650, and that crank is not clearly listed in this amazon.co.uk set. Adjustment screws will not turn one crank into another.
Is the mounting plate in the box?
Read the bullets, not the star rating. B004US3N0M states that the plate and the screws are not included. B06Y1QV6KT includes plate 173L8100, stated for 18 mm cabinets. Several multi-packs name plates, and some only imply them on a model line. If the carcass is bare, do not buy the hinge-only listing and hope a plate arrives.
How many hinges does one door need?
Blum's planning note says two hinges for about 4–6 kg and three for about 6–12 kg, handles included, up to about 600 mm wide, with an extra hinge up to 650 mm. A light 600 mm kitchen door is usually two. A tall or heavily pulled door is the case for three. That is a rule of thumb from Blum, not a weighed test of these packs.
Does 8 pieces mean eight pairs?
No. In this set, eight pieces means eight hinges. At two hinges a door, that is four doors. Reviews of the £27.48 eight-piece pack include buyers who ordered as if each piece were a pair and then ran out. A pair listing is two hinges, which is one ordinary door.
Will a 71B3550 fit a face-frame cupboard?
Not as a face-frame hinge. The face-frame listing here is the COMPACT 33B355AF22, 107°, with a shallower cup and a stated door range of 16–19 mm, and it does not claim BLUMOTION. A straight-arm 110° overlay hinge is for a frameless carcass. Forcing it onto a face frame leaves the door in the wrong plane.
Should I trust a 30 kg line on two of the packs?
Do not read it as Blum's two-hinge plan. The planning note you can cite is about 4–6 kg on two hinges and about 6–12 kg on three. The 30 kg phrase is a listing line on the ten-piece overlay set and on one overlay pair. Use the kilogram bands when you decide whether a door needs a third hinge.

Related pages

How to fit Blum hinges

Blum hinges

Best Blum cabinet hinges for full-overlay kitchens

Blum hinge overlay or inset: straight arm or full crank

Blum hinge soft close not working: check the switch

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices were captured on 19 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. Blum UK, CLIP top BLUMOTION (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Blum, number of hinges (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. 71B3550 specification sheet (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Blum catalogue, mounting plates (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. BS EN 15570:2008 via NBS (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. DIYnot thread on 71B3550 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Hart Wholesale on the 60° bi-fold (retrieved 22.10.2026)