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Espag window handle

Updated: October 2026

The lever on a modern uPVC casement has cracked, and you already know it is an espag, not a cockspur. An espag window handle is the lever whose square spindle turns a gearbox and a locking bar inside the sash. The part that still varies is the length of that spindle. Screw centres are often 43 mm. The [locking window handle comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/locking-window-handle) ranks every listing Peter F. read on 19 October 2026. There was no lab test. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If the back shows a nose on a wedge, leave this page for [cockspur vs espag window handle](/hub/door-and-window-security/locking-window-handle/sub/locking-window-handle-inline-or-cockspur).

The lever on a modern uPVC casement has cracked, and you already know it is an espag, not a cockspur. An espag window handle is the lever whose square spindle turns a gearbox and a locking bar inside the sash.

Our top picks

Home Secure Home Secure universal locking uPVC window handle, white, multi-spindle

Best overall

Home Secure Home Secure universal locking uPVC window handle, white, multi-spindle
9.1/10about £7.99
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Yale Yale YES-WINH-WH Essentials inline window handle, white, 40 mm

Best value

Yale Yale YES-WINH-WH Essentials inline window handle, white, 40 mm
8.7/10about £5.97
View offer
ERA ERA Maxim offset window handle, white, right hand, 40 mm

Rank 3

ERA ERA Maxim offset window handle, white, right hand, 40 mm
7.6/10about £7.59
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On this page
  1. 1.How to know the window is an espag
  2. 2.43 mm centres, spindle from about 10 mm to 55 mm
  3. 3.Inline, unless the lever is offset
  4. 4.What a new handle does not change

How to know the window is an espag

Look at the back of the old handle, or into the hole it left in the sash. A square rod is an espag. ERA's handle guide describes that rod as the piece that drives an espagnolette or a shootbolt. Most UK uPVC casements made in recent decades are this pattern. Older timber, and some early uPVC, can still be cockspur. The square is usually 7 mm on uPVC, which is the trade size Handle Store and ERA describe. It is not printed on every Amazon table in this set. A cranked lever with a square hole is still an espag. If you can see a wedge and a nose, stop. The locking window handle buying guide starts with that fork.

43 mm centres, spindle from about 10 mm to 55 mm

Screw centres are the distance between the two fixing holes. Handle Store treats 43 mm as the usual espag centres. Measure yours anyway. Spindle length is how far the square rod sticks out of the back. Too short and it will not turn the bar. Too long and the body will not sit flat. Trade guides put that length at about 10 mm to 55 mm. That span is not a list of the pins inside any one Amazon kit. Yale YES-WINH-WH, at about £5.97, prints 40 mm as the spindle and 43 mm as an item depth. Kamtop HG098 prints 43 mm for the spindle and 43 mm for the centres. Home Secure does not itemise its lengths. A kit with 2,213 reviews is the stronger unknown-length buy.
Home Secure Home Secure universal locking uPVC window handle, white, multi-spindle

Testsieger

Home Secure Home Secure universal locking uPVC window handle, white, multi-spindle
9.1/10about £7.99
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Inline, unless the lever is offset

An inline espag sits in line with the spindle. The same body normally fits left or right. You need a handed handle only when the lever is cranked. The only clearly handed crank in these 17 listings is the ERA Maxim, right hand, 40 mm, about £7.59. A left-hand crank is a different product. ERA's Universal Maxim trade page offers five spindles, named as 9, 15, 30, 43 and 55 mm, and it is non-handed. That page is not the Amazon ERA in this comparison, which is a single 40 mm right-hand offset. Do not copy the trade pack's claims onto this listing. None of these 17 ASINs cites BS EN 1670.

What a new handle does not change

A new espag lever drives the locking points that are already in the sash. It does not add any. If the gearbox is dead, the lever spins and the bolts stay still, and the cure is a fitter, not a longer pin. The National Protective Security Authority prefers a lockable multi-point espagnolette to a single cockspur, and only when the handle cannot be beaten without visible damage. PAS 24:2022+A1:2024 tests the complete window or doorset, not this lever. Cut a spindle only when the listing says you can, and only from the tip. An English escape window still has to open and stay open unaided. A restrictor is a different product from a handle that holds the sash shut.

Common questions

What is an espag handle?
It is the locking lever used with an espagnolette or shootbolt. A square spindle, usually 7 mm on uPVC, turns a gearbox in the sash, and a push button plus a key stops the lever moving. ERA describes that drive in its window-handle guide. The handle is not the locking bar. If the bar is already there, the new lever operates it. If the bar is absent, the lever has nothing useful to turn.
Is every uPVC window an espag?
No. Most modern UK uPVC casements are, which is why Handle Store calls espag the majority type. Some older uPVC is still cockspur, with a nose on a wedge and no square spindle. Tilt-and-turn uses another handle again. A square hole confirms this page. A spur means you are in the wrong family, and an espag kit will not adapt.
What is a normal spindle length?
There is a usual range, not a single normal length. Trade guides put espag spindles at about 10 mm to 55 mm. In this Amazon set, 40 mm and 43 mm are both common, and they are different parts. Yale YES prints 40 mm in the title. Kamtop HG098 prints 43 mm for the spindle. Measure the rod on the old handle. Do not take the item depth on the Amazon table as that measurement.
Are the screw holes always 43 mm?
Usually, and you still measure. Trade guides treat 43 mm as the normal distance between the two screws. A 43 mm spindle is not a 43 mm centre. Kamtop HG098 states both on purpose. A handle with the right pin and the wrong holes will not screw to the sash, however carefully you chose the length.
Inline or cranked for a uPVC window?
Inline, unless the lever you took off is offset. An inline espag is normally non-handed, so one body suits left or right. A cranked lever is handed. The ERA Maxim in this comparison is right-hand only, at about £7.59, with a 40 mm spindle. A square hole on a cranked lever is still an espag. Buy the hand that matches the window, and do not treat the non-handed trade ERA pack as this listing.
Does a new handle add locking points?
No. The locking points are the bolts or rollers already linked to the gearbox. The National Protective Security Authority's preference for multi-point locking applies to a window that has that bar, and only if the handle cannot be forced without damage. Replacing the lever keeps the same number of points. A dead gearbox needs the mechanism replaced. PAS 24 is a test of the whole window, not of this handle.

Related pages

Best locking window handle

How to replace a uPVC window handle

Locking window handle

Locking window handle buying guide: what to measure

Cockspur vs espag window handle: which family fits

Sources

Public UK and manufacturer sources from the research digest. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures checked on 19 October 2026, not a live re-check. No listing here was treated as PAS 24.

  1. NPSA: security of domestic windows (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. BSI: PAS 24:2022+A1:2024 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GAI ironmongery and security guide (September 2023) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Approved Document B volume 1, dwellings (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. ERA: window handles (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Handle Store: how to measure uPVC window handles (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Lockshop Direct: espag and handle measurement (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. BSI: BS EN 13126-5 window restrictors (retrieved 19 October 2026)