in a door handle assembly : the number of parts of a handle holding mechanism for holding a handle in its retracted , its projected and its swung position is reduced to the lowest possible one to accomplish its cost reduction , its downsizing and its improvement in handle holding power ; a leaf spring constructed of a pair of its elements stacked together is non - rotatably mounted on a boss of a main pin having a concave portion in its front surface ; the handle with an engaging projection is brought into abutting contact with the leaf spring ; in its folded position , the handle has its top portion oppositely disposed from its grip portion with respect to a reference line extending perpendicular to a door surface ; in its projected position , the handle has the top portion move across the line ; a front element of the spring has a pair of upwardly protruding portions be engageable with and disengageable from engaging grooves of a first and a second oblique surfaces of the engaging projection .