Shopping for a copper sink can be confusing. In this article, we will guide you through information and help you select the right sink for your project. You will learn some new terms like "living finish" and "metal gauge". We want to prepare yourself with information before you buy.

Selecting a kitchen or bathroom sink was easy in the past. There were just a few large companies selling ceramic, enameled steel, cast iron and stainless steel sinks. In the past decade, there has been an explosion of new products in the sink category and a growing demand for hand crafted and custom work. There have been several “new” sink mediums gaining recent acceptance – glass, various stones, brass, copper, and even wood. This article will focus on copper sinks and what to look for before making your purchase. Our entire kitchen and bath copper sinks are made here in Indiana by our artisans. We do not do wholesale or retail our sinks. Everything we do is custom made for you by us and should be considered a one of, since we can make our sinks in size down to 1/16” in any direction. We buy all of our copper here in the U.S.A.; you will find no imported copper goods on our website or in our shop.

This paragraph will cover the difference between gauge of metal and ounce weight. Copper is sold by weight or by ounce weight to be more specific. Our kitchen and bathroom sinks are made from either 48 oz. pure American copper or 32 oz. pure American copper. What this means is that 48 oz. copper weighs 48 oz. (3 lbs.) per square foot of copper, and 32 oz. copper weighs 32 oz. (2 lbs.) per square foot. These days gauge or decimal thickness is used to describe the thickness of certain metals, like steel and stainless steel. Our 48 oz. copper is .070” thick which is between 14 to15 gauge. The 32 oz. is .050” thick and is between 17 to18 gauge.

We will talk a little about the difference between smooth and hammered sinks. Smooth sinks are going to show scratches a little better than a hammered sink. The scratches are the same thing you would expect with a stainless steel sink. Hammered sinks help to hide any scratches you get through the use of your sink. We are a little different than most companies when it comes too hammered versus smooth sinks. Some of our smooth sinks cost more than a hammered sink. The reasoning is that it takes a lot of time to get a smooth sink to look smooth after we weld it, as a hammered sink is supposed to look a little uneven and helps hide the welds. We don’t charge extra for hammering on any of our products except for hand hammered spun sinks.

Let’s talk about copper patina. Patina on all copper will change variably over time depending on the type of patina and how well the sink stays sealed. We use only natural materials to patina our products, no heavy dangerous chemicals to you or us. If you go with a no patina sink, over time it will patina itself, copper wants to be a brown color, it will never turn green inside your home unless you get an acid based chemical on it. If your copper sink has a patina, over time a scratch will disappear and be colored like the rest of the sink. Copper is a living organism and unlike stainless steel it can repair itself. You will still have a scratch but won’t be able to see it. Copper is a very durable sink material, it will last as long as your house does. No matter what happens to the patina of your sink it can be fixed and repaired.

This is the main difference between copper and any other medium for sinks. If you remodel your kitchen and the sink is to dark or to light then you can change it, is the only kind of sink on the market that can be interchangeable with any style of kitchen through the years. After we finish the copper product, we put on a coat of wax. We mostly use wax, and typically don’t recommend clear coating the copper. If you clear coat copper, eventually it will wear thin and let stains occur. With wax, if you get a stain you can clean the wax off with acetone and remove the stain. A clear coat on the other hand will have to be sanded totally off before the sink can be fixed. Also, you can always change the finish on your copper product in the years to come using wax. We can talk you through ways of fixing your patina over the phone, or we can send you the necessary solution, material to fix your finish for a charge. This allows you to have the option to always change your copper product, and also gives you the ability to fix a scratch, unlike many other metals.

The two styles of copper kitchen sinks we sell are Signature Series and Traditional Series copper sinks. The difference between the two styles is in fabrication and the thickness in copper used. Signature Series sinks are a little more expensive and are made with 48 oz. copper and the Traditional Series is made with 32oz. copper. The fabrication difference is in how it is made. Signature Series has 1 ½” radius corners on all four corners and around the bottom. Where we weld them together is ground flat and you can’t tell where the corners are welded together. The Traditional Series is made with 90 degree square corners on the four sides and around the bottom. The welds are down the four corners and are not grounded down. The welds will only be about a 1/8” thick and barely noticeable. We offer these two styles of sinks to give you choices depending on your preference and budget.

The different types of kitchen sinks we sell are farmhouse apron front, drop-in and under mount. We can make a farmhouse apron sink to be a drop-in or under mount. A regular drop-in or under mount will come with just a 1 ½” rim around it for attaching it to whatever countertop surface you use. The drop-in and under mount styles are made the same except the under mount rim is flat and the drop-in has a ¼” caulk bevel to seal it to the countertop.

Circle City Copperworks also fabricates round and special shapes of sinks for the kitchen, bath, and/or bar. These spun and vessel sinks are made from flat pieces of copper that are spun to round bowls in a lathe. Spun sinks also come smooth or hammered by hand. This is a process somewhat like spinning pottery. We also make round prep sinks and vanity sinks that are made custom by hand.