At Shaws we make each sink by hand, using time honoured techniques that have been passed down from master craftsman to apprentice for well over a century.
It takes two to three weeks of mixing, moulding, hand-finishing, drying, glazing and firing to produce a Shaws sink. It cannot be rushed. The completed sink will be rejected if even the smallest imperfection is found in either of the two extensive inspections. We pack every sink ourselves before it is delivered to its new home, where it will last for generations to come.
Day 1-7 : Mould Making
The skilled master mould maker pours plaster and makes the mold by hand.
The mold air dries before being hand fettled and finished. It then spends approximately 60 hours being dried in a special conditioning room.
The mould is ready to use.
Day 3-7 : Fireclay
The first blend of over 10 clays is mixed.
This clay blend rests for 24 hours. A second blend of clay is mixed with the first. This fireclay mix rests for 24 hours.
The fireclay is ready to use.
Day 8-13 Casting & Fettling
The liquid clay is poured into the mould.
The filled mould is allowed to rest.
The sink is removed, fettled/hand finished, then makers mark is applied before air drying for one day.
The sink is placed into a drying room at 90 °C (194 °F) for two days.
Day 14-19 : Glazing
The sink cools before glazing.
The sink is first engobed and then allowed to dry for 12-24 hours.
The second coat of heavy glaze is hand sprayed.
The sink is inspected and the Shaws brand is applied.
Day 20-24 Firing
The sink is cleaned and loaded in the large gas kiln.
The sink is fired at 1180 °C (2156 °F) for two days.
Sink cools for one day. The sink is inspected and carefully packed, ready for shipment.
All Shaws products hold a number of independent industry accreditations for quality, durability and resistance against chemicals and staining.
The hard-wearing glaze applied to every Shaws sink has been proven to reduce bacterial colonies of E-Coli and MRSA by 99.99% over a 24 hour period and were classified as Excellent in this area, which makes our sinks ideal for healthcare and school installations.
Each sink in our domestic and professional collections is produced using heavy fireclay material; cast, finished and glazed by hand, ensuring the products are resilient to cracking, chipping and staining.
