How Your Edge Profile is Created

By: Patricia Hughes

Once you have selected the perfect stone for your natural stone countertops, you will need to select an edge profile for your countertops. This is the design used in cutting and finishing the edges around the countertop. Choose the edge that is best suited to the style of your kitchen cabinets and the overall interior design style of your home. A specialized fabrication process is used to create your profile edge.

A variety of popular edge profile, premium edge, and laminated edge profile options are available for natural stone countertops. Some of the popular options include the bullnose edge, beveled edge, round edge, dupont edge, and ogee edge.

With thousands of stone colors and many profile edge options, you can find the perfect stone and edge for any kitchen. Popular edge profiles are clean and simple edges that work well for classic, modern, and minimalist kitchen designs. Premium edges have a bit more detail to the shape of the edge and are great when you want a little more flair to the edge design. Laminated edge profiles are the most intricately detailed designs for those who want to be more bold.

The Profile Edge Fabrication Process

The process of creating the edge profile comes after the slab is cut and polished. Routers with diamond cutting tools are used to shape the edge of the slab into the desired shape. Prior to the development of modern technology, the tools were hand operated and the process took much longer to complete compared to today. The more complex edge profile designs could take weeks to complete by hand, increasing both fabrication time and cost.

Today, the process is simplified with Computer Aided Design programs. After being cut to the perfect size, the slab is moved into a machine that is fitted with routers and water jets to perfectly shape the edge of the countertop. Specialized router bits are used to create different edge profiles. The countertop is then polished, and the final profile is finished with the use of an edge polishing machine. After the process is finished, the stone fabricator inspects the stone to ensure that all edges are uniform.

Tools for the Perfect Edge

The right tools are essential for creating an edge profile for natural stone countertops. Are you a natural stone fabricator? You will find high quality diamond cutting tools for creating gorgeous edge profiles at Mr. Stone. Natural stone fabricators come to Mr. Stone to find top quality products for their business.

The bits in the router are changed, depending on the desired edge profile. Mr. Stone offers router bits for the bullnose edge, waterfall edge, ogee edge, cove dupont, and other profile edges. In addition, you will find an extensive inventory of tools, safety equipment, and supplies for natural stone fabrication, such as cutting tools, grinding tools, polishing tools, power tools, abrasives, safety equipment, and accessories.

Because natural stone slabs vary widely in patterns of veins and other features, we recommend all customers visit the slab yard in person to view the gorgeous types of natural stone and stone colors offered by the natural stone industry. When you visit the slab yard, you can inspect the stone and the stone fabricator will determine how the stone can be cut to avoid any areas deemed unacceptable.

When installing granite countertops or other types of natural stone countertops, you will need to choose the profile edge that best suits your needs. The interior design style of your home, the style of your kitchen, and kitchen cabinet design can guide you in selecting the best edge profile for your countertops.