The stainless sinks of today are made with thinner steel than those of years ago. When we were trying to decide what to go with and were considering stainless, my husband made a huge issue of the fact that he wouldn't settle for less than 16 gauge steel. He said much thinner and you could poke a hole through it without even trying or words to that effect.

Years ago when we first remodeled our kitchen, a plumber friend of my husband's advised us to buy the best sink we could as it's used several times a day.

Kraus sells lots of different sizes of 16 gauge sinks; find them at faucetsdirect.com. I've lived with 18 gauge all my life with no problems, but you do have to polish them now and then.

Hi Tasha L!
Here at Julien, we have been crafting stainless steel sinks for almost 70 years. We have always used 16 gauge commercial grade stainless steel to manufacture most of our sinks (as gauge number increases, thickness decreases). We would never recommend to go any lower than 18 gauge residential grade at least but you can find 20 or 22 gauge on the market. Thinner material sinks do not offer as good sound absorption and impact resistance as thicker ones. Maybe that’s what your aunt meant when she said her new sink wasn’t the same quality as the previous?

Another thing that maybe could also explain why is the way the sinks are manufactured. We bend, weld and polish all our sinks by hand. Thanks to this process, we can maintain superior quality standards. But in most of the cases, cheaper sinks are simply embossed by an industrial press which deforms steel. The material becomes thinner and uneven, mostly in the corners and in the bottom of the bowl.

If you have the opportunity, we invite you to take a look at our website:
http://www.julien.ca/en/home_refinements/sinks/stainless_steel/16ga_stainless_steel_handcrafted/index.html

Good luck with your project!