You definitely don't want the edge to overhang at all because you will get a lot of cracked and chipped dinnerware. This is called a negative reveal. Leaving a ledge around the sink is not easier to clean because more stuff can land there than the negative reveal.

I told them I did not want a negative reveal so they were extra careful to make it flush and it worked out great.

I knew nothing about this until after my sink was installed. Mine does have the reveal and I do like the look. It is easy to clean.
The other thing that someone mentioned (I don't know how valid this is but) is that with the sink showing you are more likely to give yourself more leeway when putting things into the sink and taking them out. It prevents you from banging something on the edge of the granite and either chipping the granite or chipping whatever you're putting into the sink. Eg. If you're putting a glass into the sink, you see the reveal and so try to avoid that and automatically by-passing the granite-edge and so not chipping your glass. Make sense?

I put a negative reveal on my bathroom sink since I know DH doesn't wipe up his toothpaste and I didnt' want one more thing to wipe :)

In the kitchen, i went with zero reveal. Seems to make the most sense to me for cleanliness. YMMV.

We just had installed a Blanco single sink with granite. Our installers did a great job but confessed that they had never been asked to do a positive reveal before. The reveal is about 1/4 inch all the way around and we really like it. BTW, I agree with the earlier posts that a negative reveal can lead to broken dishes (at least by me :)

Thanks a bunch everyone!!!

I have learned so much on this board.

I have a 0 reveal - meaning its flush. No overhang, but do not see the edge of the sink. I like it very much.

Sink reveals (positive, negative, flush/zero) are defined in the linked thread. You will also find a discussion of the pros & cons of each. (Scroll down to the "Tue, Oct 21, 08 at 17:12" post.)

(This thread is also linked in one of topics in the "Read Me" thread.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists)

The back and sides of ours are flush and the front has about 1/8" positive reveal but when you are standing at the sink you can't see this unless you actually bend over slightly. I like the way it looks and either flush or positive is easy to clean. The last thing I do when washing dishes is go around the edge and wipe dry.

We have about 1/8" negative reveal on our new sink, but the sink (Kohler single bowl) is actually designed really well in that it has a little lip inside---so it can accommodate accessories (cutting board, etc.) and there's little risk of chipping dishes, but you can't see the caulk. Funnily, the lip bugged me when we got the sink, but once the light bulb came on as to why they put it there, it made a huge amount of sense. I like the looks of it, though haven't used it yet. Our old sink had a zero reveal, which was fine but did get gunky. (I assume this one will, too, but I just won't see it, so that can be good or bad!) Some sinks do specify one versus the other, too (especially if they have accessories that need to rest on the edge) so you might check the specs and see, too.

Artemis78 -- sorry to hijack the post, what Kohler single bowl sink did you end up getting? I'm curious about your description of the little lip. Can't wait to see all the photos of your new kitchen.

@francoise47, we got the Cape Dory. (Also looked at the Bakersfield, which has a much more pronounced lip that's almost a ledge---it's much softer on the Cape Dory.) Ordered it sight unseen since nobody locally had it on the floor, but luckily a GWer who has it posted some photos just as we were grappling with the decision, so we went with it. I am really loving the design, though so far I have only played with it...hopefully hooking it up on Monday! I had worried about it being too shallow front-to-back since our old one was a full 18" but the extra horizontal space seems to more than make up for it, at least with the things I've tried putting in so far. I'll post some pics as soon as we get the backsplash and butcher block finished!

All 3 of my undermount sinks have a positive reveal. The granite fabricators much prefer to do no reveal as it is easier for them. I think the positive reveal looks nicer and I am really glad I insisted upon it.
It is easy to clean too.
Just make sure you get what you like!

Hi Artemis, Thanks for the info about your Cape Dory. I love the cutting board that fits over the lip. It didn't know that it had that feature. I'm also looking at the Franke Orca and Oceana and the Kohler Indio. I look forward to hearing how you like the Cape Dory once your kitchen sink it hooked up.

@francoise47, we looked at and really liked the Oceania in fireclay...just couldn't swing the price sadly! My parents have the Orca in SS and love it.

Okay, that's enough hijacking for now! :)

Zero reveal for the granite over the prep sink, positive reveal for the soapstone over the main sink. This was to minimize hitting the soapstone. I think zero looks best.

kas