A Schluter strip wouldn't scratch any more than any other part of your bathroom. Also nothing really comes in contact with it so I would wager there is less of a chance of it scratching than, say, your vanity.

Bull nosing a tile is of no help unless your tile is a true "thru body" material. I.E . marble or travertine is an example of a thru body material.

start by calling your tile distributors , counter fabricators and tile pros im your area.

Many times if they fabricate slabs etc. they will also offer bullnosing.most good tile pros will have some profile wheels and skills to fabricate.

ive installed a lot of the profile edges...... they can and do scratch and should at least be a concern!!

especially the aluminum / colored ones....once they are installed and they do get scratched.... youre stuck...... and if installed properly within the tile assembly with thinset they dont just pop out and arent so replaceable.....

edit:

I choose to mention this to my clients based on actual experience with many brands and types of profile edges. Once you are tasked with going back to a clients home and removing and replacing a profile edge after it gets damaged and you failed to mention this long term concern to your client......only then could you understand......

just my hands on experience with them.... good luck.

Nothing wrong with a $10 Schluter at all. Beats the heck out of spending $150 on trying to bullnose tile that can't be bullnosed.

It's ceramic tile. edilcuoghi river series to be precise. I called around and it seems New Hampshire tile will bullnose. My thought, and let me know if I'm wrong, its that even if not the color of the tile once bullnosed, it should a least be more resistant to scratching than the Schluter. The other thought is that although bullnosed tile will not match the top color, neither will the Schluter.

a choice you have to make for yourself. A hard one. have you exhausted other options??? pencil edges? adding another tile edging material etc.??

if you must profile with metal jolly's look for Stainless steel or nickel plated brass as your safest bet.

its not uncommen in commercial work to see a ceramic tile bullnosed or rounded over and the exposed edge then painted to blend. cheap but can be done to look well...

I went through this exercise with my bathroom so here's a list of the possibilities.

1. The bullnose company should bullnose, glaze the edge and re-fire your tile. (You will then have double fired tile!) but the color might ends up being different from your field tile.
2. You can paint the edge but to my eye that doesn't look very elegant.
3. You can do nothing with the edge and run a caulk line. I would consider that for a short run like in the kitchen but not for a shower that goes floor to ceiling.
4. You can run an Azek trim down the side and tile into that if that kind of look fits with your design.

1. You can use Schluter edging.
2. You can find a contrasting or complementary bullnose and use that or a liner. You just have to make sure the liner and your field tile are the same depth.

Of course a lot depends on the look you want. A contemporary look would call for a different solution than a traditional look. Here is mine. I used Schluter Scheine but I was going for a contemporary look.

Here's a photo of what it is now (same pic as the other post). Part of the issue, is trying to match the existing bathroom.

have you considered doing a quarter round trim piece in a contrasting color?

you guys have given me some really good ideas (keep'm coming though:). My wife and I will have to go to the showroom with some of these ideas and see what would work best.