In the 1990s, Peter Hess began developing the Peter Hess® Therapy singing bowls together with partners in India and Nepal, as the good antique singing bowls that he had previously carefully selected for sound massage were becoming increasingly rare. These instruments that he developed are now considered to be the jewel among singing bowls and can be recognized by the “Peter Hess® Therapy” seal. In this article, we illustrate the numerous steps that are needed to create a singing bowl of the highest quality from various metals.
The most important things in brief
The Peter Hess® therapy singing bowls are made from pure metals and in a complex and laborious process that includes many different work steps.
Fair working conditions and ethical standards were important to Peter Hess from the beginning and still are today.
Each individual bowl is made by hand and undergoes intensive quality controls on its way from Nepal or India to Germany.
Only the singing bowls that meet the high quality standards receive the Peter Hess® Therapy seal.
Manufacturing and quality control are the same for all types of singing bowls – from the head bowl to the cymbal bowl.
The Peter Hess® therapy singing bowls are further divided into premium quality for professional sound work and classic quality for private use.
The therapy singing bowls can be coated with a permanent protective coating; this is recommended for certain areas of application.
Which materials are used to make a Peter Hess® therapy singing bowl?
Only high-quality and, above all, pure metals are used in the production of Peter Hess® therapy singing bowls.
The main components of the bronze alloy used to make singing bowls are copper and tin. Small amounts of other pure metals are added. To honor the traditional blacksmithing of earlier times, we add a piece of an old singing bowl to each alloy melt.
Overview of the traditional manufacturing process of Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowls
The manufacturing process of the Peter Hess® therapy singing bowls is a complex and time-consuming process that involves numerous different work steps. With this greatly simplified description of the production process, we would like to give you a little insight.
Production of the bronze alloy
In the blast furnace, the various metals are melted into a high-quality bronze alloy. A high tin content is essential for the high sound quality. At the same time, the tin makes the forging process more difficult. Accordingly, it takes specialist knowledge and a lot of experience to determine exactly the right proportion of this expensive metal.
Casting the singing bowl blanks
In the next step, blanks are cast from the melt into a special, lens-shaped mold. Once the alloy has solidified, they are removed from the molds and tested for their suitability for further processing.
Forging the singing bowl
Now a singing bowl is forged, or shaped, from the freshly cast blank using traditional blacksmithing tools. Depending on the type of singing bowl, at least 25 forging units with thousands of hammer blows are needed until the final shape is achieved. Four to six experienced blacksmiths work on one bowl at the same time. A blacksmith uses long tongs to ensure that the glowing metal is continuously rotated during the forging process so that the singing bowl can be driven evenly. He also keeps an eye on the forge fire in order to heat the cooling alloy again and again if necessary. This can be necessary up to 100 times during the entire process - for larger singing bowls. The other blacksmiths hammer a uniformly shaped bowl out of the glowing metal disk with countless hammer blows in perfect rhythm. Once the singing bowl has reached its final shape, it is quenched in a cold liquid.
Fine tuning of the singing bowl
The singing bowl is then fine-tuned using special hammers. Various forging techniques are used to precisely shape the form, sound and vibration.
Cleaning the singing bowl
The melting and forging process can leave oxides or slag on the surface of the singing bowl. The bowl is first roughly cleaned using simple mechanical means and then scraped out by hand. This process further contributes to perfecting the sound and vibration behavior.
Polishing the singing bowl
We use a special ash mixture for the final polishing of the singing bowl. Rice straw and mustard oil are burned and mixed to form a creamy paste. The singing bowl is carefully polished with this mixture for several minutes, removing any remaining impurities. This final step also gives the singing bowl its typical shiny surface.
The manufacturing process is completed with the polishing of the singing bowl.
The different singing bowl types from the Peter Hess® therapy singing bowl production
The manufacturing process described is the same for all types of singing bowls, whether universal, pelvic, head or heart bowls. The different types of singing bowls are characterized by a characteristic shape and size as well as a typical sound, frequency and vibration behavior.
The production of the various types of singing bowls always takes place within a family group. This not only allows us to ensure that the quality of our singing bowls remains at the highest level, but also provides an income for an entire family.
The Peter Hess® singing bowl types at a glance
Universal bowl
Head shell
Laryngeal bowl
Heart bowl
Solar plexus shell
Pelvic bowl
XL bowl
XXL bowl
Quality controls on the way to the Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowl
Before a singing bowl receives a quality seal, it is subjected to extremely intensive quality controls in Nepal or India. Only if it passes these is it shipped to Germany, where it is also subjected to a special quality control to determine its suitability for bodywork. Here it is divided into the quality levels “Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowl Premium” and “Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowl Classic”.
Quality controls in India and Nepal
We subject all of our singing bowls to an initial inspection in India and Nepal. This ensures that the sound, frequency and vibration characteristics as well as the appearance meet the high quality standards of a Peter Hess® therapy singing bowl. An experienced metal engineer who played a key role in setting up production is responsible for this task.
The singing bowls that pass this inspection are then brought from small towns in India to Delhi, for example. Once there, they undergo thorough testing again in specially equipped rooms. This is the first time that electrical measuring devices are used: an electrical engineer and an experienced employee use various measuring techniques to check the quality of the bowls. Only the singing bowls that successfully pass this strict testing process are packed for transport to Germany.
Listening to and quality assessment of the singing bowls in the Hess Sound warehouse
It is always something special when new goods from India or Nepal arrive at our warehouse. On these days, almost the entire warehouse team is busy unpacking the singing bowls, inspecting them and pre-sorting them for the upcoming quality inspection.
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