hi there thanks for the reply. I will call them and ask. What's funny is I specifically looked at the inside bottom of the pan before I started cooking -- so I would know if anything scratched. We cooked, I washed the pan, and there was the mark. I cannot feel the scratch with the fingernail, which I guess means it is more of a surface mark. It goes counter to the direction of the brushed metal so it stands out more. You are right, ultimately it is a pan and doesn't matter. It's just tough to pay $400 for a set and have it start doing that ;) We clean them with a sponge, Dobie pad and Bar Keeper's friend. Even the Dobie pad and Barkeeper's leaves the slightest of polish lines here and there.

You're in good hands with Joshua, but I just want to say that over time, your soapstone will get dents, scratches and maybe even gashes. That's the nature of the stone. While it seems inconceivable to you right now, eventually you will take it in stride. You have to. I understand that you're suffering because you've spent so much money and had such high expectations, only to have your happiness marred on the first day by an installer's mistake, but your slab is absolutely gorgeous and looks incredible with that cherry I see on the right. I agree that he should offer some recompense for the gash, but I disagree with those who say you should have rejected the slab. It's just too beautiful. Is it Black Venata? Our soapstone fabricators made a mistake with the cut for the prep sink; I wanted a negative reveal and they did a positive reveal, a large one. When I saw it on the day of installation I was heart-broken. They offered $300 or a new slab. I couldn't bear the thought of losing that slab, so I accepted the discount (which effectively paid for my runnels.) Everytime I look at the reveal, which is really quite unattractive, I am glad I made the decision I did. And everytime I look at the scratches and dents that my stone has accumulated over the last two years (and which I occasionally buff out; mostly not), I am glad that my vision of a "perfect" kitchen included the imperfections of soapstone. Best of luck.

sarschlos: I remember your successful thread about your buffet and even noted down the steps, but you are right that I did not realize the importance of doing the buffing with the RAF--not beforehand. This has definitely been a learning experience which I intended it to be when I purchased these tables. I wanted to try on something else before starting on the DR chairs/table, though I've now come to realize this is a much more complicated project than I anticipate to DR set to be. I do think that there was no way I could escape needing to strip and refinish these tables--as there were different problems with each one. Seems the other table has fisheye from prior Pledge contamination and bobsmyuncle over on the woodworking forum recommends stripping that as well. Both looked to have a lot of lacquer/shellac that was probably incorrectly applied sometime in the past which led to these problems--and would also not allow the RAF to penetrate much, though I do notice improved results using the Murphy's Oil soap/RAF on the table legs (left table is the one that I used the RAF, right is not done yet): Even before refinishing, the stripped table looks so much better than either of the two tables before: Now I just need to figure out best way to refinish. Bobsmyuncle recommends first putting a couple of light coats of shellac to seal in the silicone (Pledge) contamination and the finish it. I'm wondering what type of stain/finish to use or even I need one at all as there still looks to be a lot of color in the wood and I don't want to darken the inlay. If anyone can recommend some specific brands to use, that'd be much appreciated.

This is exactly one of the things I'm afraid of. We're designing with a 30" and 36" bank of drawers - to hold dishes in one and pots/pans in another. There was a great thread here recently concerning weight in large drawers. Specifically it was about the drawer construction and the drawer sagging. You may be able to search for it. Yours may be a glide strength issue. All I know is that I don't expect my new cabinets to sag or have the drawers dip down when fully extended. Find out what your glides are rated at - strengthwise. Our are supposed to be rated either 100lbs or 150lbs for a drawer of that size (can't remember at the moment). Good luck.