i love soapstone and it has a reputation for being very durable. that said, some steer clear because they don't feel like oiling the slabs to bring out the veining/color. best suggestion is to go to the trusty "search" button below and type in "soapstone". this should give you plenty of reading for the next several weeks. good luck!

holligator pretty much covered it all. Soapstone is very popular here on gw, but almost unheard of in the real world(at least in the burbs where I live.) My Black Venata counters have endured abuse of all kinds. We hold a monthly card game for 25-40 people. Spills do not get wiped up right away and depending on how my night is going the counters might not get wiped up til morning. Lime wedges make their way to the countertop. The countertop is none the worse for wear.

My counters are subjected to both spills and kid perpetrated abuse. I have several lacrosse stick wielding teenagers roaming my home at any given moment. There's been one tiny chip on the edge of my counter(lax stick face dodge spin move) which oiled away and one nick on the top when DH dropped a diamond bit on it.

Soapstone is not for everyone. If the possibility of nicks will really bother you, there are lots of countertop options available.

thanks everyone. I don't havve a problem with scratches and nicks but I just wanted to make sure that counter chunks aren't going to go flying off when my kids run through the kitchen and throw their dishes into the sink, slam it on the counter, etc. Thanks everyone

I don't have a soapstone sink, but have had soapstone counters for over two years and I love them! If you want them to be jet black--really ebony-looking all the time, then you may not want soapstone (or at least my variety--can't speak for all soapstone). Many of the pictures that you see are JUST after someone has oiled (that's the way I took my photos too, in case you come across them). The second or third day they're still pretty dark, but mine naturally stay at a dark gray color if not oiled frequently. Not the light gray color you see of the "never-oiled" counters--more like a darker, cloudy color. But mine don't stay jet black. So there is a bit of change in the counters. If I wanted mine to stay black all the time, I'd probably have to oil once a week, realistically. As it is, I maybe oil them once every three to four months. There's no benefit to the stone of oiling--just for appearance. (not like sealing is to certain granites--so as far as maintenance goes, there really is none with this stone)

Just wanted to let you know that in case what you love is that jet black with big white veins. Don't get me wrong--when you walk in the kitchen, one would describe them as black...just not quite as dark as in the pictures. I think I'll give the counters a good wipe-down later today and take a photo in their "natural" state, if I get the chance.

What's great is that you can put ANYTHING down on them...really. I just yesterday (after all the discussion of Sharpies and chips!) noticed to pencil-tip sized chips in a corner of the counter I use a lot. I don't think anyone would notice them other than me.

Granite yards and contractors don't know anything about soapstone, I've found. Talk to soapstone people or ask more questions on here--the granite yards were just retarded--trying to sell me sealer for my soapstone or pass absolute black granite off as soapstone. I think having "soap" in the name leads people to believe it's a soft, flaky stone (like slate, maybe), but it's not.

:)
Sarah

thanks. I actually like the grey-er ones with more veins as opposed to jet black. which color do you have? I've received samples from dorado and M. texiera so I'm on my way. I just want to make sure that I hear all negatives and have my eyes fully open before I make the leap. Love the look!

I'm with you on the fear of chunks flying off-- I've never heard of this happening, although I will say that any material will chip if you bang a large object into them (the area around the sink seems to be a common place for this.. e.g if you are heading towards the sink with a large pot of pasta and misjudge)

As for the pizza cutting.. one of the most beautiful soapstone counters I've seen had a lot of patina.. it didn't look like scratches, it just looked like it was part of a working kitchen. The owner mentioned that he and his kids cut pizza directly on the stone. I'm sure it leaves marks, but on his counter, you really couldn't tell-- the whole thing had a very even, beautiful finish.

It's good you are doing your research. Soapstone is not for everyone. Neither is granite or marble. I have Minas from Dorado soapstone. It is light gray unoiled and almost black with green in the background and white veining when oiled. I had a very positive experience with them, but know that others on the forum have had good experiences w/M.texiera.

Like granite, where there are certain stones that are somewhat delicate and others that are practically indestructible, soapstone comes in many varieties. The more delicate soapstones (those that scratch and ding) will be softer and smoother to the touch and can be sanded and repaired more easily. But since no one is going to sand and repair their countertop very often, you have to like a more distressed look. It's kind of like wood. Some people love pine for it's distressed and weathered look and others want the hardness of maple.

So figure out if you can live with a stone that if someone hits the edge with a frying pan accidentally you are left with a little ding. Then take each of your samples from Dorado and M. Tex and knife them, bang on them, scratch them, oil them until you find the stone that is for you. If dings and scratches don't bother you than you can go for the stone that you just love the look of. But if the more distressed look would bother you, than pick a harder stone. Julia and Beleza are known to be very hard stones. Santa Rita and Venata can be softer. Minas can be soft or hard. Good luck in choosing!

I've had a soapstone sink and countertop for decades in a half-bath and it's a bear to keep that black look achieved from oiling, particularly around the faucets and in the bowl. Soap from your hands and dripping from a soap dispenser will remove the oil applied to the soapstone. A good cleaning of the soapstone will also remove a lot of the oil and then that's a major reoiling job. Who wants to go through all this reoiling everytime you want to clean your countertop? And who wants to reoil over dirt everytime spot oiling is required? There are a lot of countertops products for you to choose from now so my suggestion is not to saddle yourself with the work of soapstone.

My Beleza counters (from Dorado) were installed nine months ago and we've had no problems with chipping or scratching. It's quite hard (although I did scratch the sample I got from Dorado, pressing very hard with the tines of a fork). The few very tiny dings were all made by the contractors after the counters were installed (can I just mention my horror when I came in one day and saw the carpenter's assistant drilling !!!! on top of my new counters?).

The Beleza is naturally a dark dark gray and I have never oiled the counters. I love the varigated look. They'd be a much more solid black if oiled.

I think of it like this: You look at everyone's kitchen after a few years. There are scratches on the granite or marble or whatever. And maybe a few chips. And it looks bad. And this is a huge shock to the owner, who thought the counter was bulletproof.

You'll scratch granite with a pizza cutter eventually. You'll scratch marble and slate with a pizza cutter. You'll scratch laminate with a pizza cutter, you'll definitely scratch Corian with a pizza cutter. Use a cutting board -- I am turning into my mom!

Soapstone is MEANT to be scratched and chipped. The owners expect it, and even in my case, embrace it.

We had century-old soapstone sinks in the basement growing up, and we threw buckets into them, mom used to hose us down in them when we played in the mud and were too dirty to go up into the house. No big chunks missing. It's funny, because I grew up thinking of soapstone as indestructible!

I also confess I was a tiny bit worried that all the oiling would mean that my counters would always be a tiny bit sticky. Frequently when I went into showrooms, the counters were a tiny bit oily.

But, if you're worried about this, don't be. This goes away very quickly, and they're as dry and clean as any other counter. I think the showrooms just like to keep them shined up.

Spills: I haven't had problems, but I just keep the oil rag in a plastic bag under the sink, so if anything looks dull (my counters are new) I can just quickly give it a wipe. Remember, any acid wouldn't be etching a finish, or the stone, just taking a little oil off, so a quick swipe restores a uniform finish.

I also got some of that beeswax/mineral oil polish, which I have only tried a little of. I love wax. Seems nice.

Only you can decide. Good luck!

We live near Grand Rapids Michigan. We are redoing our 1880's kitchen and will put in a soapstone sink and soapstone countertop in spite of the misinformation presented at showrooms and some fabricators about soapstone. We know the qualities of real soapstone and will not be persuaded towards granite, corian etc.
If you know of a business that has genuine soapstone slabs in Michigan or nearby, please post this asap.
Our first choice would be a black stone with minor veining.
But Where Art Thou O Slab of Soapstone In Michigan so That We May Look At You and Buy You for Our Kitchen????

I will have to respectfully disagree with seeing scratched granite counter in a few years. We had several samples and they ended up outside, knocked around by snowplow, driven over in our gravel drive and only sample ever cracked. That was over a five yr period. You could wash off any of them and they looked fine. I never did cut on my granite nor do I on our SS but that is for my knives not the counter.

Hi ctmewbie2009,
I had granite put in 15 years ago. within the first year my son put a koolaid stain on it that I could not get out. What I found out is that Granite is actually porous and can pull a stain in even if it is sealed. I lived with that stain up till two a year ago. I put Soapstone in. Now I have not experienced chips as I have a pretty hard stone, but a few scratches have happened. But what is really cool is I just buffed them out myself and reoiled. It looks great! I love it! I have a Sink to match as well. I put a little rubber mat in the bottom, I haven't had any problems so far. I wish I put it in a long time ago. I'm in So. Calif. We used Soapstone Werks. They were great.
Here's there web site. good luck!
www.soapstonewerks.com

My soapstone sink, countertops and island tops were installed about a year & 1/2 ago. They're in a lakehouse where family and guests are always coming/going and there's a lot of cooking & meal prep going on.

I have had zero problems w/ any of my soapstone. I don't toss my heavy cast iron pans into the sink, but I don't baby it either.

I used the mineral/wax mixture on it maybe 4 times after it was installed. Besides good wash downs with soapy cloths, that's been it for maintenance. I hand wash most of my dishes - old habits die hard - and my sink, the countertops near it and around the faucet look no different than the other less used areas.

Last week I was preparing fresh fruit salad cups for a baby shower. I was using the emptied halves of blood oranges as individual containers to serve 20 people. Even though I used a cutting board, deep red juice streamed all over my island top. Then pineapple, navel orange and strawberry juice flowed onto that. When I was done I blotted everything up with paper towels and there was no hint of a stain, even with all that acid and wine colored juice. It's just impervious to staining.

I couldn't be more pleased with mine. I also have a soapstone countertop in my laundry/half bath. It's the bathroom the kids use most of the time. No problems.

I know it's not for everyone, and it may not be for you, but as others above have said, make your decision based on facts. I also suggest you contact someone who deals primarily in soapstone fabrication/installation if you do decide it's the surface you want.

thanks everyone. I think I'm going to go with soapstone counters and maybe a different sink.
sw in austin; i also like the grey-er unoiled look. Do you find that it is darkening unevenly?

I see you've gotten a lot of replies already but I'll add my 2C worth.

1) do soapstone sinks chip? If I throw in pots/pans and knives, am I going to have to worry about putting things gently into the sink? Are big chunks going to come off?

2) How much "work" is a soapstone counter? Do I have to worry that if my kids spill tomato sauce on it that it needs to get wiped up immediately? What about red wine?

No work or worry at all. I have 3 kids and DH and I are messy and there just isn't anything to worry about with soapstone. you cant stain it.

3) I don't mind oiling once a month, but I don't want to have to "maintain" my countertops.

I don't even oil mine, so they need ZERO maintenance. And if you do oil, it is just a little work and a lot of fun.

4) Can I roll out dough on it, or, do I need some marble/granite area?

no idea :)

5) If I have a slice of pizza on a paper plate on the counter and I use a pizza cutter to slice it, will I have to worry about cutting through to the counter?

I'm soooo bad -- I use my pizza cutter and knives directly on my Minas soapstone. I have no scratches or marks from this yet (6 months in). Minas is one of the harder varieties so I just live and play hard on it.

Anita

We used granite on the perimeter cabs and island. I thought about doing a cream colored granite but was concerned about staining so chose a (the name escapes me!) warm brownish, black with green flecks and its been just great, I love it. Nothing shows, I have to hunt for crumbs.
We put a very nice piece of soapstone over on the beverage center and the soapstone is a whole different breed of cat. Its beautiful, I love the way it feels, but every little speck and splash shows. I'm really glad I didn't do a whole kitchen in soapstone~I'd be buying stock in 3M because of all the sponges I'd be going through!

Soapstonebarb
If you find anything in this side of the state,please post. I'm down here in Berrien Cty and need a couple of remnants for either side of the range.
Thanks

I feel like I'm polluting this thread with a photo, but here anyway is my never-oiled Alberene counter.