raynag, we've had the Venata on our island since last Dec and have many dings, dents and scratches vrs the greeneyes that I have on the perimeter is still virtually perfect. While I'm okay and really love the rustic, well loved and not perfect look of soapstone I'd have to say that had I know just HOW fragile the Venata was...I might not have put it on the island which is the workhorse area of the kitchen- no matter how gorgeous it is :-) and it IS gorgeous..I love how it looks.

As I mentioned in your other thread, Malibu Green is NOT soapstone, its serpentine. And some of the inclusions shown in your sample are actually iron deposits. You don't oil Malibu green because it actually needs to be sealed more like granite.

I have M.Tex Light Vein Venata and it is not the hardest soapstone on the planet. As for not sanding it out, what you would do with a ding like that is sand in and around it to smooth it out then it will virtually disappear with oiling (but you would still be able to feel it, obviously).

Vizslalover, I realize that Malibu is not soapstone - and truthfully, I don't think I'm crazy about all those inclusions. Yes, it does feel hard like granite. What about the Rainforest? Is that soapstone or serpentine?

And what is that golden stuff? I find it hard to believe it is soapstone, although they say it is.

Kgs mom - I'm putting in a very contemporary kitchen so not sure how well the rustic will work. I'm not the most careful person on earth, either. But I didn't want something that turns really black - so will keep checking back with M.Tex. They did not have any greeneyes (does it have another name?). So far, Rainforest - but I will keep oiling it for a few weeks and see what happens.

I appreciate everybody's advice on this one - so keep the comments coming, please.

I have M. Tex's Santa Rita Venata. So far, so good, although I've only had it since July. I've had a few scrapes which disappeared, and no dings as of yet. We are a two-person household, though, and we're not slinging around the cast iron cookware with fatal abandon.

My stone is not very green, if you're looking for real green. It has some large jade-green inclusions (which is why I chose the slabs I did), but the dark soapstone itself isn't green. Although my husband just said that he'd call it green, so, I guess it's at least on the edge.

I was at M. Tex last weekend, and they were just receiving a large shipment of "New" Light Venata, which hasn't been added to the website yet (last I checked).

Thinking out loud is good - I do it all the time; helps clarify your ideas while you are talking - LOL. M.Tex is close enough to me that I can stop by frequently and check what's coming in to see if there is something that's right for us or if we want to end up with Kerala/Hawaiian/Tropic Green - or whatever other names they have for it/granite, instead. I just don't want my kitchen to look like everybody else's around where I live - but that's another thread...

raynag, we bought our green eyes from M Tex in SF back in mar06. At the time, it was very hard to find (I guess it still is!)so I snapped it up with the plan to use it for all surfaces. At the 11 hr and ready to template in Dec, my builder realized that the slab of we had allotted for the island would have only given us a 6" overhand for bar counter so we ran down to m tex and found the Venata which had the coloration of greeneyes but a lot more dramatic with the quartz running through it. In the end, it does look much better and makes a bigger statement but we're not careful people and so have dinged it up. I still love it though and would have never wanted a "perfect" counter top.

IMHO - you must get many, many samples, even of the same stone and beat it up at home - leave sauce, lemon juice, wine, vinegar, water, etc overnight - scrape your plates across it, drop your keys, wine bottles, pots, etc on it, scrape it with your fingernails, forks, coffee cups, heavy frying pans etc - abuse it!! oil, wait some time, oil again, etc.- and then decide how much scratching and dinging is acceptable to you - everyone's vision is different and everyone's lifestyle in the kitchen is different (some people are more gentle, some love the dings/scratches, etc)...hopefully, you won't be in for many surprises if you can do your homework and pick what will work best for you.
you are fortunate that you can go back and forth to m.teix. to collect samples and see what's new...good luck

I think the thing is to know if you're a person who values patina or a person who values pristine. Soapstone is for patina people. Then, instead of panicking when there are a few dings, you sit back and wait until there are enough so that a character has developed.

At M. Tex, they told me the rainforest was also serpentine. I was thinking it says on the website that the rainforest isn't oiled. But my memory is foggy on that one...

As Vicki said, dings can be oiled so they don't really show, but you will feel them.

My own personal opinion is that soapstone will eventually look rustic, and so is not the best match for a non-rustic, contemporary kitchen.

:-)

Francy

Just checked the M. Tex website. I was wrong about the rainforest--you can oil it. But does serpentine have the same essential characteristics that make soapstone unique? Soapstone is 1. chemically inert, 2. impervious to heat, and 3. non porous.

Francy

Francy,

We occasionally use serpentine as accents on our Tulikivis. That is the only experience I have with serpentine, so, FWIW, the serpentine stone gets hotter than the rest of the soapstone, it also darkens and slightly discolors although I am not sure if that is from the high heat or from the slight smoke that might come out when you open the door. I just know what we have observed. I also know that Tulikivi will not use serpentine for anything but decorative accents and not as actual parts of the heater.

sorry if this is a repeat but if you get a really large "dent" and can't sand it to where you are happy with it, you can get epoxy and fill the hole, then sand the area and oil and it will blend just fine. We've done this is one place where the cast iron pan got away from me.

Yikes! Hope this never happens - but thanks for the info, Plumorchard. Sometimes I think I must be nuts to be paying 2x as much for soapstone as for granite. Do I change my mind??

Ah, raynag, but it's a grand madness!

raynag - Since I found out we will be living in the same town, I searched for your posts to see if I could help out at all.

I started out wanting Soapstone (and have every sample from M. Tex, as well as 4 from Green Mountain Soapstone in VT if you want them).

Then I strongly considered Pietra di Cardosa for the matte, dark gray with mild veining look that I craved. THEN, I went to Stone Source's warehouse in Carlstadt (appt. only - see Chris Winnegar). They have no granite, but much other stone, including something I saw on the floor showroom that I fell in love with! You might want to check out their honed Pietra Bedonia, a sandstone. Chris assured me it is wonderful for kitchen counters, and it is what I am going with! It is a beautiful dark gray with dreamy, pale white veining. It doesn't photograph well, so I can't show you my sample.

I found Stone Source while I was looking for a less expensive porcelain tile Lagos Azul (limestone) alternative for my mudroom floor and found it in their wonderful Ston Tech Gray 6.0.

I'm also using their Hudson crackle subway tile for the shower walls in my guest bathroom.

Thought you might be interested in another, local stone source.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Source

I was considering the Malibu Green - it was impervious to everything I threw at it except for hitting it with a screwdriver tip and it was just too soft for us. The reason you don't oil it is because the oiling has no effect.

It is definately NOT a serpentine. I don't know exactly what it is but it's got a talc-y feeling.

Smarge - I've got an appointment with Chris for Monday morning to look for floor tile and backsplash, possibly glass tiles.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks.

An important difference between the Pietra Cardosa and the Pietra Bedonia is that the former is silicate, and the latter has calicum carbonate. That means the former will not etch, but the latter will. Etching may not be an issue (marble etches, but it wouldn't stop me from getting marble). But I just wanted to point out the difference, in case anyone cares. All those "pietras" sound like the same family ('pietra' meaning 'stone' in Italian).

:-)

Francy

Raynag, did you get my email? (I sent it via GW's link before I realized you posted your email above)

Yes, moving to W.O. in March. (Lot's to do before then!)