khara;

Florida Joshua installed our Black Venata in the beginning of May. Black Venata isn't known as being the hardest variety of SS, but we really liked it in regards to color and veining, so it's what we went for.

I don't oil. I think I've oiled once and used the mineral oil/wax combo twice -- but I think it's been at least 4 months. To my surprise, our family prefers the non-oiled appearance. You can see the inclusions and sparkles better -- we call them leopard spot holograms.

My maintenance: "good ol' soap and water". Just like Joshua recommended.

Does it scratch? Yup. Does that worry me? The first few times, yup, but now I know it just kind of blends in after a few days and it goes away and you don't see it. Including the tilers putting a heavy, dirty box of tiles on the counter and then sliding it over the counter and making A BUNCH of scratches. That one just about had me over the edge. But really, a couple days later, with everyday "good ol' soap and water" -- what scratches? Do I get everyday scratches? Yup. They disappear.

My only complaint about the soapstone? Remembering in the morning not to put my coffee cup directly on it without a coaster. Because without the barrier, the coffee gets cold pretty quick. However, the other side of that "problem" is that I can defrost a single layer of chicken breasts pretty quickly. And I love love love not needing to use a hotpad or trivet when taking things out of the oven (unless I want to keep them hot).

My disclaimer: I do not color my hair -- it is turning platinum very slowly, and I don't iron on an every day basis. I am a pretty low maintenance kind of woman. I like things to look nice, so I also take my clothes out of the dryer immediately so they don't wrinkle, and I spend ALOT of $$ for a good haircut so that the Patina on top of my head looks good. I think that explains why I love my soapstone. Looks great with simple maintenance. Here are a few good pictures of the counter. I think these were taken in mid August -- again, pretty much oil/wax free counters.

In this first picture, this slab has not been oiled except for when Joshua first installed it. It only gets wiped down about once a week. The darker spots are shiny IRL. Oh, and that white vertical line in the front part of the sink doesn't exist. I think it had something to do with the lights and the picture. I could never figure it out while I was taking the pictures.

The sink areas are a bit lighter gray that the other areas of the kitchen, because those areas get mopped up more often -- it's the prep area (the first picture) and the clean-up area (second). The white spots you see are my "shiny leopard holograms" IRL. They don't photograph. Joshua did a beautiful job around the sink. There is a seam in the sink, good luck finding it!

khara: I think rjr220 has it right on soapstone...it does chip and scratch more easily than a hard granite, but scratches and even small chips tend to blend right in, making it very "low maintenance", provided you aren't the hospital-corners-on-the-bed-every-morning type.

The one thing I would add is that soapstone does come in a variety of hardnesses. The venata that rjr220 has is, I believe, at the softer end of the spectrum. Others have a bit less talc in their composition, and thus scratch and chip less easily but are still relatively easy to blend any boo-boos back that do happen back in. A good dealer should be able to point you to different types.

If scratches or the occasional to rare chip on your counter-top would bother you perhaps you should look at other options. You have to love soapstone for what it is and what it feels like then accept the scratch because you dragged a coffee mug or appliance on your counter.

scratches on soapstone are easily removed with 120 sandpaper on a orbital sander by a diy

I agree with eandhl - if some chips and scratches will bother you, you should look at something else. I have Medium Minus soapstone. It does have some chips and scratches, but that doesn't bother me. I don't oil anymore, I like it natural. To me it's maintenance free. If I get a little scratch, I put some oil on it - it will pretty much disappear. I love it for all the reasons listed by rjr. Get some samples and live with them and experiment on them for a bit.

I have a hard variety of soapstone. I prefer it natural and unoiled. I have had it for 3 years and have 1 tiny chip. I do not get scratches at all, and because I keep it unoiled they would show up if I did. Mine gets oily from regular kitchen use, and if I didn't wash it off, would stay very dark. It is actually more work for me (dh really) to keep it unoiled!

In the second picture, you can see a sliver of the top of the counter where I let it go dark.

Hey khara: my soapstone in the kitchen has been in place for 4 1/2 years. I have never oiled it and it has darkened with age. I never use anything to clean it but soap and water. Here are some pics of the " patina" LOL. It has scratches and a couple chips but I never notice. The real patina is on my 2 soapstone sinks. They are over 100 years old and have the look that I hope my countertops will have one day :) I have a different soapstone in the sunroom and it has a ton of scratches since that is where I do potting of plants etc. It is lighter with a lot more movement in it and I love it too.

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kitchen antique ss sink:

sunroom antique sink and countertop in soapstone:

Hope you will decide to get soapstone...it is worry free and really a lovely addition to a kitchen. You can see lots more pics in my photobucket if you click on a pic. Good Luck ! c

Thanks so much to you all for your feedback.

rjr220 - Your SS is GORGEOUS and I really appreciate your thorough response and honesty. The photos are very helpful as well - I see no signs of chips, scratches, etc.

eandhl - That's the problem. I have looked and looked and looked endlessly at other options, and I just can't find anything that compares to SS or marble. I don't like the high gloss granite look.

prill - I'm in love with your stone! The beautiful veining, the movement, the variation...it all confirms what my heart is pulled to!!! Did you start out with intentions to oil? I am convinced that I want to oil - I really prefer the deeper, richer black tones in my kitchen. However, your pictures don't appear to be the lighter gray my mind associates with unoiled SS. Were the countertops oiled when these pictures were taken?

amck - Your stone is to die for as well (as is the whole lake cottage)!!! What a view!!! What variety is your SS? Was it oiled when these photos were taken?

To you all, if I do want to oil my countertops, does that mean I won't be able to just clean them with soap and water? How do those of you who DO oil your SS handle these issues? Thanks for being patient with me and my million questions!

Trailrunner - your sinks are beautiful. And, of course, you always have the most beaufiul looking food.

kharamaria - I started out oiling mine, but now it doesn't matter that much to me. Either way, the care is just the same. Just clean with soap and water.

I had no intention of getting soapstone. I looked at many, many granites and then one day I decided to check out the soapstone. I fell in love with my stone - I think that was a Thursday - it was installed the following week!

Here is oiled:

unoiled:

This is my slab 1/2 oiled:

prill you are a sweet one ! My stone that is in the sun room looks just like yours. I don't know what kind it is. In the kitchen I have Green Mountain. c

kharamarie, have you seen honed Virgina Mist granite? The look is similiar to soapstone but durability of granite.

So I have spent countless hours searching my kitchen soul to resolve this issue too. Around and around I went thinking, "okay, I love distressed furniture and patina, but I don't what large chips all over my counters...does this mean soapstone is or is not for me?" Two things helped quite the inner voices and helped me make my decision. The first you've already done...research this forum and ask questions. The second was collecting large samples and experimenting. From my experminets I learned that Minas (my first soapstone love) is too soft for me and my family. It held up well to normal wear and tear...just some scratching that blended nicely after an oiling. But when I dropped a heavy spoon on it from a few inches height, there was a huge gouge. Now I hit it really hard...probably harder than will normally happen in the kitchen. But I have two young children, a monster dog, and a husband I've nicknamed "the demolition crew" who loves to cook, so my kitchen will see a LOT of action. After a few days of experimentation, my minas sample was riddled with chips and gouges. Next I tested green mountain original. I whacked my minas and GMO sample with the same spoon. Huge gouge in the minas, but only the tinest white mark on the GMO. It has held up beautifullly to all my abuse and I found my soapstone. Hooray. So I guess the moral to my long winded tale is test samples and until you quiet the inner voices.

P.S. I also want white marble but know that I cannot handle the etching and staining. I am hoping to get my hands on some white quartzite soon to see if it can hold up to our abuse.

I don't want to scare you, but when I saw your post, I remembered seeing this blog; she recently installed soapstone and it cracked. It sounds like it depends on what kind of soapstone you get.

http://bluebonnetinbeantown.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure what kind of soapstone you're using, but you might find her experience helpful. Good luck!

I appeciate all of your wonderful feedback. Here's my next dilemma... finding a qualified, experienced fabricator in my area - Kentucky!!!

If you want the oiled look without having to refresh mineral oil so frequently, apply boiled linseed oil and give it a bit of time to cure.

My soapstone has been in over a year and was sealed with a standard stone sealer which has been great, it is less maintenance and has a nice even dark finish. Prior to installation I tested the sealer on the two varieties of soapstone that I had, one a wild Brazilian and the other Old Dominion from Alberene, and it worked well on both types. The counters can still be oiled which I did a few times in the first few months after install but it was too tedious for me to want to do it all of the time.

all these pictures of soapstone are making me drool and I do love my granite.
I especially love the ones with the SS sink. mmmmmmm nice

if I can just hijack for a moment though, lightlystarched I LOVE your "pot holder" ladder. How ingenious. So practical and so aesthetically pleasing.

My SS was installed about 6 months ago. I've oiled it 2 or 3 times and clean up with soap and water. It is super maintenance free and I love the look. We have guests over partying until 3 or 4am, and I never have to worry about people spilling red wine or acid and cleaning up immediately. I can wait a few days until my hangover subsides, and then start cleaning.

Portland Renovation - When you clean your SS with soap and water, does the soap remove the oil?

Can you all point me towards which soapstone varieties are hardest?

Again, thanks so very much for all the wonderful feedback and amazing pictures!

I don't think the soap and water treatment really removes much oil. If I've freshly oiled the counters and then clean up with soap and water, I don't notice the stone looking less dark -- i.e. it doesn't revert to the light grey (unoiled) look that is characteristic of unoiled stone -- it stays just as dark.

I think the reason that it's OK to use water and soap is that the SS is very impermeable, and doesn't get stains and nothing soaks in, so you don't really have to scrub. Just a light cleaning with water and soap. I have unglazed hex tiles on my bathroom floor, and I really have to get on my hands and knees to scrub those things clean (especially since we have pets, and they love hanging out on the heated floor... and they are always tracking in dirt and mud here in rainy oregon). The counters never take much scrubbing, even if we spill something and don't notice it for a while (my husband is always spilling coffee in the mornings and I never notice it until the end of the day). You don't have to work up a lather to get the SS clean, so I don't think you really use enough soap to strip out the oil.

Hope that helps!

I don't oil my soapstone and every so often I scrub it with a sponge and baking soda. The baking soda removes the oil from hands and cooking and leaves the counter lighter - yay! I am always so happy to see it lighten up! Daily, just a sponge, Dawn, and water.

I think you'll like the ss if you like a matte low-maintenance counter. I've had mine for many years and the other posters are spot on.....it does get small scratches but they melt away very easily. I have no big gouges or deep scratches, and i cook every day. Nice thing about ss is that it is chemically inert...it cannot stain and will not react to acids. (it's used in labs for that very purpose). It absorbs and releases heat well, so no trivets needed. I clean mine with everything...steam, soapy rags, bleach, windex. You asked about oiling and I do that on occasion, when I want them darker or shiny. They darken with just the oils from your hands. I keep an oily rag under the sink that I use to wipe them down when I want that shinly black look. I also have soapstone on the fireplace hearth and around the bathroom sink. FYI, I salvaged the hearth and bathroom slab and sanded the vintage slabs out after picking from a ss salvage yard in vt. Super cheap.