Most of what I have seen here looks more like steatite than traditional soapstone, what you have there looks like what is more commonly known as soapstone. Steatite and soapstone have very different properties. Someone on here recently mentioned some distributor who was working with a more talc based soapstone. Soapstone is generally very porous (this is not true of steatite) because of the high talc content and depending where it comes from it can also be quite soft.

"Soapstone is generally very porous"

Yes, that's why it absolutely HAS to be sealed, right? Haha. Very funny.

I'd be upfront with the stone yard: tell them that you know based on your own research that true soapstone is absolutely stain proof, and you'll need a small sample of their product to ascertain whether what they are selling is actually soapstone.

My theory: soapstone is 'hot' right now, and to a lot of people, it's a color, not a type of stone. So there's a ton of mis-information out there, and though we haven't seen any 'my soapstone is stained, now what?' posts around here, I have a feeling there are some in the pipeline, from people who took the word of unscrupulous or misinformed dealers.

It's definetly a situation where the buyer needs to take some extra care to protect themselvs.

It is not uncommon to find lots of ignorance regarding soapstone counters. When I was looking for mine, I heard all the same stuff - it is porous, it is very high maintenance, etc.

I kept looking until I found a fabricator who showed me she was educated about soapstone. I bought my stone at Dorado (a soapstone specialist) and had it shipped to the local fabricator who knew her stuff. Even so, upon installation, the guy kept telling me he was going to "seal" it. It freaked me out. He meant he was going to oil it, but to people who've learned to get their antennae up about lack of soapstone knowledge, it sounded bad.

Based on where you are, I'd recommend that you contact Teresina Soapstone and M. Tex.

Trust your gut!

Anita

Traditional Soapstone is quite porous because it is mostly talc. Steatite, which it seems is being widely referred to to as soapstone in relation to countertops is much denser and stronger. My understanding is that people are oiling their soapstone which would suggest a level of porousness or the oil would not penetrate the surface. Soapstone is a fairly new countertop material but the stone itself has been used in other contexts for quite some time. It is a very generic term so the breadth of stone you can get and call it soapstone may be quite broad. Soapstone is not a geological term - where do you think it originates? Like soap if you get traditional soapstone wet it becomes soft and you can shape it (not as soft as soap but it can be shaped with wood implements and emery paper no chisels required).

Your best bet is to ask about the composition of the stone.

http://www.soapstoneintl.com/

in Anaheim

Anita

It bears repeating: there is a great deal of ignorance about soapstone, and your best bet is to seek a source you believe to be educated. Certainly follow up on valid seeming questions, but don't be worried by the lack of knowledge. Just move on.

From Soapstone Int'l website, About Soapstone

"Soapstone is a metamorphic rock that consists of talc, steatite, magnesite, quartz, and other magnesium rich minerals. Soapstone used for countertops is not to be confused with the softer soapstone used for sculpting. Soapstone can vary in degrees of hardness and texture by type. Not all soapstone is the same grade, its important to know exactly which type you are getting. Soapstone International ONLY carries Grade A, the hardest soapstone available.

Soapstone is naturally non-porous! This means that soapstone will not stain or harbor bacteria. It will also not etch from harsh chemicals, lemon, red wine, vinegar are NOT a problem.

Since soapstone is non-porous, unlike marble and granite, it never needs sealing. It is very green friendly - No off gasing!

High degrees of heat will not harm the stone which means it can be used in a variety of heat applications including fireplaces, stoves, and heaters. Unparalleled heat retention improves fireplace efficiency and slowly radiates the heat for hours.

Soapstone has been used for centuries for its rare characteristics and tactile appeal. Its warmth and natural properties make it a safe non-toxic material to use anywhere in or outside your home or business. Let your imagination go - explore the possibilities - Soapstone International will help.

Soapstone comes in two base colors: green gray and blue gray. With the optional application of mineral oil, soapstone becomes a deeper shade of charcoal or black. The natural lighter veining becomes more vivid against the black background. Because it is a natural quarry stone, each piece is unique. There can easily be variation within a slab. That is way Soapstone International encourages everyone to personally choose their stone.

The ageless beauty of soapstone is at home in any design style and will be an asset to any project."

Anita

It bears repeating: there is a great deal of ignorance about soapstone, and your best bet is to seek a source you believe to be educated. Certainly follow up on valid seeming questions, but don't be worried by the lack of knowledge. Just move on.

From Soapstone Int'l website, About Soapstone

"Soapstone is a metamorphic rock that consists of talc, steatite, magnesite, quartz, and other magnesium rich minerals. Soapstone used for countertops is not to be confused with the softer soapstone used for sculpting. Soapstone can vary in degrees of hardness and texture by type. Not all soapstone is the same grade, its important to know exactly which type you are getting. Soapstone International ONLY carries Grade A, the hardest soapstone available.

Soapstone is naturally non-porous! This means that soapstone will not stain or harbor bacteria. It will also not etch from harsh chemicals, lemon, red wine, vinegar are NOT a problem.

Since soapstone is non-porous, unlike marble and granite, it never needs sealing. It is very green friendly - No off gasing!

High degrees of heat will not harm the stone which means it can be used in a variety of heat applications including fireplaces, stoves, and heaters. Unparalleled heat retention improves fireplace efficiency and slowly radiates the heat for hours.

Soapstone has been used for centuries for its rare characteristics and tactile appeal. Its warmth and natural properties make it a safe non-toxic material to use anywhere in or outside your home or business. Let your imagination go - explore the possibilities - Soapstone International will help.

Soapstone comes in two base colors: green gray and blue gray. With the optional application of mineral oil, soapstone becomes a deeper shade of charcoal or black. The natural lighter veining becomes more vivid against the black background. Because it is a natural quarry stone, each piece is unique. There can easily be variation within a slab. That is way Soapstone International encourages everyone to personally choose their stone.

The ageless beauty of soapstone is at home in any design style and will be an asset to any project."

Anita

Anita

Double post? Well, you said, "It bears repeating..." ;-)

I agree it "...is a very generic term so the breadth of stone ... may be quite broad." I also understand that "Soapstone is not a geological term" but I disagree about several things in one post above. Although I do give credit to the poster who is attempting to make sense of what he has learned; we all do that.

A.) 110% False to say that the term originates because "Like soap if you get (it) wet it becomes soft and you can shape it". -- strongly disapprove. Wait until you try wetting or boiling a piece of it to see if it softens in any way. More about this later.

B.) Based on what I have seen it is false to say that there is any "Traditional" Soapstone that "is quite porous because it is mostly talc." Strike Two. More about this later.

C.) Oiling it does not mean that oil penetrates into and gets soaked up. Strike Three. Oiling it could mean that a thin film on the surface changes its optical reflection i.e. darkens the color just as any oil or butter on your clothes or on anything with color -- on a non-porous surface ! "... My understanding is that people are oiling their soapstone which would suggest a level of porousness or the oil would not penetrate the surface..."

D.) False to say "...Soapstone is a fairly new countertop material but the stone itself has been used in other contexts for quite some time..." False because this stone was used by the earliest chemists who needed a non porous surface for their laboratories. So says the internet searching have done, but I am not an authority on 18th century chemistry labs.

E.) I have only seen one person ever write about the difference between Steatite and something else that he calls Soapstone as being different. Strike Four. On the other hand, if all society were to adopt this new terminological distinction, we would all agree that there is the one kind and the other kind. Ahem. "... which it seems is being widely referred to to as soapstone in relation to countertops is much denser and stronger..."

I received samples from a quarry. I live near it. I asked them if they have to sort out the stone after mining it. In other words if varying hardnesses are all present in one same batch that they dig out in one operation. Which might mean that in a single counter top I might have softer and harder places. They said, "no it is the opposite, we go get the hardness you want in different areas of the quarry which is a huge area almost a square mile. On any given day we only pull out one hardness of stone. We can mine soft stuff which is good for sculptures, or hard stuff which is good for fireplaces and counters." In other words, the hardness is consistent across any given counter top, and secondly that one can specify the hardness one wants to buy. So instead of "Your best bet is to ask about the composition of the stone" just go see it and scratch samples of it. That is what geologists do anyway. They scratch rocks.

--
In the 1970's I went into a talc mine. There was nothing soft about it. There was no visible talc dust. Perhaps I could say there was a slightly oily feel to the stone in some places where the surface was not irregular but the people who were with me said, "yeah, barely."

Nothing got soft and malleable when wet.

Years later i went back in. Same result.

--
Any stone can be reduced to powder form. That's how Silestone Zodiaq Caesarstone etc are made. They are powder glued back together.

Why is talc deemed soft? Well, I guess when it is in powder form it has certain properties.
What makes people think solid talc will let water through it?
Is it because so many Other Stones let water through ?

On the other hand, if a stone has an Oily feel to it, could we not agree that this oiliness might be a clue to its water-repellent properties on a micro level? I'll leave this to a future PhD thesis on capillarity.

HTH

David

I have spent much time researching soapstone and tracking it down in my area. I am now only comfortable with suppliers and fabricators who are familiar with, and actually like soapstone themselves. Many granite yard salespeople have been really rude when asked about soapstone. One guy yelled "You will have broken kitchen. I come to this country to fix all broken kitchens!" A really nasty woman said that she could get soapstone for me but "I'd have to sign a waiver" before they would install it. She also claimed that she had stained my soapstone sample just by holding it - "look you can see where my finger was." I restrained myself from screaming "OMG what is on your hands!"

I am getting Green Mountain original. Posters here have been happy with M. Texeira (which I have not found available in my area, but I did email them and got a very nice, informative reply from the president). I've also read good things about Dorado. Find out where your soapstone is coming from! Good luck.

davidro1

Thanks for the clarfication it was very helpful. It has been some time since I looked at the information on Inuit carving materials from which I am most familiar with soapstone and I did make some rather egregious errors. Most significant is the fact that soapstone is so named based on it appearance not its' softness (though as per the attached link Talc has a Mohs rating of 1). However certain grades can be carved using just wood implements and the stone is easier to work with when wet than dry. The excerpt below corrects some of my errors as well as affirms some things that I got correct and easily explains why (their misperceptions not their rudeness) Maureen got chased off one stone yard and the cold shoulder at another. Whether it was used in 18th century labs or not soapstone before it became a fashionable surface for kitchen countertops was quite well known as a soft stone for carving.

"The type of stone used for Inuit sculpture varies since each Arctic region and even supply site will usually have different types of stone. The general term soapstone often used for Inuit sculpture is not exactly accurate since most Arctic regions in fact do not have soapstone sites. Soapstone (talc steatite), a relatively soft stone, is used in some but not the majority of regions for Inuit sculpture.

The most common stone used in Inuit sculpture are serpentine and serpentinite (steatite\serpentinite - this where my memory failed me - I got the ite right but the rest wrong) which are harder than soapstone. As carving material, serpentine and serpentinite are more difficult for Inuit carvers to work with than compared to soapstone. These stone come in a variety of different colors including green, brown, black and a range of shades in between. Other types of Arctic stone used for Inuit sculpture include marble, quartz, argillite, siltstone and dolomite.

A variety of veining and even striped grain in Arctic stone is possible. Some pieces of Inuit sculpture will look more polished and shiny compared to others. This is mostly due to regional Inuit art styles since in some regions, Inuit carvers prefer a primitive, unpolished look (see the example of the bird on the top right) while in other regions a highly polished finish is preferred. For the polished look, Inuit carvers use colored or clear shoe polish for the finishing touches. Sometimes, beeswax is heated onto Inuit sculptures as an alternative finish."

I appreciate the difference between what is being used for carving and what is being used for countertops as this clarification was provided in a previous post but given the reaction Maureen got I question whether all the suppliers are as clear. Her advice to stay with a reputable supplier seems wise as, again, soapstone, can refer to a broad range of stone with quite different characteristics.

The level of misinformation out there is staggering. I can see though how people equate "oiling" and "staining". If I were uninformed, I'd also think a stone that "sucks up oil" is porous. The oil stays on the stone's surface, though. I have oiled my stone and I have washed all the oil off to a pristine light grey color. I like to say I have two countertops and can have a rich dark color for winter and a lighter color for summer.

I had a similar experience in a stoneyard here. The man was trying to sell me serpentine. He insisted it was soapstone until I observed that it had a resin coating and was not oiled. Then he admited it was a 'granite', something superior to soapstone due to the fact that soapstone is porous. We're slowly giving up the soapstone dream, but I will still refuse to buy any stone that comes from that yard since the salespeople are so ignorant (or deceitful).

Wow!! You guys have given me so much great advice!! I'm going to take my samples to Denise at SoapStone Int'l in Anaheim to get her opinion and to get the name of some good local experienced fabricators. I only wish I had gone to her in the first place.

Hey Danielle, what do you mean by "until you noticed it had a resin coating?" How do you notice that?

Thanks, I really appreciate everyone's input, and I'm looking forward to more input and advice from other soapstone experienced forum members!

eldiablojoe,
The side of the slab had dark drip marks on it. It was three dimensional (that is, it wasn't like oil had dripped down the side and stained it. It as a definite goo/gunk/resin-type material that I assume had been applied to the top and dripped down the sides). I approached the manager with my suspcions and he admited that it was not oil rather some sort of resin/color enhancer. In any case, it was really obvious-- there was definitely another material bonded to the surface that left drip marks on the edge of the stone.

There's a guy in Southern Calif. who not only is a soapstone fabricator but a stone sculptor. He owns a little shop called Soapstone Werks. His knowledge was amazing and I was impressed with his work and the stone he sold, Beautiful! Call him. He really helped us alot. Our kitchen is fantastic! His name is Greg Bergmann
(760) 739-0655 www.soapstonewerks.com

Just FYI...I have come to the conclusion that you must deal with someone that uses soapstone EXCLUSIVELY...anyone else and they tend to be obnoxiously against anything soapstone. ALL of our granite yards try to steer you away toward black honed granite--which DOES stain, according to my poor brother-in-law, who is probably at home right now trying to get two big grease spots out of his counters he's been complaining about.

Our soapstone is Green Mountin Original PA--VERY black when oiled, kind of charcoal grayish when not. The oil does NOT soak in--merely stays on the surface and slowly "evaporates" (just guessing that's what it does). We used fabricators in Cambridge, NY (not that that will help you out in California!).

I just gave up even trying to talk to any granite fabricators about soapstone after the third or fourth place. Really reseach soapstone ONLY fabricators and talk to them.

Great qualities of it?
you can put a pan or pot right on it from the oven/stove, it's buttery smooth, feels "warmer" than granite, defrosts stuff in a jiffy (no joke!), and looks great in our old farmhouse. Ours is NOT soft and we are not easy on our counters--I have no chips or scratches after two years...and even if it does scratch, you can just buff it out with sandpaper--not that I would, because I kind of like the "worn-in" look.

Downsides--you see EVERY crumb or speck of anything on it (good for me...may annoy some people), some soapstone (like mine) doesn't stay jet black--most pictures you see are from people who just oiled it, and usually it's pretty pricey.

Good luck! Stick to your guns if you really want it. And no, serpentine and honed absolute black granite are NOT the same...no matter how many times the granite yards tried to convince me of that!!

:)
Sarah from Albany, NY

I'm going to resurrect this post after reading the statement above: The oil does NOT soak in--merely stays on the surface and slowly "evaporates".

So, if I were to write something on a piece of paper on a soapstone counter that had been oiled, say, a few days prior, would it leave oil on the paper? I'm considering it for my kitchen but don't want a surface that's so constantly oily that I can't put any sort of paper on it. Thanks!

kellilou, when you oil your counters. You wipe on a little, but then sort of buff it leaving only a little bit of oil residue which then oxidizes leaving the counters dark. The counters are not wet when you are done with them. DS1 does his homework seated at the peninsula and mail gets left there all the time(though I'd prefer it didn't.) Paper does not get oil stained. HTH.

Ditto here--I oil occasionally and use a microfiber cloth to wipe off as much as I can. It looks darker but doesn't feel any different than it does unoiled. We have paper all over the counter all the time--no oil is transferred (at least not that I can see)

Soapstone is another name for steatite. They are the same thing, steatite is the scientific name.

There are varying porosity levels with soapstone. From very soft, used in sculptures, to very hard, used in wood stoves and countertops. Most fabricators will tell you that soapstone is no good and it's very porous. Not true if you get the correct density. Fabricators want to sell you the much more expensive granite.

One way to tell if the soapstone is good for a countertop is to try to scratch it with your fingernail. If your nail leaves a deep scratch it's too soft.

Oiling soapstone is not necessary, it's done to artificially darken it. If you left the stone to age on it's own it would darken, or patina, on it's own. Oiling does not protect the stone it's merely decorative. Soapstone is made of talc, which is very fine, and when it's compressed it becomes very dense.

Soapstone has been used in sinks and countertops for centuries. Some historical homes still have their original soapstone. Soapstone is a very good countertop material but it can get scratches in it over time. If you do scratch it just sand it down with very fine sandpaper.

If you're looking for something similar to soapstone, take a look at antiqued or honed Jet Mist granite.