Great idea to wet the stone in the yard - my client used the soapstone in their bathroom and decided to oil it - it had a green cast to it which she hadn't expected. Was going to use it in the kitchen but I suggested using Jet Mist Honed and they LOVE IT! Less maintenance but it gave them the look they were going for. I have pictures of their cherry kitchen w/Jet Mist counters on my web site if you're interested in checking it out.

If at all possible get a piece of the soapstone you are thinking of buying and try to scratch it on the surface and chip the edge. Then sand to see how easily you can repair it. Also oil it and after a few days wipe a part with a soapy cloth to see if the cleaned part looks different than the rest. That should take care of most of the potential complaints about soapstone being too soft and easy to scratch, and appearing uneven without being constantly oiled. I love my soapstone but chose it ("Julia") very deliberately over some more "beautiful" soapstones due to the hardness.

I wanted soapstone, but we found we couldn’t afford it in our area, nor could we find slabs we liked. I stayed a week at an Airbnb with soapstone in the kitchen and got to talk to the owners about it. She pointed out a chip in it, it had happened when she dropped something sharp on it. It was barely noticeable, and even when I did finally see it, it didn’t detract, I thought it added more character. Anyways, we ended up with leathered granite (steel grey) in our kitchen and I adore it! You might want to check out leathered Virginia Mist granite, it looks even more like soapstone.

I had Black Venata soapstone installed and do love it. It isn’t one of the harder varietiess (medium hardness?) and if the cat leaps up on the counter it will show a scratch until that mark oxidizes in a couple of days. Like wood surfaces, marks sort of disappear over time and little chips fade into the background.

Basically, the darker the untreated stone the harder it tends to be. Pale gray soapstone varieties may be so soft that you can scrap them with your fingernails. I think almost nobody wants that, however pretty. It basically means even pushing a china plate across the surface will leave a mark. Definitely get a sample and do abuse tests at home.

There are soapstone specialists like M. Teixeira and they know and can tell you the hardness of the varieties they carry, but general stone places are a problem. If the slab is just labeled “soapstone” it probably means they brought in a few pieces randomly and know absolutely nothing about the product. At least that was my experience. Also, soapstone is easy to cut, but it Is installed a little differently from granite, say, and the way the sink is attached is also different. If you don’t have someone in your area who actually installs soapstone I’d be a little reluctant to chose it. And I say that even though I really love it and feel that it (and honed marble) has a soul that other stones sort of lack. The other granite suggestions - Steel gray and honed or leathered Virginia Mist have been widely praised on this forum. If there wasn’t near a soapstone dealer and installer I certainly would have looked at them. I wish you luck shopping and hope you find something beautiful.

We ordered samples from M. Tex and abused them-scratched and tried to stain and banged them against each other. We quickly learned that the dark was harder and more durable, even though we loved the green crystal looking veining in some lighter varieties.

However, local stoneyards had far fewer options and often generic labels. We would wet them down, and then try scratching a bit at the edge with our keys. Finally settled on a couple slabs of Brazilian black-some nice veining but pretty dark and resisted scratching. They were supposed to be installed today-hoping now for tomorrow. Can’t wait.

That there is still so much misinformation about soapstone, amazes me.

Soapstone is NOT hard to care for. You do not HAVE to oil it. It will develop a patina on its own. We chose to oil ours for the first two months, and have since left it alone. Our stone, purchased and installed by M. Teixeira (their NJ location), is now 3 years old. We don’t have any chips. There were a couple of scratches from where my DH slid a cast iron pan, but they have faded.

Oh, and you CAN get a HARD grey stone, with green and white inclusions. We chose Belvedere for it’s hardness and the gorgeous streaks of green, which became more prominent after oiling. We love the tactile smoothness of soapstone, and the fact that it never gets cold in the winter (Long Island, NY).

Soapstone is very easy to clean...just a little soap and water does the trick, or if you prefer, a Clorox wipe works, too. It doesn’t stain or etch.

I agree with the posters above...I would be very leery of purchasing soapstone from a stone yard that is primarily a granite dealer. Most of them are unfamiliar with the properties of soapstone, and insist its soft, no matter the color/style. Many will say soapstone needs to be sealed. The fact is, it should never be sealed, and there is no need to.

Btw, if you’re within a few hours drive of a Teixeira location, I highly recommend making the trip. These guys are pros, and exceedingly patient and helpful.

I don’t want pretend anything. Real soapstone has been used in chemistry labs. It requires no care. I never oil mine, but it would be beautiful if I did. We are careful about sliding things on it, but don’t granite owners take care? I had soapstone in my previous kitchen and after 13 years, it still looked perfect except the tiny area where a guest sliced bread without a cutting board! They had granite countertops at their house and used a cutting board there. When it was time to plan our new kitchen last year, we never considered another type of stone for our counters. The first thing guests do is run their hands over the not-to-be-duplicated softness. They next thing they say is, “it’s real soapstone!”.

If you need something that is perfect 24/7 get a sample and drag it home t try as you'd cook and live.. Soapstone is wonderful. It is PERFECTLY just what it is. A rock. It's not a stone. The talc content makes it more easily malleable than other surfaces. The very same content that give it its soft feel. It's a breeze to care for, it is indestructible with regards to hot pots etc. It is anti microbial as well. It is about as "Perfect" as one could want, unless you expect it to look as the moment it was installed, ten years up the road.

Check the price before you get your heart set on it, around here it’s much more expensive than granite or quartz.

Thanks so much, everyone! Unfortunately, we don't have any M. Teixeira locations near us and I'm not sure which fabricators near us specialize or work with soapstone. These are good things to consider.

Price point in our area (Midwest) seems to be mid to upper granite price, but not as much as quartzites.

We'll keep looking and ask lots of questions if we find anything we like. Turns out (UNFORTUNATELY) we have a little more time because when our cabinet installer was here yesterday he noticed some damage to our cabinets...which had already been unboxed and "thoroughly" inspected by our cabinet rep. So we are on hold for a few weeks until we can get replacement cabinets. :-(

I struggled with the same decision. In the end I just didn't want the worry of having to sand or repair chips/scratches. Also- the price was a HUGE factor. Soapstone was going to be 2x the price for granite slabs and more for fabrication as well 9didn't get exact pricing on that). Ours was not an expected build, so budget was important. We went with misty black honed granite for kitchen and virginia mist honed granite in the master.

If you're interested in the granites that are the soapstone look-alikes, consider leathered rathe than honed. We're in the process of choosing counters, too, and our fabricator told me that he he doesn't recommend honed because it shows everything, but leathered is great for keeping that same texture and now showing fingerprints/water spots/etc..

We have soapstone in our current/old house that we inherited from the previous owners, and once I stopped trying to keep it oiled and perfect every minute of the day, I fell in love with it. We’ve lived in this house for five years and the soapstone has been here for nine years and we haven’t had any chips. We have had surface scratches, but it took something pretty hefty to gouge the counter. They aren’t easily visible after being oiled once.

We just bought a new house and would have automatically gone with soapstone in the kitchen, but the kitchen is small and dark, and so we wanted to bring in a surface that reflected light. Ultimately, I think that it boils down to what kind of person you are. Would you prefer to have perfectly uniform counters at all times? I’d considered leathered granite then. If you’re okay with counters that look like they’re used and loved, I don’t think you can go wrong with soapstone. For full disclosure, we also have a zinc island that has a beautiful patina, so we’re good with that kind of thing.

Here's some info on the geology of soapstone, and a head-to-head test of all the M. Tex varieties. Hope it's helpful!

https://usenaturalstone.org/soft-spot-soapstone/

And I admit, the more I worked on the samples and learned about soapstone, the more I really liked it. Be sure to get samples of the varieties you're considering. That is an essential part of the shopping process and you'll learn a lot by interacting with the stone.

Not sure where in the Midwest you are, but Hummingbird Soapstone is in the Chicago area and did our beautiful countertops. I highly recommend them

My Kitchen · More Info

If I hadn't found my quartzite, I most likely would have gone with soapstone.