Soapstone enjoys a cult-like fan base: “I love the organic-ness of it,” writes one devotee on Houzz. But it’s not for everyone. “I find these photos rather sobering,” laments another commenter after viewing images of the patina that soapstone can acquire.

Yes, Soapstone is Soft

“All stones have benefits and disadvantages,” says Anthony Lacour of M. Teixeira. “There’s no such thing as a perfect surface.”

As the branch manager at M. Teixeira’s Denver office, Lacour has been working with this iconic stone for a dozen years. He suggests the best way to get a feel for soapstone’s hardness is to experience it personally. “Let people test for themselves,” he says.

Hardness of most commercial soapstones ranges from 1 to 4, but Lacour has found that the exact Mohs number is not as important as just getting a sense for it. “Use a fingernail and a key as your hardness indicators,” he advises.

Soapstone’s softness might be a dealbreaker for some—it comes down to knowing yourself and recognizing if a scratch in the stone is going to ruin your day, or how long it will take you to forgive a family member who accidentally drops a frying pan on the countertop.

Lacour explains the upside: “The good thing is that you can fix it yourself.”

A fresh coat of mineral oil will render small scratches invisible. Larger marks can be removed with sandpaper. Lacour recommends 120-220 grit for most scratches; if you prefer a shinier finish, you can follow up with 400-500 grit. Then re-oil the surface to restore the luster, and you’re all set.

Even a gouge is fixable—it can be filled with a mixture of stone chips and epoxy. This can be tackled by a professional or by a seasoned DIYer.

Steve Schrenk is the digital media director for Polycor, and he has worked with stone as a sculptor, fabricator, and designer. He describes soapstone as “very user friendly for self-repair,” noting that soapstone appeals to the type of person who “likes to roll up their sleeves and do it themselves.”

A Houzz commenter sums it up best, “What I love love love the most about soapstone: If you are a DIYer at heart (or a control freak, like I am), then the self-maintenance of the counter is just wonderful.”

And Now for the Good News: Soapstone’s Superpowers

Once you’ve come to terms with soapstone’s softness, you can revel in its strengths. By and large, the stone is remarkably resistant to staining or damage from acids. The density of the stone makes it practically impervious. That smoldering casserole you left in the oven while binge-watching Better Call Saul? Put that right there on the stone, thank you very much.

These superpowers were not bestowed on soapstone by any magical process. It comes down to the properties of the minerals in soapstone. Soapstone’s primary ingredient, talc, is chemically inert, which is why soapstone is generally unaffected by acids and alkalines. Talc is also hydrophobic, meaning it quite literally repels water.

The mineral magnesite is another major component of soapstone, and it has the ability to retain heat. The properties of magnesite allow soapstone to work so well as an insulator or a fireplace. The stone is capable of absorbing heat and then slowly radiating it off, providing the long, sustained warmth so appreciated in cold climates. Lastly, soapstone is a dense arrangement of small minerals, with minimal pore space that might allow water to seep in. Low porosity means that soapstone will not absorb liquids nor harbor bacteria—a perk for the germaphobes among us.

Schrenk sums up the yin and yang of soapstone: “People tend to latch on to the scratching aspect of soapstone,” he says. But they may be “missing out on some of the other aspects of the stone” that make it so appealing.

Soapstone’s Quirky Geology

Soapstone is an unusual type of metamorphic rock. Most metamorphic rocks are heated and squished versions of their former selves. Limestone becomes marble. Sandstone turns to quartzite. But soapstone doesn’t abide that simple recipe. Soapstone comes about from a series of chemical reactions that take place deep underground. Hot groundwater carries dissolved minerals from one rock to another, allowing a mingling of ingredients that begets entirely new minerals. In some cases, soapstone is a derivative of dolomite or dolomitic marble (like Super White). In others, soapstone comes from ultra-deep, ultra-dense rocks from Earth’s mantle. In this latter case, serpentine is also formed, and hence, soapstone and serpentine can often be found side-by-side in a quarry or outcrop.

Soapstone’s signature soapiness comes from the mineral talc. Talc is a member of the mica family, and is made up of thin flakes. The flakes are held together by a very weak type of bond, which allows the layers to easily slide against each other, giving the stone a slippery feel.

Talc is the softest mineral on Earth, with a hardness value of 1. Soapstone always contains some talc, but the amount varies, and therefore so does the overall hardness of soapstone. Stones with high talc content are called steatite, and are useful for carving. Commercial soapstone slabs generally have 30% to 50% talc, with the remainder of the stone being chlorite, magnesite, amphibole, and other minerals. In general, the lower the talc content, the greater the hardness.

Geologically, soapstone is a family of stones rather than one specific thing. There’s broad variation in the types of minerals present and their proportions. This is all the more reason to thoroughly investigate potential stones and to work with reputable dealers and fabricators.

If a stone looks sort of like soapstone but can’t be easily scratched with a pocketknife, it’s likely serpentine rather than soapstone. Virginia Mist and Jet Mist are granites that resemble soapstones, but are much harder. When in doubt, use the diagram below and read up on how to tell green stones apart.

Evaluating the Hardness of Various Soapstones

Soapstone really is different from most other types of stone. What better way to explore this than to try a battery of tests and see how it performs. M. Teixeira sells a sample kit of various soapstones to allow customers to experience a range of soapstone colors, textures, and hardnesses. I used a set of Mohs hardness picks to get up close and personal with the hardness of 12 soapstones. I tried to scratch different minerals in the stone with picks of various hardness values. I also used my fingernail and a pocketknife so that I could compare common items with Mohs numbers.

The results varied depending on how much talc the stone contained and what other minerals were present. While all the samples fell into a range between 1 and 4, they were different from one another, and even a single stone could have different hardness values in different places.

A summary of soapstone hardness is given in the table below, and the stones are arranged roughly from softer to harder.

Testing Acid Resistance

After I checked out the hardness of the 12 soapstones, I moved on to acid tests. I put a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid on every sample, and also used standard white vinegar to check for etching. I left the acids there for at least a half hour, before scrubbing the stones with soap and water and inspecting them for damage.

Several stones had a slight bubbling reaction with hydrochloric acid. This is expected because soapstone sometimes has calcite veins, and/or it can contain magnesite, which will have a very subtle reaction to acid. Interestingly though, 11 of the 12 stones showed no damage, etching, or staining from the hydrochloric acid, even though the acid initially looked like it had stained some of the stones. But it washed away and left the stone unaffected. Similarly, vinegar left no mark whatsoever on 11 of the 12 stones.

One stone, Stormy Black, showed a faint etch mark where vinegar was left puddled up for several hours, and the hydrochloric acid left a stippled white pattern on the black stone when left for an hour. This stone appears to be somewhat susceptible to acids, and likely has more magnesite than the other samples. The dark color and fine texture of Stormy Black may also make the changes appear more noticeable.

Aside from that, the other 11 samples looked brand “new” (while appreciating the fact that they are indeed several million years old!).

Oiling or Waxing Enhances the Finish of Soapstone

Soapstone can have two distinct looks, depending on the finish. It can be left untreated and will attain a soft grey color and a matte finish. Or, the surface can be oiled or waxed, which will darken the color and impart a satiny luster. “You get multiple looks from the same stone,” says Lacour.

To oil, or not to oil: that is a frequent dilemma among soapstone owners. Light oil like mineral oil is easy to wipe on but will fade fairly quickly. Wax can also be used as a surface treatment. It requires more effort to apply, but it lasts longer. An oil/wax blend strikes a happy medium between the two.

One needn’t agonize over this decision, because it’s always reversible. Thanks to soapstone’s density, the oil simply sits on the surface. It doesn’t penetrate the stone. If you change your mind and decide you don’t like the oiled look of your soapstone, you can scrub most of it off right away, or simply wait for it to disappear on its own.

One minor caveat to the oiled vs. naked finish is the color of the seams. During installation, the epoxy in the seams will be dyed to match the stone. But since the color of the stone depends on whether it’s oiled or not, you could end up with a slight mismatch. When in doubt, savvy soapstone owners suggest going with a lighter color in the seams, because the seam can be darkened more easily than it can be made lighter.

Best Uses for Soapstone

Around the world, soapstone has been shaped into cooking pots, utensils, vessels, and sculptures for thousands of years. Soapstone’s workability made it especially useful during the Bronze Age, when molds were carved out of soapstone and filled with molten metal.

Today, soapstone is a beloved material for wood stoves and fireplaces. At the Bridger Bowl ski area in frigid Montana, a soapstone stove is the central feature in a slopeside warming hut. The stove is thoughtfully placed in the middle of the room, beckoning to visitors and easing the woes of chilly children. Once heated, the stone gives off warmth long after the fire goes out. Even after sitting idle all night long, the soapstone is still warm the next morning.

Soapstone is well known as a worktop in laboratories, where its chemical inertness and heat resistance allow it to withstand all manner of abuses.

These same traits make soapstone an enviable material in the kitchen, where it’s commonly used for countertops, islands, or sinks. Unlike many types of natural stone, soapstone cannot be polished to a glossy shine. Instead, it has a soft, warm glow and rounded edges that help a space feel comfortable rather than imposing. “Our kitchen looks loved! It looks lived in! People who eat together and tell stories and make each other laugh and spill their drinks live here!” writes a fan of soapstone on Houzz.

Both Lacour and Schrenk agree that soapstone fills a distinct niche in the industry. Soapstone’s grey tones and honed finish are on-trend nowadays, but soapstone won’t ever go out of style. While some stones draw attention to themselves, “soapstone’s subtle colors plays well with other elements of design,” explains Schrenk. “It fits a 100 year old building or new construction,” observes Lacour. Schrenk echoes the same sentiment: “It’s modern use of a traditional material.”

Alberene – Virginia’s Soapstone Quarry

Not far from Charlottesville, Virginia sits a large soapstone deposit and an active quarry that dates back to 1883. Over the years, Alberene soapstone was destined for a variety of applications, ranging from industrial uses of talc in tires and roof shingles, to practical objects like sinks, bed warmers, and griddles. Polycor purchased the Alberene quarry 5 years ago, and they’ve been pleasantly surprised by the enduring popularity of soapstone. “It’s surpassed everyone’s expectations,” says Schrenk. Alberene’s most popular soapstone is called Church Hill, literally named because of a hilltop church near the quarry. Nowadays, the quarry mostly produces slabs destined to become countertops, tiles, pavers, treads, wall caps, and fireplace inserts. “There’s a huge surge right now, especially for countertops,” says Schrenk.

The uptick in demand is easy to appreciate. Alberene soapstone is local, natural, and has “a tactile quality” that customers are drawn to, explains Schrenk. He finds that once customers learn what sets soapstone apart from other stones, “they sing its praises.”

Is Soapstone Right for You?

Choosing stone is always a personal decision, but even more so with soapstone. Only you know your situation and squeamishness, and Lacour’s advice to test the stone yourself rings true. Thankfully, soapstone dealers typically provide samples for customers to work with, so you can bring pieces home and try out your own scratching, etching, and staining tests. (You can also take our Stone Personality quiz.)

This bit of online advice nails it: “I’m looking forward to the aging and patina. But it would be sad if someone who wasn’t up for it spent a lot of money and had their heart broken.”

As with every material, the more you learn about it and the better you understand your own needs, the easier it will be to narrow down your choices.

If you’re curious about soapstone, spend some time interacting with it and see what you think. I found myself falling more in love with the samples the more I played with them. Another Houzz commenter said it best: “To those of you considering soapstone, do not be afraid!”

More from the Geology Series

The natural world wraps us in green; it’s an ever-present color of nature. But it’s not a common color among natural stones. That’s a shame, because green is expressive, easy on the eyes, and fun to design with. But fear not, Mother Nature didn’t totally forget green in her palette of stone colors. Some stones, like serpentine, are known for their verdant hues. While others, like soapstone and granite, have green variants that stand out from the earth-tone crowd. Let’s explore some green stones and illuminate their properties, minerals, and geologic origins.

Serpentine

The green, mottled pattern and waxy feel of serpentine inspired its name – a reference to snakeskin. Serpentine can be a vibrant bright green, or a deep forest-green. It’s fine-grained and smooth, and it polishes to a satiny luster. Accents of brown, red, and white can liven up the stone with vivid movement, or it can have a serene aesthetic with gentle swirls of green and ivory.

While the distinctive look of serpentine makes it easy to spot, it’s one of those stones that can get a bit confused within the industry, leading to some conflicting information. Often serpentine is labeled as green marble, and sometimes it’s classified as “hard soapstone.” Alas, it’s neither. Unfortunately, serpentine can be a little tricky to identify because its hardness, color, and pattern can vary. That’s because serpentine isn’t one exact rock; it’s a family of stones that all form in a similar way, but can have slightly different minerals in them.

If you were to do a little Googling about serpentine, you’d discover phrases like, “Serpentinites form as a result of serpentinization.” Helpful, eh?

Thankfully, we can clarify that explanation. Serpentine (geologically known as serpentinite, but we’ll keep things simple here) is a metamorphic rock, which means it was first some other kind of rock and then experienced a change in conditions. The precursor to serpentine is an iron-rich magma that forms way underneath the ocean floor. In fact, this magma’s source is so deep that it comes from Earth’s mantle, many miles down in Earth’s interior. This deep, dense magma gives rise to the bright green mineral olivine, which is also known as peridot, August’s birthstone.

When this iron-rich, green stone mingles with hot seawater, new types of minerals are formed. This process is common, but it happens so deeply within the Earth’s crust that it’s rare to see it up here on the surface. But thanks to plate tectonics, deep rocks sometimes get shoved upwards, making geologists giddy for a glimpse of what’s happening far below our boots.

Vermont Verde Antique quarry.

Because it’s made of a range of minerals, serpentine also has a range of hardness, between 3 and 6 on Mohs scale. That means it’s harder than marble but softer than granite. It’s a good idea to do a scratch test to investigate the hardness of the stone. This is best done with the tip of a sturdy pocketknife, an awl, or a steel nail. Make scratches in different parts of the slab to check the hardness of different colored areas, since those are made of different minerals.

Even though serpentine and marble have similar hardness, it’s easy to tell them apart. Marble will always become etched from contact with acids. Put a dribble of vinegar on the stone, let it sit for a few minutes, wipe off the vinegar, and inspect the stone for a change in coloration or a change in luster. If the stone is affected by acid, it’s marble. If not, it’s serpentine.

If the stone has white veins, it’s a good idea to do another acid test to see if the white parts of the stone etch when exposed to acid. Sometimes serpentine has white veins of calcite, but otherwise it should not be bothered by household acids.

Cipollino marble.

Serpentine tiles can have a tendency to absorb water when “wet set” with water-based mortar, which causes warping of the stone. Proper installation methods can avert this problem.

Well-known serpentines are Rainforest Green from India, Verde Antique from Vermont, and Connemara “marble” from Ireland.

True, green marbles are Appalachian Green Danby and Cipollino marble from Greece. Cipollino has thin stripes of green and white—evocative of the layers of an onion—earning it the stonecutter’s nickname, cipollino. These green marbles are primarily made from calcite with minor amounts of chlorite that tint the white stone light green. Dark green stones that are called marble are more likely serpentine. Either way, the acid test should tell you the difference.

Soapstone

Green soapstone. Photo courtesy of MSI.

The world of natural stone could be divided into two categories: Those who cannot live without soapstone, and everyone else. Soapstone has a unique set of properties that set it apart from other stones and garner a devoted following. Acids, alkalines, heat, or cold don’t faze soapstone, as it shrugs off liquids, stains, and temperature extremes.

Alas, soapstone’s Achilles heel is that it’s relatively soft. Daily wear and tear on a kitchen countertop will take a visible toll on soapstone. That said, scratches can be sanded out or made less visible with a coating of oil. Another option is to simply use soapstone in easier-wearing situations, like a buffet, bar, or bathroom. Soapstone’s ability to absorb and re-radiate heat makes it an unrivaled material for wood stoves, fireplaces, or mantels.

Soapstone can be deep green, grey, or black. It’s usually dissected by white veins in easygoing patterns. Not only is the stone itself soft, the whole aesthetic is too, with subtle color variations and a muted luster. This stone is equally suited for a Vermont farmhouse or a contemporary loft, lending timeless appeal to any style.

Talc is the primary ingredient in soapstone, but it’s not the only ingredient, and that’s why the hardness of soapstone varies. Talc is the softest of all minerals. It’s a member of the mica family, and it’s made of small flakes that are weakly bonded together. Thus, the mineral feels soapy because the tiny flakes slip and slide against each other when rubbed.

The greater the talc content, the softer the stone. Talc makes up 80% of soapstones used for carving, but the soapstone that’s used for countertops, fireplaces, tiles, and sinks contains only 30 to 50% talc. Soapstone owes its green color to the mineral chlorite, a deep green member of the mica family. Magnesite, amphibole, and other minerals round out the ingredient list. The hardest soapstones top out around 3 – 4 on Mohs hardness scale, which is similar to the hardness of marble. If it’s harder than that, it’s likely serpentine.

There’s good reason serpentine and soapstone are sometimes confused with each other. Not only do they look alike, they are closely related. Like serpentine, soapstone starts out as iron-rich magma deep underneath the ocean crust. Chemical reactions with hot seawater turn the stone to serpentine. If the stone undergoes further reactions with CO₂-rich fluids, it changes to soapstone. These processes vary across small distances, and the chemistry behind it is a little crazy, so one can find a jumble of different rock types within a small area.

Green soapstones include Santa Rita and Majestic Green. Many distributors simply call it “green soapstone” rather than a specific name. Even if you don’t choose soapstone for your next project, be sure to stop and pet it next time you visit the slab yard. Its soft touch is irresistible!

Green Granite

If you pine for a green stone, but don’t want uncertainties in terms of hardness or durability, then green granite is your answer. While commercial granite is typically grey, ivory, brown, or black, it can sometimes be green too. There’s no single geologic explanation for green granites; they all have a different story behind their color.

Some green granites owe their coloration to less-common minerals, like Costa Esmeralda. Costa Esmeralda is a vibrant combination of apple-green epidote, along with the usual quartz and feldspar.

Vitoria Regia granite.

In other cases, green granite is caused by an uncommon color of a common mineral. Feldspars are the primary ingredients in granite and occasionally they can be green. For example, Peacock Green features a green feldspar called microcline, which is also known as the gemstone Amazonite.

Emerald Pearl (also called Labrador Emerald) is another granite that contains green feldspar. This stone is deep, dark green – almost black – with shimmering undertones that lend depth to a polished surface.

Labradorite is shiny, bright green thanks to an iridescent variation of feldspar called labradorite.

Verde Butterfly granite. Photo courtesy of MSI.

Vitoria Regia and Verde Tortuga are spectacular examples of ocean-floor lava flows. These stones are made of basalt, which turned slightly green through serpentinization (Heh, I got to sneak in that term, after all!). The hallmark of these stones is the circular or hexagonal pattern that takes shape as the lava cools.

Other green granites include Verde Butterfly, Ubatuba, Typhoon Green, Lapland Green, and Green Galaxy.

Is this still not enough green for you? You can also find green in quartzite (Sea Pearl), sandstone (Wild Sea), or slate (Unfading Green).

It might take a little extra sleuthing to find just the right green stone for your tastes, but the journey is worthwhile. If you’re keen for green, then no other color will do.

Read More Articles About Geology:

Soapstone. You can carve it using hand tools, and that is partly what drew me to it twelve years ago. Its beauty was another attraction: red, green, brown, grey, yellow, black, speckled patterns, and abstract veining, depending on what other minerals occur with it. It’s nice to work with, too: Soapstone is mostly composed of talc.

Choosing the Stone

These blocks of Brazilian and Canadian Soapstone show the difference between wet and dry color. Spraying water on the smooth surface helps you to see what the final colors will be, once the finish is applied.

Choosing the right stone is half the fun. I buy Brazilian soapstone at Stonebridge Imports, a stone distributor in Kitchener, Ontario. On a recent trip there I got to go out to choose stone from the big metal shipping container in their yard. Grey and brown blocks of soapstone were stacked on shelves along the container’s sides, and large soapstone boulders were piled in metal baskets across the floor. This time of year, the stone gets cold (and so do we!), so they bring it inside to special storage areas. What’s not to like about cavernous bays filled with shelves and bins of soapstone? The simplest way to see the colors is to spray the soapstone lightly with water (I call this “the beach pebble effect”). Brazilian soapstone comes in a wide range of color combinations—browns, greens, greys, yellows, black speckles. Each type of soapstone has specific qualities, and each individual piece of stone has its own character. It’s hard to decide what to choose, and it usually takes longer than I expect, but it’s always an afternoon well spent.  The large boulders are tempting, but I pass them by (with regret!) for smaller rough chunks and blocks, which are easier to transport and carve.

Searching for interesting Brazilian Soapstone at Stonebridge Imports in Kitchener, Ontario—a favorite road trip. Most importers or mines carry both blocks and rough chunks in various sizes.

I get Canadian Soapstone directly from Les Pierres Steatites, a soapstone mine south of Quebec City. Steatite is a traditional name for soapstone. The mine uses specialized tools for cutting blocks of soapstone directly from the rock face, so the quality of the blocks is high. Driving to the mine to buy the stone (20 hour round trip), would be hard to justify (although fun—maybe someday!), so I order online, and then it’s delivered to my door. There’s nothing like a stout box of soapstone to bewilder a delivery guy. Soapstone from this location is dense, and has subtle and elegant colors of medium to dark greens, sometimes dark grey. The new blocks are given a basic sanding, and then I run a damp cloth over the surface to get an idea of the colors and veining. This will help me decide what to carve, and how. The final carving will be enhanced by the beauty of the stone itself.

Carving the Stone

This is a typical setup for my workbench: sandbags, tools, dust mask. Unfinished carvings are nearby to switch to when I lose momentum with the current carving.

My home workshop in Port Rowan is dedicated to soapstone carving. Nature is my inspiration: turtles, ducks, owls, and other creatures at different stages of completion sit patiently on my workbench. Next to my sandbags and works-in-progress are hand tools with exotic names like half-round rasps, fishtail gouges, and rifflers. Along my workshop walls are blocks and pieces of raw soapstone on shelves and in milk crates, waiting to be transformed. Carving soapstone is very centering, and my mind calms and sorts itself while I quietly carve. A small carving gains warmth from your hands as you work with it, gradually developing its form: you could almost believe it has a life of its own.

After many hours of work and polishing, this Wood Duck, hand-carved from Canadian Soapstone, is ready to find a new home.

But a carving isn’t done until it’s sanded and polished, a process that can take hours of additional work, and days of drying. Sanding involves using several grades of sandpaper, then oiling the carving with many thin coats of oil. That first coat of oil is exciting—the true colors of the stone can be seen for the first time. Tung oil is my finish of choice: It is non-toxic, brings out the colors and veining, and gives the stone a lovely hand-rubbed patina.

Carving soapstone is a great way to spend the workday. Every day is inspiring, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with this beautiful natural stone, and to create lasting works of art with it.

TAGS:  soapstone art inspire carving cindy presant

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Soapstone is much softer than other popular countertop materials, including granite, marble, and engineered quartz.  Because of this, it has appeal for savvy DIY homeowners who have ambitions of fabricating their own kitchen surfaces.

Unlike most other natural stones, soapstone is nonporous and does not need to be sealed. Untreated, soapstone is a chalky grey with subtle undertones; some varieties have striking white veining while others are more solid. Many designers prefer to enhance the color and veining by applying mineral oil or wax. Others prefer to keep the natural look which will patina overtime and be more vibrant with age.

Like granite, soapstone is highly resistant to acids and bases so there is no need to worry about etching. Because it is soft, it is likely to get scratches and dings over the years. These can be buffed out easily or left to add personality to your space.  

TAGS:  countertop granite soapstone educate

Countertop Comparisons Series