I found a link that may help you

Here is a link that might be useful: soap stone info

I don't know where Black Venata falls on the hardness scale, but I think I'd freak if, after only three weeks of use, my soapstone was as dinged or scratched up as you state. I have had my Julia soapstone for a year and a half. It is one of the harder varieties, and I have two small dings (one at the sink) and a small scratch. I don't "baby" it, but I do insist that all cutting is done on large cutting boards, that bottles of wine are not ground into the countertop when opening, etc. Can you assess just how the dings/scratches are being made and try to get family members to change their habits?

I'm so sorry about your counters. In general, Black Venata is a very soft stone. Having said that, we have it and haven't had any real problems with dings or scratches. Ours has been in for about a year. In that time the counters have taken one ding that needed a sharpie treatment(hit with a titanium lacrosse stick) and several scratches that have oiled out easily.

We do not baby our counters at all. Even if I were to make rules about the counters, forgetful DH and stick wielding ADHD DS1 wouldn't be able to follow them. However, we don't have soapstone at the sink. I could see how the soapstone could get banged up around the sink. Even my parents' very hard black granite chipped at the sink.

Do you have photos that you could share? I am planning to get Black Venata from M Teix. I knew it was a soft stone and my 4x4" sample has held up okay (definitely can be scratched with a fingernail), but this sounds alarming. I'd love to see photos of what you're describing before I take the plunge.

Yeah, not so good. We aren't too fussy about this, but just around the lip of the sink alone there are 13 dings. I know they say you can just sand them out, but if we have to sand this much after 3 weeks, I wonder what it will be like in 2 years....

in our old house we had cobra countertops installed by m. texeira. they are *the* reputable stonestone importer in the country. a lot of the pa and vt places get their stone from them.

i wanted to get the venata because it looks beautiful but before i did i smashed pots on a bunch of samples and it was a wreck. cobra was the only one that didn't crumble (i think the malibu was very hard as well).

i know how much soapstone costs so i totally feel your pain. we are getting marble in the new kitchen and i am worried about how it will hold up.

sounds like your problem is the lip of the sink. we had this too with our cobra. i whacked pots against it and it wore a little. maybe you could do something to guard that spot, like epoxy a stainless steel strip to the front. i know, not the look you are going for...but sounds like it is going to take a beating.

how bad are the dings?

I also have Black Venata and, although I have never been able to scratch it with a fingernail, it does have many dings and scratches. Most are tiny and not at all noticeable, though, and they pretty much disappear when I oil the counters. I value the "worn" look these marks provide in my old house.

The rim around your sink may need to be worked on to get more of an eased edge. My sink edge is dinged a lot, too, but it's barely noticeable because the edge is rounded enough that the dings are, therefore, pretty tiny. After two years, there are so many dings that they no longer stand out at all.

I have Black Venata (also known as Minas) and was having problems just like you are with chipping and scratching until Florida Joshua refinished my soapstone. Since then, my soapstone looks and acts like the soapstone I read about online. It has minor scratches and a couple of minor chips but nothing noticeable. I would check into how your soapstone was finished because it makes a big difference.

Seriously!!!! Argh. This is such a bummer. Pluckmama - really it doesn't scratch any more!?! Next to the sink, for example, there are probably about 10 scratches in a single square foot. I am also getting water rings like crazy and they don't just wipe off. I thought that was maybe just the oil? I don't expect it to be perfect - we picked soapstone for a reason, but this does seem excessive.

Hi Artmoderne... I am a few weeks away from ordering Black Venata countertops and sink, and you now have me re-thinking my decision... Do you think you could post pictures? My husband will not be happy if I end up hating these *expensive* tops that I convinced him we had to have!!

I have heard people on here say that many people panic when they first get the soapstone, but then they begin to love it. Does anyone with Black Venata have any input?

Pluckymama: Was there truly that big a difference after FloridaJoshua finished them? (He is the one that would be doing mine)

I have had Minas counters for 8-9 months and this has not been my experience. One very tiny chip.

It is true that you can leave a white mark with a fingernail that oils out, but not a deep trench.

lmcal, I think it depends on personal style. If you love antique furniture that has been lived in, if you like older homes for their character and history, if you prefer comfortable and cozy, you will love Black Venata soapstone. If you like everything to be pristine, if you prefer new construction, if you like everything to look shiny and new, you probably wouldn't like soapstone at all.

The finish does make a big difference. FloridaJoshua installed my soapstone two years ago, and I have never had one of those dreaded water rings I hear about here. I do have areas of the counter that have a higher talc content than others. One of those areas happens to be in a very high-use part of the counter, so that's where the vast majority of my scratches are. Other high-use areas are virtually scratch-free. So, you may want to consider the variation in Black Venata across the same slab when you are templating.

The scratches don't bother me a bit--in fact, I kind of like the scratchier area. Pretty much everyone who has seen it says they didn't notice the scratches until I pointed them out, so they truly don't stand out at all. When I want to fuss it up a bit, I oil it.

Thanks, Holligator... I do prefer a cozier feel to my home, and I love older homes. My husband, however is the opposite and really prefers things to be new and pristine. (Surprisingly there have been few disagreements on this remodel!! :))

I know I won't mind the scratches, but if it gets chipped all around the sink edges and drain area like the OP stated, I won't like that... I guess it's all perception though. Maybe what one person thinks is terrible another is fine with. I hope Artmoderne can post pics so I can see if it is something I can live with.

Btw... is that the Florida Gators you are referring to??? Have a great day!

As for the chips around the sink, I have many, but you would never know it. My husband does most of the handwashing at our house (mostly pots and pans), and he's not particularly careful as he does it. If you run your finger around the edge of the counter surrounding the undermount sink, you can feel the many chips and nicks, but you can only see them if you are really searching for them. Even when you do see them, they don't look bad. It's almost as though the rougher edge were intentional. The granite surrounding my SIL's got a huge and very noticeable chip within the first few months. In comparison to that chip, I'll take my little nicks any day.

For my husband, the many benefits of soapstone (no staining or etching, no worries about thermal shock, the awesome feel, the matte finish, etc.) outweighed any concerns about small scratches and nicks and made it win out easily over granite. If you're concerned about these things, get a sample piece and abuse it. You'll see what it can and can't take. You can also decide which issues you can and can't take

And, yes, I'm a big fan of the Florida Gators! :)

artmoderne,
I have a few small scratches around the sink and a couple of very minor chips. The finish has made an incredible difference. I was ready to tear my soapstone out and replace it with granite. Now I am loving my soapstone. It looks and feels totally different than before. I had such a problem with water rings and now I don't. I still get some spots behind the faucet where the soap removes the oil and can look blotchy, but that is the only place. Before Joshua refinished them, my soapstone looked ugly, now it is beautiful and it has been 3 mos now. So I can confidently say the finish makes a difference.