It would hold the enhancer better, but you wouldn't see quite as much detail of the lightning like veining so prominent from serpentine stone.

Just one other thing I forgot to mention. WHen you hone the stone, it'sll actually appear to lighten it up, and all the enhancer will pretty much do is bring it back to the color it is when polished.

Pamela

Serpentine is a softer stone than most, and will
show wear in a residential kitchen application.

It will chip and scratch if you work on it, and will
show the wear faster than many Granites, but if you
are dead set in using it because of the coloration
that makes it so unique - go with your heart - just
do your research and due diligence, so you don't
get your heart broken...

IF you have a sample, try cutting on it and scatching
it to see how easy it will show the wear I'm talking
about.. THEN make your final decision.....

I have done Serpentine for bath lavs and in other low traffic
applications, but not in a kitchen... that's not saying
it won't work, but after doing this for almost 26 years,
I'd have my doubts, but then heck... there'll prolly be
lots of people that will chime in and say I'm all wet,
and that they've had it (Serpentine) in THEIR kitchens
for ump-teen million years (OK.. I'm embellinshing on the
time frame a bit.... HA!) but seriously,
I'm sure it's been done, and it looks way cool...

Just... be advised.. it's a much softer stone than Granite

hope that helps ya

kevin

Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA
Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry
www.azschoolofrock.com

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ School of Rock

Bill and Kevin,
Thanks. That helps a lot and is exactly the info I had hoped for. You both should send me a bill!! :^)

Here's a question. I was hoping the serpentine would be more durable than the soapstone I had in the last kitchen (I didn't turn out to be as much of a "patina" person as I had hoped!), but when I scratch the serpentine (and you're right, Kevin, it does scratch), I don't think I will be able to mask the scratches the way I can with oil on soapstone.) Your opinions on this?
P.

You're right about scratches. ANY polished stone will show scratches bigtime, and although serpentine marble is a harder stone than most marble, it is, as Kevin pointed out, still a soft stone, and if something like that's going to get to you, maybe you might think about either going with the honed stone, or going with a different surface.

As for the bill, I'll put it on your tab. :-)

I've had my polished empress green marble(serpentine) counters for two years now and have to say I'm totally pleased with them.(As in, I will never ever have anything but empress green marble counters in any future kitchen ever again. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this stuff)I love to cook...I'm a messy, exuberant experimenter who doesn't often(err, NEVER) cleans up immediately. I cut gnocchi, cookies and what not directly on the stone and my fully clawed cats have gladiator wars every chance they can on the counters. And it's still as pretty as the day it was installed.

Does it scratch? Never with anything I've ever done(or the kitties), but the installers did scratch it a bit....they showed hubby how to polish it out easily. They then read us the spiel about how marble was a bad, bad choice. They refused to admit that sepertine was a different stone. My DH was patted on the back with sympathy for having such a difficult wife.

I spent a year waiting for something bad to happen to my stone....then spent another year simply not caring. The counter is miles above and beyond my old corian as far as upkeep and care....and I happened to love my corian. Scratches? Piffle. Empress green and Vermont verde are tough. The Vermont Verde is considered tougher than granite. Knowing my Empress green, I believe it.

I'm glad Ramses_2 spoke up about Empress Green. I feel the same way about mine. It has been installed about 2 1/2 years. At first I was very careful, but after a few months, I just didn't think about protecting it anymore. I do use use cutting boards. There are no chips (I have a small one on the Bianco Romano granite.) There is a small network of light scratches in high use areas, but I don't see them unless I lean down at an angle. My stone is polished, not honed.

If you want a darker, richer color, perhaps you should look for another serpentine. They range in color from a soft, pale, grey green to a stunning, almost-black stone with white veins.

Again, thanks. The stone I found has a honed finish, while the veins have more of a sheen, and it one of the more subtle serpentines (if you can call any of them subtle!).

I am in such a quandary--I know exactly how soapstone will look on my island after a couple of years (chipped and worn) but I'm not sure how this will look after the same time period. Your real-life experiences, ramses 2 and adoptedbygreyhounds, really help.
P.