Always buy stone that comes polished, leathered or honed directly from the quarry. Quarries have the equipment to finish large slabs correctly ... not all fabricators will have that capability.

I have seen leathered counters similar to your images that have texture. Maybe not as deep or ridges high but there is a texture to the counter. I think you have a valid concern. I would find cleaning peanut butter off this counter to be challenging. Hoping some of the stone gurus can chime in.

Can the counter installer fabricator sand or change this so you have less texture?

Following this thread to see what happens. Oh I forgot to say I like the pattern. Very pretty.

This is also frustrating because I changed my plans based on these slabs. I was going to get soapstone but then DH really liked this quartzite. (I liked it too, but it wasn't what I originally had in mind.)

I've seen quartzite with occasional grooves that follow the veining--these don't. They look like an error to me. My builder and my KD have separately worked with this stone place for years without problems, and the place always sends out the stone to get finished without problems. Neither of them suggested we should be concerned about it, but of course it seems better, now, to not have to change the finish. The other slabs we ordered--granite and another quartzite--came out fine. (Both were leathered.) If the only option had been polished stone, I wouldn't have gone with these slabs.

A family member who has been a stone expert for decades suggested they epoxy the deeper grooves and then brush the slab again to blend it. I think either that or honing will have to be done. I've asked the stone place to show me a sample of both. If it doesn't look good, I guess it's back to choosing different slabs, which I'm not looking forward to.

Time to decide on this is when the slab is viewed at the showroom.

Would leave as is.

@dan1888, This is absolutely true--had any of the leathered slabs they showed me looked like this, I would not have bought them. It's unacceptable. I wasn't led to expect anything different with these slabs than what I saw on the other slabs they had that I bought.

If you wouldn’t have chosen that slab as it is now, that should be your answer. I don’t think you would ever un-see the grooves, and will not be happy going forward.

I have a leathered Titanium granite and all the grooves follow the veins and different colored sections of stones. As you pointed out, different elements of the stone react to the leathering process in different ways. Mine looks natural. I hate to say it, but yours does not.

This would be a big no for me!!!

My DH wanted to try the leathered look when we were looking for Fantasy Brown slabs for our kitchen. I declined. In the new house, I wanted a nice shiny surface so I knew the counter tops were clean. In a previous home, our granite was builder grade (New Venetian Gold) and had a slightly rough surface. I never liked it.

DH and I compromised. Instead of carrying the Fantasy Brown into the bar area, I let him pick out a coordinating surface that could be leathered. We 😁chose Negresco. Looks great. There are no deep veins in the surface, thank goodness.

We decided to choose new slabs, and this time we went with a quartzite that was honed at the quarry, so nothing more needs to be done to it. I'm very relieved!

Congratulations.

Wow, so glad that this worked out for you. Those slabs were totally ruined by whoever did that.

If you own the slabs , I hate to mention this, be very hands on in determining the layout. And use your phone to record your agreement. Also stipulate you'll OK the cut pieces before they leave the shop. Don't wait until they have them in your kitchen. This can be important for seams. You may want to think about using the material for a backsplash, since you're buying full slabs. That requirement is standard when you're asking the fabricator to use material he has to get from another supplier.

@dan1888, thank you for the cautions. We did work out the pricing problem, fortunately, so we're back on with these slabs. (I deleted my comment because that problem was resolved.) I think it might be a little too much, visually, for a backsplash, which needs to be on the quiet side. I'm also not sure we have enough of it for that, but that's an interesting idea, especially since this stone is supposed to be pretty bulletproof. (I was reluctant to have a light colored tile above the stove because it can be a pain to keep clean.)

Regarding the templating, they'll send me images of how/where the stone will be cut, so if I want to change something, I can show it on the image. When I was there in person I changed the template on a bathroom countertop, and they sent me the image to confirm. Unlike the previous slabs which had a major vein running across that I wanted to be in a certain position, this stone doesn't have that, so the main thing will be to make sure they use the correct slab for the island and cut the sink on the correct side.

This is one of the slabs:

That's a beautiful stone.

Another consideration is a clean sharp edge for cuts used to seam two pieces. Quartzite is very hard. It uses diamond cutting tools more quickly than granite and other stones. A warn tool can create chipping along the edge of a cut. This is one of the reasons to inspect before the stone leaves the shop. The material for a slab backsplash can be more. The labor to install it is way less if the backsplash goes up before the upper cabinets. I consider a slab splash an upgrade over tile, in most cases.

I agree a slab backsplash would look great in a lot of rooms, but in this one, I think it might compete and create more glare in a room that has huge windows and tons of natural light. The slabs are honed, but they still have some shine, and I think the wall needs to be simpler, with a matte finish.