This picture of other side of sink got left out if post.

I think soapstone will gradually pick up enough wear, marks, and patina that I wouldn’t worry about little imperfections like the sink edges.

As for the orientation of the pieces, well, it is what it is. You had the opportunity to be particular about that, which you didn’t take. I guess you can pay to have it redone, but I don’t think it needs to be. In fact I like the way they lined up the white marks.

Thank you for the feedback. I didnt know to ask, lesson learned for sure.

Are you positive that the stone is actually soapstone? It looks more like Marine Black or Noire which is a phyllite.

The installation, no matter the stone, looks pretty terrible. I have a feeling that the sink edges will continue to get worse as they are inevitably hit with dishes/pots. It almost looks like the fabricator used the wrong approach to cut or sand the edge and gnarled it, possibly weakening the edge.

SM, thank you so much for the feedback. it was certainly sold to us as soapstone. We were wondering the same thing a out the sink.

According to M Teixeira's site, some places do mislabel stones that are not actually soapstone as such.

Here is a link that may be helpful: Marine Black Noire Phyllite

Thank you, im going ti followup with the stoneyard.

For sure, this soapstone was not purchased from a soapstone specialist, like M. Teixeira. Terrible installation. And, the counters should not have any scratches or chips at installation! For John Liu to state that the counters will develop dings and patina as they’re used, is irrelevant. The installer should’ve installed the counters in pristine condition.

Also, a soapstone specialist would’ve asked how you wanted the slab templeted. That is, what parts of the slab you want to go where. See the pic here, where I selected the sections of the slab I wanted used, and where the sections should go.

This slab was installed by M. Teixeira, in my now 9 yo kitchen.

To be frank, you’d probably not be in this position, had you come here before making your purchase, not after installation. There are tons of threads on this site, about purchasing soapstone, and the mistakes many folks have suffered with. You’d have known to get samples of any slab you were interested in, and test the samples to make sure what you were getting was actually soapstone, and where on the scale of hardness that slab stood.

I have one seam in the soapstone…down the middle of the main sink, which is the usual place a qualified installer places seams. The seam in completely inconspicuous. Cannot be seen.

For the record, not all soapstone is soft, and chips or scratches easily. There are several very hard varieties. My counters are Belvedere, one of the very hardest varieties. After 9 years, the only small chips are at the sink edge, where cast iron pans have hit the edge, during cleaning. Those small chips were easily covered with a black Sharpie marker.

Darbuka, thanks for your insight! I did a lot of research on soapstone but unfortunately didnt come across the predicament I’m now in, or I certainly would have asked more/different questions. I appreciate people taking their time to help me!

do yall think this looks like a real soapstone?

do yall think this looks like a real soapstone?

I think the edges around he sink would trouble me more than the corner issue (most likely you will have something on the counter there so your eye will forgive the patterning changes). The photos look like soapstone but when I zoom in on the tag it just says ‘soapstone’ - no origin information was given?

It is from brazil, but thats all they can tell me.

The slab looks really similar to the Brazilian "Santa Rita" that I have. It's just that it appears as super dark black in your first photos.

No explanation for the edge chips, though, that's not acceptable.

Is the slab what is installed in your kitchen? They do not look the same, the veining appears much different. But it is hard to tell for sure with photos, soapstone can be tricky to photograph.

Sorry for the confusion! We have confirmed phyllite was installed. The photo is a slab we are considering replacing it with!

It is hard to tell by pictures alone, the veining looks like soapstone. The stone does appear sort of shiny but that may just be the bright lighting. Even if it is shiny that does not mean that it is not soapstone but could mean that it was finished with a higher grit.

This info from M Teixeira notes some ways to identify soapstone. The ability to scratch the surface with a fingernail is not accurate for all soapstone, some is quite hard.

Identifying soapstone link

“The ability to scratch the surface with a fingernail is not accurate for all soapstone, some is quite hard.”

This is correct. Belvedere, the variety we have, is quite hard. About the only thing that scratches our counters, is the dragging of a cast iron pan. That happened once, and was easily buffed out. After applying a bit of mineral oil, by the next day the scratches couldn’t be seen.