Oct 7, 04: The feel of Soapstone

The feel of Soapstone

Posted by soconfused (My Page) on Thu, Oct 7, 04 at 12:26

Hi all, I have started my soapstone counter quest. I have received samples from two places, Vermont Soapstone and Alberene Soapstone from Virginia. So far, the most interesting difference is the feel of the stone. The Alberene has a more "silky" feel. It also seems to be a little bit thicker. So do different kinds of soapstones have different feels? Or is their just something unusual about the way my samples werecut? Where else should I get samples from? These two were easy since they were free :-) Most of the others seem to charge. I have heard people talk about Bucks County Soapstone and M. Teixeira. Any othersuggestions?

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RE: The feel of Soapstone

• Posted by: Momto4Kids (My Page) on Thu, Oct 7, 04 at 12:41

I think you'll find that the "higher" the polish, the smoother the feel. I had a lot of soapstone samples that were polished at different grit--80, 200, 400, and 1800. The 80 was rough to the touch. The 200 was softer, nicer feeling. The 400 was unbelievable. It felt so luxurious. The 1800 grit feels like the most amazing silk you've ever held. Hard to explain. It doesn't have that "glass" feel like polished granite does. You know, when your fingers no longer glide over the surface, but rather "catch" or stick. I think someone here recently commented on the roughness of their soapstone and that the paper towels would leave lint. It was probably less than 200-grit. Most of the companies I spoke with used either 200- or 400-grit. Good luck!!

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RE: The feel of Soapstone

• Posted by: idesigngr (idesign@ec.rr.com) on Thu, Oct 7, 04 at 21:09

Soapstone DOES have an incredible feel, perhaps where the name came from. For another source try Green Mountain Soapstone in Castleton, Vt. http://www.greenmountainsoapstone.com/index.html

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