I'm 71 and we used Alberene Soapstone for our counter-tops and hearth five-years ago when we built our new home. We chose it because it is a local natural material and so tough you can have a campfire on it if you wanted. The quarry from where it came is probably 20-miles from our house. We have a huge island with no sink or stove top that we use for crafts, puzzles, etc. We like the way the soapstone looks without any treatment as we were going for that lived-in farmhouse look anyway. But for sharp stuff we use cutting boards. Any scratches in the soapstone can be sanded out but most mistakes or damage fits right in with the quartz veins in the black stone.
