What damages soapstone?

Soapstone’s biggest enemy is scratching, not staining. The stone is non-porous and chemically resistant, so most spills and household cleaners don’t damage it. The vulnerability is its softness — Mohs 2 to 4 versus 6 to 7 for granite — which means dragging a metal pot across the surface, or scrubbing with steel wool, will leave marks. Heat is rarely an issue with soapstone, since it actually originated as a material for fireplaces and wood stoves. The other failure mode is impact damage. Drop something heavy on a corner and you can chip an edge. For day-to-day cooking, knives and pots are the real risk. Use cutting boards and trivets, and you’ll keep soapstone looking right for decades.