Is Granite The Hardest Stone

For reference your fingernail is a 3 and a steel knife is a 7 on the hardness scale.

Is granite the hardest stone.

That is an old classification and i am not sure the classification still exists. Granite is one of the most beautiful types of natural stone you can find. When properly sealed it will last for decades. It is a very hard igneous rock containing quartz mica and feldspar as its main mineral makeup.

Granite is highly resistant to chips and scratches it is the hardest stone next to the diamond. Granite brings a striking beauty that cannot be replicated by marble or quartz. These two stones have a mohs hardness rating of 6 or 7. Where do stone countertop materials rank on the mohs scale.

Being one of the hardest of the dimension stone types granite was historically avoided by the smaller local stone fabricating shops who favored marbles and limestones due to their easier working properties. Granite is a hard stone and requires skill to carve by hand. Until the early 18th century in the western world granite could be carved only by hand tools with generally poor results. In the northern climates where snow melting chemicals are used heavily granite has resisted the attack of these caustic agents.

Ask us about our 25 year sealer protection. Granite is a natural stone. Provided to youtube by cdbaby granite is the hardest stone dalla k5 2013 dalla released on. Marble is a degree or two less and though it is still a very hard stone it s rating on the mohs scale is about a 5.

So we strive for the hardest most attainable and attractive option in stones which happens to be granite and quartz. According to moh s scale of mineral hardness granite is typically a 6 8 on the scale 1 is the softest and 10 is the hardest. Different stones are made up of different minerals which impacts their overall hardness. The granite hardness helps buyers make a balanced decision.

A key breakthrough was the invention of steam powered cutting and dressing tools by alexander macdonald of aberdeen inspired by seeing ancient egyptian granite. But beyond beauty granite is also a very tough and durable material which is why it is so commonly found in countertops. 2013 05 10 auto generated by youtube. Among the harder natural stone countertop materials on the mohs scale are granite and gemstone which each rank at an 8 on the scale.

Among various natural stone products granite enjoys a better hardness over other materials. When it comes to classifying a natural stone granite before making a purchase stone buyers like to focus on the relative granite hardness to know how hard a stone is in comparison with.