The same De Lank granite can be flamed, honed, polished, sawn, hand punched or dolly pointed (brush hammered). Each finish changes everything about how it reads.
Granite is not one material. It is many, depending on how you finish the surface.
De Lank produces the same stone in six different finishes, and the differences between them are profound — in texture, colour, light response and appropriate use.
Flamed is the most widely specified finish for external paving and cladding. A high-temperature flame is passed across the surface, causing the quartz crystals to expand and fracture. The result is a non-slip, slightly roughened texture with a pale, clean appearance. The flame process also removes the looser surface material, leaving a surface that weathers predictably.
Honed is the opposite of flamed in character — smooth to the touch, with a matte finish that brings out the full tonal depth of the stone. Where flamed reads pale and mineral, honed reads darker and richer. It is the choice where a more interior quality is wanted outdoors, or for internal architectural work.
Polished takes honed further, introducing a reflective sheen. The stone becomes a mirror for its environment. Used sparingly, polished granite has a formal authority that no other surface material matches. Used extensively, it can overwhelm. De Lank polished is available on bespoke commissions.
Sawn is the base state — the finish left by the diamond blade. Flat, smooth but not refined. It is the workhorse finish, used where precision matters but surface quality does not. The underside and backs of most De Lank products are sawn.
Hand punched is a craft finish. A mason works the surface with a punch, creating a uniform but human-made texture of small regular indentations. It has a warmth that mechanical finishes do not.
Dolly pointed — also known as brush hammered — uses a fine-tipped tool to produce a closely worked texture. The most slip-resistant finish and the most visually alive. Light plays differently across each individual mark, and no two slabs are exactly the same.
The choice of finish is one of the most consequential design decisions when specifying granite. We are always happy to send samples of each for comparison before a decision is made.
