Musamsam, mufajjar and tubzeh: the hand finishes of Levantine stone and their international names

Stone leaves the saw with a flat face. Everything after that is a finish: either a machine passing over the face or a skilled mason with a chisel. The three best-known hand finishes in our region are musamsam, mufajjar and tubzeh, and quotes often confuse them. Here is what sets each apart.

Musamsam (fine-chiselled)

Short, fine, parallel strokes with a toothed chisel cover the whole face with a delicate pattern like sesame seeds, which is where the name comes from. The surface stays almost flat and catches side light gently, so the facade looks alive without being rough.

• Character: classic; the facade finish of Amman and Jerusalem.
• Relief: light.
• Premium: about 3 JOD per m² over sawn.
• Abroad: fine-chiselled or tooled.

Mufajjar, also called mlattash (hand-chipped)

Pecking with a point chisel leaves coarser, less regular pits than musamsam. The face still has no real projection, but the texture is more rustic.

• Character: moderately rustic.
• Relief: light to medium.
• Premium: about 2.5 JOD.
• Abroad: hand-chipped or tooled.

Tubzeh (rock-face)

The edges of the face are broken back with a hammer and pitching tool so the center stands proud. It needs thicker stone (7 cm and up) and gives deep shadows that change through the day.

• Character: strongly rustic, for plinths, boundary walls and the lower facade.
• Relief: projecting.
• Premium: about 4 JOD, because of the thickness and the time.
• Abroad: rock-face or pitched-face.

And bush-hammered?

Mattabeh (bush-hammered) is a machine finish made with a toothed hammer that leaves a fine, even speckle. From a distance it resembles musamsam, but it is more regular and cheaper (about 1 JOD). A good choice when you want texture without the cost of hand work.

How to choose

• Hard, low-porosity stone (first-grade Ma’an, Jamma’ini, Hebron) takes musamsam and tubzeh and keeps its edges.
• Softer stone suits mufajjar and bush-hammering.
• Mix two finishes on one facade: tubzeh for the plinth, musamsam for the walls, sawn for the surrounds. All from the same batch, so the color stays one.

See every finish on different stones in the finish guide, or try it directly in the interactive catalog.