Mug or bowl or scuttle?

[jeff_C]

The expensive scuttles look great, but I don't think they're necessary to make good lather. l.

Im no scuttle expert, but i dont think the main reason for having a scuttle is the quality of lather... I think a scuttle is prefered by folks who wish to keep their lather warmer... longer. the lathering area of most scuttles is no different than most mugs... the diference is the "bottom bowl" and the hot water it holds to keep the lather warm..

I could be wrong though!

 

[Mick]

Are scuttles usually that expensive?

Here is my list of scuttle manufacturers so that you can see the prices:

Mud Place: http://www.themudplace.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11&zenid=b4e0b7a60118bd5b546501b0b1783086
Georgetown Pottery: http://www.georgetownpottery.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GTP&Category_Code=Shaving
Dirty Bird Pottery: http://www.dirtybirdpottery.com/shavinggear.html
Robert Becker Pottery: http://robertsfeatsofclay.com/cscuttles.html
Sara Bonnyman Potterey: http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss_scuttle.htm

There may be others but these are the ones I know

And for all you bowl latherers out there that don't use scuttles, what exactly do you use?

I use a scuttle in winter but in summer I use two old stainless steel Danish gravy servers that came out of the back of my kitchen cabinet to make lather in. After trying lots of other bowls/mugs these seem to be the best that I have found. They are both marked Leonard Denmark 18/8 (stainless)

The large one is 5 3/4" across by 2 3/4" deep and perfect for my larger brushes like the Polo 12 and Rooney 3xl

The smaller one is 5 1/4" across by 2 1/2" deep and perfect for my smaller brushes like the Kent BK8

I've had these two bowls for 20 years or so. Never realized how useful they were until I joined B&B and started looking for more things to make lather in Before joining B&B I had always face lathered (always as in for the past 45 years)

If these look interesting you can go to the gravy boat section of eBay and type in either Denmark or Danish (or stainless if you want to wade through a whole pile of them) you will come up with a lot of them. The rim on the bottom makes it easy to hold and it catches any lather that over flows the bowl which helps keep things a little less messy in the shave den.

 

[brucered]

what you want is a DirtyBird 1.5 with webbed ridges. look no more.

thank me later

here it is in action, so you can see size. for video purposes, i did NOT fill the outter bowl when making the lather, but normally i do.

 

[TML4EVR]

I love my Classic Edge scuttle, nice warm lather for all three passes, and an opening to soak my brush while I'm in the shower.

Classicedge.ca

 

[k4dm0nky]

If you want a scuttle on a cheap, I highly recommend this: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/warming-pitcher.do

I personally love mine!

 

[Mick]

If you want a scuttle on a cheap, I highly recommend this: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/warming-pitcher.do

I personally love mine!

Pretty hard to whip a lather up in that one

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ould-be-a-brush-scuttle?p=3697449#post3697449

It's a great brush scuttle though

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ould-be-a-brush-scuttle?p=3698726#post3698726

 

[john shea]

For scuttles, the water capacity of the bottom chamber is important. The larger its capacity of hot water, the longer the lather stays warm. The water used should be the temperature of the hot water tap, not boiling water. Water that is too hot presents a burn hazard and will quickly dry out the lather. Only you can determine how much time you need for your shave and how long the lather must stay warm. Large water capacity scuttles are large and heavy by necessity. A bowl is cheaper and more convienient, if warming lather is not needed.

It is easy for a member with a scuttle to determine its practical hot water capacity. Weigh the scuttle empty and with water then subtract. The weight difference in grams is the same as the capacity of water in milliliters. A fluid ounce = 29.57 milliliters.

Another important consideration is the width and shape of the lather making area. Some brushes may slide down into the bowl when left in the lather leaning against the side of the bowl. It all depends on how well the lather chamber matches the handle shape of the brush being used. This aspect also applies to bowls.

Generally, I prefer lathering bowls, mugs, and scuttles where I can mix lather without hitting my brush handle and fingers on the sides and the lather does not overflow and make a mess. It is hard to beat the internal diameter and height of the vintage Old Spice mugs, but scuttles are usually wide, often 5 to 6 inches across.

 

[lurker4life]

Thank you very much Turtle. As always, another perfect post. I was looking for exactly that. I made a few contacts based on your list. Robert seems to have some interesting pieces at really good prices.

 

[Sir Lurkalot]

I face lather but use vintage mugs to hold the soap.

 

[sgtd]

I use a salsa bowl I picked up at Wal mart for about a buck. It works great.

 

[Zoro]

None- I face lather.

+1

 

[Lion and the Fox]

I used to use a bowl, but I now use a Dirty Bird 1.5 scuttle. I absolutely love it. I purchased the spider web lining. My lather stays nice and warm.

 

[oc_in_fw]

For those who say you need a bowl to uberlather, I say a product that cannot stand on its own does not deserve a place in my cabinet.

 

[brucered]

For those who say you need a bowl to uberlather, I say a product that cannot stand on its own does not deserve a place in my cabinet.

I also never understood "uberlathering". if it doesn't work on it's own, i get rid of it.

as for bowls/scuttles. they are little pleasures that some find usefully, some find useless, but you won't knot until you try.

I for one love them. whether it's my bowl scuttle or my brush scuttle, i use them almost daily. sometimes i don't fill the outter bowls and just them as lather bowls or brush holders, but I find them much more enjoyable to use then a soup bowl.

 

[Nagash]

I've only been wetshaving a couple weeks but I have about 5 shaving mugs/bowls. I pass 2 Goodwills on my way home from work and they both have about 3-4 isles of nothing but glass/wood/metal mugs, bowls, dishes etc. For $0.99 a piece you can't go wrong and I've been having fun looking for the next bowl lol

 

[oc_in_fw]

I also never understood "uberlathering". if it doesn't work on it's own, i get rid of it.

as for bowls/scuttles. they are little pleasures that some find usefully, some find useless, but you won't knot until you try.

I for one love them. whether it's my bowl scuttle or my brush scuttle, i use them almost daily. sometimes i don't fill the outter bowls and just them as lather bowls or brush holders, but I find them much more enjoyable to use then a soup bowl.

I may one day get a scuttle, but I think I will only use it sparingly- when I want the luxury of hot lather. I enjoy face lathering too much, and it is so easy for me to get the lather right.

 

[Mick]

I may one day get a scuttle, but I think I will only use it sparingly- when I want the luxury of hot lather. I enjoy face lathering too much, and it is so easy for me to get the lather right.

Gt a brush scuttle to park your brush in between passes. Makes face lathering in winter very enjoyable to have warm lather on each pass

 

[Justin121081]

I just picked up the same salsa bowl at walmart and see a big difference in my lather from the coffee mug I was using. Can't beat it for the price.

 

[BigWill]

If you want a scuttle on a cheap, I highly recommend this: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/warming-pitcher.do

I personally love mine!

+1 - A super cheap way to decide if you like using a scuttle. Ummm...warm lather.

 

[BarbaGnosa]

ALTERNATIVE LATHERING VESSELS?

This is what I use now: a 4" diameter x 1.75" tall (tempered?) glass cooking prep dish from Bed Bath & Beyond.

http://i50.tinypic.com/35845jo.jpg

I like the size and that it fits nicely in my hand. I wish it had a small handle or stand to grab. I also wish it had more texture or grooves on the interior to create more agitation for quicker, thicker lather. And finally, 1/8" thick glass (or about) doesn't absorb, retain, or radiate enough heat to keep my lather warm for more than a minute. I typically fill my sink with very hot water and submerse my bowl, razor, and boar brush to hydrate and heat while I shower.

I haven't really explored scuttles yet. I'm only three months into DE shaving, and one of my big originaly driving motivations was cost control. So, I keep my eyes out for cheap and PIF scuttles, as well as scuttle alternatives. I really like the ideas I've seen on this and another thread of simply using two bowl, the bottom filled with hot water the top is the lathering bowl. Dohh! Something tells me that's my next experiment.

I also spent a couple hours brainstorming on the idea of bowls which can retain and radiate their own heat: thick metal or stone would absorb much more heat for the 10 minutes they soak in hot water while I shower and then radiate that heat for longer while I generate my lather and shave. The most common bowls I can find with thick metal or stone are mortars (& pestle). So, here is my current list of stone and metal mortars and pestles which seem worth exploring as shaving bowls. My favorites, just based on the info below, are:

1. The molcajete looks coolest, kind of prehistoric. Plus the rough volcanic stone finish suggests the most agitation, therefore quick, rich lathers (not to mention killer guacamoles). I noticed someone else using a small plastic molcajete which looks cool, although I imagine lacks the heat radiance and rough interior (although it does have a kind of Flintstones appeal).
2. The Indian (second from right on top, dark blue background) which is described by some reviews on Amazon as having a rough interior. I like the rustic look.
3. The pedestal brown soapstone (second from right on the bottom) seems tall enough that I could leave it standing in the sink, bathed in hot water, which would keep it hot as I generate my lather, and leave it there as I shave, while still having access to the water around it (theoretically). Kind of turns your whole sink into a big open scuttle. Then again, if you've got a solid pedestal you might as well put a thin heat-conveying bowl on that which simply sits in the hot water, like a metal or earthenware shaving cup with just enough weight to sit securely in water without floating or tipping. Hmmmmm, a whole other line of investigation and experimentation.
4. Stainless steel (lower left), ditto reasons directly above. (a nice tall, heavy foot to weight it down, but the walls of the bowl to be thin, to easily convey the water's heat. Hmmm, haven't found that yet.)
5. The granite mortar, top left, is in a way the least practical of all at 7lbs. But, with such heft, it's very substantial, and like an altar to lather, almost cave-man, the beard sacrifice stone. Could be kind of cool.

http://i46.tinypic.com/6sx3ll.jpg

See the original, with links and more detail here: http://pinterest.com/adamhadem/shavi...-alternatives/

If anyone uses a thick metal or stone bowl for any of these reasons, AND/OR has a system for keeping their cup/bowl in the hot water of the sink while they lather/shave or tries, please share with us your experience. As soon as I get one, I'll be doing that.