Shaving Mug or Coffee Mug...Difference?

[Stubblebum]

Most mugs are too narrow. You don't want the brush clanking against the sides -- it annoys you and anyone else within earshot.

^^^ This is why I use wood-handled brushes with my mugs.



I have two actual shaving mugs - one Avon, one generic. Both are Williams/Haslinger sized. Both are flat-bottomed with a slight taper on the sides. Neither have texturing on the inside.
For "normal" sized pucks, I use a regular (large) coffee mug with a flat bottom.

 

[vacman]

Many of the shaving mugs and bowls available today have grooves or bumps molded into the bottom to enhance the production of lather.

 

[shave/brush]

I think the mugs and bowls that have a textured surface on the inside does help but it's not necessary. I have several bowls with smooth insides that work just fine.

 

[MntnMan62]

I think the difference between a regular mug and a shaving mug is twofold. A Shaving mug is thicker...if you look at the lip of the mug, you can tell it's really not made for drinking...although you probably could drink out of it if you wanted to. Second...Shaving mugs sometimes have things going on inside the mug, some kind of built in texture that will help when you whip up the soap inside it. This isn't cast in stone, no pun intended.

I wouldn't necessarily look at the thickness of the lip as the differentiator. My favorite coffee mug is a vintage Victor diner mug. Those mugs are extremely thick. In fact, my wife dislikes them for that reason and claims they are hard to drink from. Yet I love them for how thick they are, prefer them to any other coffee mug and have no problem drinking from them. As for the inside, you are totally correct that the inside of a shaving mug should have some sort of texture to assist in building lather. But I have bowls specifically purposed for shaving that are both smooth and textured, and I have absolutely no problem building lather in either one. But I'll also agree that if I were to design my perfect lather bowl, it would be exactly like one I already own but with a swirl at the bottom of it that is still smooth with no rough edges. All that is needed is some undulation in the surface. And as you said, this isn't cast in stone. To each his own.

 

[JCarr]

I wouldn't necessarily look at the thickness of the lip as the differentiator. My favorite coffee mug is a vintage Victor diner mug. Those mugs are extremely thick. In fact, my wife dislikes them for that reason and claims they are hard to drink from. Yet I love them for how thick they are, prefer them to any other coffee mug and have no problem drinking from them. As for the inside, you are totally correct that the inside of a shaving mug should have some sort of texture to assist in building lather. But I have bowls specifically purposed for shaving that are both smooth and textured, and I have absolutely no problem building lather in either one. But I'll also agree that if I were to design my perfect lather bowl, it would be exactly like one I already own but with a swirl at the bottom of it that is still smooth with no rough edges. All that is needed is some undulation in the surface. And as you said, this isn't cast in stone. To each his own.

I smiled at the description of your favorite mug. I bought a shaving mug from an Ogallala vendor...very thick lip...and it's my morning coffee mug. This mug has no texture inside of it at all...but I use something else for shaving.

 

[Leo501]

Shaving mugs, or apothecary mugs, usually have a wider handle for its intended purpose.

 

[shave/brush]

I think the Pereira's mug has the perfect pattern inside to make lather. It has swirls and buttons to agitate the soap. I think it works better than any other bowl I have tried.

 

[JCarr]

I'm currently using this:

 

[MntnMan62]

I'm currently using this:

View attachment 1116423

I have one of those and like it a lot. My only complaint is I wish it were just a bit bigger. Since we're sharing, these are the bowls that I use. Some see much more action than others. These four are my most used. I also have one of those cheap salsa bowls and a Crown King Travel Scuttle. Both see little use.

My favorite.

This could have been my favorite if the swirls didn't have as much of a rough edge to them.

The Turkish mug.

The Aesop bowl. This works best with a smaller brush.

Oh, and also my coffee mug.

 

[shave/brush]

Nice bowls MntnMan62. Do you have an all time favorite?

 

[MntnMan62]

Nice bowls MntnMan62. Do you have an all time favorite?

I think it's the first one. It's simple, wide and deep enough. I love the color scheme. And the outside is left natural so it won't slip while in use. As I said the only thing it might be missing is some swirls on the bottom. Ironically, I had thought there were swirls in the bottom when I bought and brought this to the attention of the seller who made it. He then proceeded to make the second one and didn't charge me for it. But the swirls have a rough edge to the swirls that I fear could impact my brushes. So I don't use it that often. In addition, it's slightly too big for my hand. I like it a lot but still prefer the first one. So that gets my vote as all time favorite.

 

[samhain666]

Price

If you wan't a mug for lathering, you don't need it , best lathers are made on your mug (face). But if you insist any container will do you don't really need to buy a mug labeled "shaving mug"

If you wan't it for soap storage, just buy a ceramic cup you like, material is the same in coffee and shaving mugs, soup bowls etc

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Twoswords70:
My shaving mug is my Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog Ceramic Shaving Mug (I'm a 90% face latherer & 10% scuttle user), which is 3¼in tall and 3in across the top.

Also, I use a 3in Plastic Test Cap as a Lid for my mug (plus it has a 'nipple' in the middle to grasp the cover ['easy-peasy']).

BTW, any good shaving and/or coffee mug must be able withstand high 'nuke' temps and I also have set of these as coffee cups.

"Don’t worry about the [lather drying out]; just load the [brush]…”. George “Mule” Suttles

 

[BobbyB]

A basic salsa bowl works well for my Van der Hagen soap. I also have a metal enameled metal coffee mug from Hobby Lobby which I use for hold hot water during my daily shave.

 

[musicman1951]

A coffee mug is too small. A shaving mug is also too small, but you won't feel quite so bad about it.

Bowls come in nearly a never ending assortment of sizes. I'd experiment with a few from the kitchen to find out what your ideal size might be.

 

[shave/brush]

Parker makes a nice one you can get on Amazon.

 

[Stubblebum]

A coffee mug is too small. A shaving mug is also too small, but you won't feel quite so bad about it...

A coffee mug is the perfect size for mug-lathering. It seems several people in this thread are confusing mug-lathering and bowl-lathering. They are not the same thing.

 

[Ravenonrock]

I hammered some indents into a stainless bowl we had laying around. A champion for whipping up lather.

 

[Bklynboy]

I use a Moss Scuttle. I face lather but I like having the loaded brush warm for a second pass.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

A coffee mug is too small. A shaving mug is also too small, but you won't feel quite so bad about it.

Bowls come in nearly a never ending assortment of sizes. I'd experiment with a few from the kitchen to find out what your ideal size might be.

A coffee mug is the perfect size for mug-lathering. It seems several people in this thread are confusing mug-lathering and bowl-lathering. They are not the same thing.

I think the only errors here, are assuming what other people's definitions or a shaving mug are. There is no universal definition, nor use, of a shaving mug. Some people use their mug for putting soap in and loading their brush from, some people use it for building the lather. I use my shaving mug for rinsing the razor, which keeps the water in the sink free of stubble for face rinsing. That shaving mug was indeed originally a wide drinking mug, but a "regular" coffee mug probably wouldn't fit the bill for me.

A shaving mug is a more or less mug shaped object, used for some part of the shaving process... even if it's just storing the razor in between shaves. There is no universal role that one should be used for. Different mugs will suit different people for different functions.

Take scuttles for example. Some are water carriers with integrated soap dishes, and some are double walled lather bowls. Totally different items and useage. Some have brush rests, and some don't. Mine is a water carrier and soap holder, with no brush rest, and only takes convex bottomed soaps. Can't build lather in it, and unlike some traditional scuttles, the bouth isn't wide enough to soak a brush in. It's still a scuttle.

I use a "bowl" of some description for putting soap/samples in to load from. It's very rare, but occasionally I'll use one that hasn't got soap in it to start building a lather before face lathering. There's a turned wooden lather bowl which has grated Palmolive in it permanantly, and a pewter quaich (Scottish friendship cup) or small food bowl for both a loading bowl for samples or lather building as needed. I don't specifically reserve set bowls for set functions. I just grab something available to suit the required task at the time. Over time, I discovered the dimensions that I needed the bowl to be, was mostly influenced by the brush I was using (especially handle diameter and loft). Bowls which worked great for my Omega Hi-Brush, didn't work so well with my Kent Infinity.