Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle and Lather Bowl

I received my blue brush scuttle and lather bowl 3/3. It is cold this morning (38) in Florida, so I really enjoyed the warm lather on my head/face. The pieces are made well, look beautiful, and work wonderfully. I used the secong setting on my hot pot, and TBS Maca Root SC I used was warm. Two passes on my face, followed by two passes on my head, and the brush was still toasty after 25 minutes.
Another happy DB customer. Julie does a great job.

How big of a brush will this take? I had a 20mm that worked great, but I want to get a 26mm and I'm wondering if I'll need to either get a custom larger Brush Scuttle or just get a regular scuttle to fit the bigger brush in.

Thanks for the review...have been wanting to see more shots/reviews of these for a while now...

This is such a great addition to the shave. Truly warm lather THROUGHOUT the shave. I got brown glaze which is lovely. My wife really likes it out on the counter.

Price: For a handmade piece of pottery that really works, I find the price to be very good.

Quality: First, Julie has superb customer service. The pottery is very nice and unique. Really beautiful.

Performance: It retains heat very well and all my brushes fit easily. My largest is the Omega 31064.

Usefulness: Warm lather THROUGHOUT!

Durability: Well it is pottery. As durable as I would expect.

Packaging: Nothing fancy, the UPS box it came in, but if UPS dropped it from the plane to you without a shoot it would survive.

Once I got it out of my head that I wouldn't be able to use boiling water in the scuttle I started to like this thing. Like many others I used boiling water in the scuttle and it really broke down the lather in my brush. When I went to re-lather for my second pass the lather was really damaged and even a little scrubbing and dipping the tips in water didn't work to get a good lather up and started again.

If I just use normal hot tap water my lather is still warm and doesn't break down. Now the DB brush scuttle is a very important part of my shave.

Aaron

This is my first scuttle and I had a little trouble with it at first because my lather would degrade. I've since undercooked the lather and put slightly less hot water in it and that solved my problem. I had to find the balance of hot enough water to keep it warm the whole shave vs too hot that it degrades the lather. This is a great piece of shaving equipment. It soaks my brush, provides a bowl for cream or soap, it looks amazing in my den, it provides warm lather, and for a awesome price. It can't get any better than that. I agree with everything that has been said about Julie, she is prompt and friendly. Mine took a little over 3 weeks to get to me. This is the all in one shaving unit all you need is a brush and a razor and some soap.

Thanks guys. Just ordered one. I think the 3 piece set may be the best all around design I have seen yet. I will review when I have some time with it.

Thanks, all, for the reviews. Having just begun wet shaving, I find this BB invaluable. I'm looking forward to the warm lather that I expect this scuttle will provide. I just ordered one of these set from Dirty Bird (love the name) and now can't wait until it arrives. Since I prefer to lather on my face (so far) I think this is better than the "Moss" type scuttle. I just really want something to keep my brush and lather warm for the second and third passes. Anyway, thanks again!

Julie Moore is the master craftswoman and proprietor of Dirty Bird Pottery, based in King George, Virginia. Since the introduction of her Dirty Bird Scuttle--and later, the Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle--Julie has gained much renown in the world of wet shaving accessories. In addition to shaving accessories, Julie also offers bird feeders, desk organizers, minipots, garlic pots, salt containers, sponge holders, egg separators, toothbrush holders, tea mugs, french butter dishes, soap pumps, tumblers, soap dishes, and hummingbird feeders.

Ordered my DB brush scuttle with lather bowl early this week and received it a few days later as Julie had one ready to go. Though I'm relatively new to wet shaving, this scuttle has already changed everything. My shave experience has been elevated by having a warm brush and lather across 3 - 4 passes. I love it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to everyone.

To anyone reading this,

You may have noticed a pattern here, how many reviews come in at 100% so often?

I bought the set in blue as above about 6 weeks ago and I waited to see how my usage of this item faired after the first few weeks. Firstly the vendor (Julie) is very very good, excellent communications and reasonable shipping even to the UK.

After 6 weeks with this scuttle and lather bowl I use it almost every day. There is nothing quite like hot lather and this delivers that every time. I think it is mainly the conical nature of the insert that facilitates greater contact all round the brush. It is also versatile, you can use the lather bowl for creams and soaps, however this is the tool of choice for any keen face latherer.

Fill both inner and outer chambers and stick the brush in to soak, do some prep. Then empty the inner chamber easily (because you can take it out) and load the brush with your favourite soap and stick back in scuttle to heat for a moment. Get your razor ready and then grab that brush and lather builds very easily with an almost erotic pleasure. I have ordinary scuttles and with them the first contact with the face is nice and warm but once you start lathering and push in a bit the centre of the brush is cold. This effect worsens on send and third passes, not with this scuttle in your arsenal, the brush is warm right through and doing a little bit of scrubbing only reveals a nice soft warm centre which last through 5 passes if you have warmed it properly.

If mine broke (heavens forbid) I would order a new one the next day. I am seriously thinking about buying another just in case. I own about 20 razors, 1500 blades, 6 brushes and close to twenty different creams soaps etc. This is the only constant in my routine and deservedly so. It really does deserve 100% and the more I use it the more I like it.

I bought just the lathering bowl about a week ago and just received it yesterday. Used it lastnight and it performs very well. I used my Rooney 1/1 brush and it worked great, Im just wondering how it will porform with a larger brush. This thing is tiny compaired to what I thought I was going to get.

bbsupersport;999821 said:

Great thread, and seems like a very nice product.

The temperatures stated in the first review are impressive.

But rather than spend money on another scuttle right now, I think I will devise a plug for the spout on my Moss scuttle and see how that works.

As was mentioned in another thread, the spout on the Moss and G3 design allows the temperature of the water in the lower bowl to cool quicker than it would in the lower bowl of this design because of it being totally enclosed. So it has given me the idea to fashion a plug and try it out.

Click to expand...

You would probably be better off creating an insulating blanket for the scuttle than a plug. The percentage of heat lost through the hole will be much less than that lost through the outer wall of the scuttle.

Great thread, and seems like a very nice product.

The temperatures stated in the first review are impressive.

But rather than spend money on another scuttle right now, I think I will devise a plug for the spout on my Moss scuttle and see how that works.

As was mentioned in another thread, the spout on the Moss and G3 design allows the temperature of the water in the lower bowl to cool quicker than it would in the lower bowl of this design because of it being totally enclosed. So it has given me the idea to fashion a plug and try it out.

I got my Dirty Bird brush scuttle last night and used this morning. It came at a perfect time since we are having below 30 temp.
First, it is a great design and is beautifully constructed. I was using a G3 and although is a different animal altogether, very good for lathering but it does not hold heat as long as the bird. The G3 went into storage for now.
I'm a bowl latherer and the 3 parts brush scuttle fit my needs perfectly. ( the bowl that fits with the brush scuttle must be ordered separately)
All the parts fit inside each other and the whole thing fits in the sink and cabinet. Quality, beauty and function. It is IMO sculptural.
Now, the main reason to have it is to provide warm lather through the brush and this it does for 4 passes and the heat remained for more. My only worry is that the heat might cause the brush to shed.
It took a while to arrange it around my sink but once put together it takes only a small space. Kudos for the design which I believe the designer is a member of this forum and Kudos to Julie for the creative interpretation of the design.

I just placed an order for one this morning. I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the great reviews. They really persuaded me into getting the brush scuttle over the shaving scuttle. The countdown begins.

Great pictures. I Good Lord, I really, really want one. Hurry Christmas.

I just received my Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle today. It's #5 and the glazing is green. Being too eager to wait until morning to try it out, I put it through it's paces as soon as I could. Here are all three pieces separated

All three pieces together. I love the way I can stack this all together and place it on the corner of the counter.

Lathering bowl after a minute with some generic VDH deluxe soap and a boar brush. The groves in the bottom of the lathering bowl made a big difference in the speed of lathering.

Brush and lather moved to the scuttle. At this point I prep my face with a hot towel. The brush takes a minute or two to reach full temperature. But once it's there, it stays very warm.

I kept waiting for the lather to cool down but it just didn't. After 20 minutes and still having very warm lather, I called it a total success. It's amazing!

When I'm all finished, I shake the water out of the brush and put the handle down into the scuttle so the bristles can dry.

Thanks Bob for such an informative review & evaluation of what looks like just a fantastic lather bowl & brush scuttle combo. Your photos are top notch also! I really appreciate all of the thought & design work on this bowl & scuttle that both you & Julie must have done. I decided it was a "must have" & following a phone call this morning to Dirty Bird Pottery just to have a few final questions answered, I eagerly placed my order. Now the eternal waiting game begins

First off I must give kudos to Bob Pope and Julie Moore on their collaborative effort in bringing this unique design to solid reality. I received mine (#3) on October 30 at my office and unpacked it for more convenient transport home on the subway. It was very well packed in three pieces, with each part generously wrapped in protective bubble wrap and further cushioned with styrofoam 'peanuts' in a large priority mail box.
Mr. Pope is understating facts when he says that his photos do not do Ms. Moore's work justice. Not only is each piece beautifully thrown and finished to the eye, the compact efficiency in use makes the lather bowl an extension of my palm.
I pretty much followed the same steps as Bob in preparing the scuttle to receive my lather filled brush. I filled the main vessel with water - (I used a small electric kettle to heat my water since the hot water in my apartment doesn't get nearly hot enough) - and soaked my brush in the lather bowl - (the tap water temperature is fine for that purpose as well as for applying hot water to my beard).
I am one of the Nancy Boy faithful and I have both travel size and full size tubs of their signature and replenishing scents. This is where I think a choice of cream will play a vital role in getting the most out of this simple machine.
Heat will indeed degrade lather. I found this out after placing my loaded brush inside of the scuttle which had been charging for approximately two - three minutes while I built my lather. I went about my usual prep routine of wetting my beard and rubbing in a bit of Castle Forbes Pre-Shave. I follow Kyle's method of applying lather to my beard and massaging it in before applying a hot towel for a minute or so and then removing the towel and lather before applying more lather for the first pass.
As there was enough lather left in the bowl, I used my fingers to apply that to my beard for the prep phase. When I was ready to start my shave I took the hot loaded brush from the scuttle and found that my lather was turning to foam, closer to the consistency of bubbles (like in a bubble bath). This is evidence of the scuttles efficiency and not of any flaw in the execution or the design. Again, I LOVE this thing.
As Nancy Boy is designed to be used brushless, and yet most of us still use it with a brush, I believe that by using less water I will be able to tailor a lather that will hold up well to the heat.
I was still able to get two good passes with very warm lather. My third pass was accomplished by mashing the still warm brush into my face and getting good enough coverage to complete what I believe was my best ever shave.
Now if this was possible with 'degraded' (but wonderfully hot) lather, I can't wait to try it again and again with a perfectly balanced Nancy Boy blend.
I must confess that I did not use my normal ratio of cream and water for this first outing with the Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle. Normally I shake my brush out and dip it in the tub and swirl without adding any more water. The result is almost like a soft cake frosting. This time I added a bit more water to the mix.
Reason? Well I am glad you asked because that lets me speak a little about the lather bowl itself.
It is an engineering masterpiece! It fits so perfectly in my palm that it is almost as if my hand is empty. I was having such a good time building the lather that I found myself wanting to watch the consistency change and the lather grow. So I dribbled a little more hot tap water from my fingertips into the bowl and whipped up a perfect slick merangue that could have gone straight onto my beard.
That being said, and without turning this into a Nancy Boy review, I believe that less water in the mix will create a lather that holds up quite well to the additional heat. Conversely, it may be possible that using hot tap water instead of boiling water from a kettle is the answer to minimizing or eliminating the degrading effect. As always YMMV.
All in all I am happier with this design than I was my my Moss Scuttle (large size).
The Moss is a good lather mixing bowl, but the large size paired with my smallish brush (Edwin Jagger Medium) does not make for good heat retention. I had been considering buying the small Moss and lather bowl set when I caught wind of this design idea and development process. I am glad I waited and followed the thread until it was perfected. So many B&B members contributed to this and all of the members should be proud to see it come to fruition.
Finally a brief word about the artist herself. Julie Moore is a joy to deal with and my package arrived about two weeks earlier than I had been told.
I have significant pride in ownership of Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle number 3.
As I spread the word about wet shaving to those seeking to join us in this personal and most fulfilling hobby, I am going to include this marvelous tool in my recommendations.

Mason