Georgetown Scuttle

I received my G5 a few days ago, and I'm quite pleased. It's beautiful, fits the hand well, and keeps the lather nice and warm.

I borrowed a Dirty Bird from a friend to try out for a few days before I bought the G5, and they are quite different. The Georgetown is porcelain; the DB is pottery/clay. The DB is much too large and heavy for me to use in the shower, and IMO looks like a clunky college pottery project: not aesthetically pleasing to my eye (tea-pot design & not very interesting glaze) whereas the Georgetown glazes are just beautiful. To my eye, the Georgetown takes it: it's visually balanced and lovely to look at. YMMV.

As for keeping the lather warm - I found no practical difference between them: I shave both head and face (4-pass) daily, and they both had adequate bowls and kept the lather warm for the 10 or 12 minutes that I shave.

It's a keeper!

I'll add my critique before it gets buried in the General Shaving Discussion thread. It rates a perfect score from me because it does everything it is supposed to do.

Georgetown Pottery G5 scuttle
I both used and tested the Becker (Robert's Ceramic Feats of Clay) Small scuttle; Georgetown Pottery G5 scuttle; Moss Large scuttle; Schwarzweisskeramik Small scuttle; Dirty Bird 1.5 scuttle.

They all work well, and the final decision should be a matter of personal taste. I heated 3 cups of water in my microwave oven for 4 minutes for a temperature of 165 degrees F. The water is then poured into the scuttle to test heat retention.





Fast Facts:

* Purchase Price: $45.00
* Purchased from: Georgetown Pottery
* Special features: distinctive multi-color design, stopper
* Reservoir capacity: 6 1/2 ounces
* Primary strength: stopper (allows you to fill and soak the brush in the lathering area without changing reservoir water)
* Primary weakness: heat retention in comparison to others (but then, how long does it take to shave?)



Heat retention (165-degree water initially introduced into scuttle):

* After 5 minutes: 130 degrees F
* After 10 minutes: 120 degrees F
* After 15 minutes: 120 degrees F
* After 20 minutes: 117 degrees F
* After 25 minutes: 115 degrees F



Dimensions of scuttle:

* Height: 3"
* Base width: 3"
* Width on top: 5 3/16" (5 3/4 with spout)
* Inside diameter of lathering area: 3 1/4"
* Depth of lathering area: 2 3/8"
* Texture of lathering surface: cross hatched

I too have the G5 scuttle in blue and hamada, it is outstanding craftsmanship and design, the newly designed round hole with rubber cork is excellent and helps keep it warmer much longer.
Great work Georgetown Pottery.

Looks like GeorgeTown is listening, now they are making a G5
"Increased the water reservoir by doubling the previous G4 water capacity, keeping your new G5 scuttle at the perfect temperature for extended periods of shaving."
http://www.georgetownpottery.com/georgetown-pottery-news-events/3-news-and-events/129-g5-shaving-scuttle-

I love my custom brush scuttles they made for me, I too own the tea cups but I happen to drink out of mine

Received mine about a week ago (12-15-09). It has vastly improved my morning shave. The lathering is quite easy, as the bowl is scored on the inside to help dissolve even the hardest of creams. My brush remains warm enough (for me) through 3 passes. The people at Georgetown Pottery are extremely nice to deal with, and I find the price quite reasonable. I had to wait a little over 2 weeks.

Just got mine in the mail today and tried it out. Where has this thing been in all my shaving life? Really nice and classy product. The folks at Georgetown were really nice to deal with. Great product to go with your shaving gear, go get one.

Ordered mine today in Hamada colour, really looking forward to get it over the Atlantic to cold Norway. I could use some warm delicious lather Will post a short review when I have used it a few days.

I just bought one in August of 2009, so I'm using their updated version. The color I chose was Hamada, which is great.

Price: It's a bit pricey, but i think it's worth it.

Quality: It looks very impressive and well thought out. The color is amazing.

Performance: The lather stays very warm for at least 20 minutes.

Usefulness: Who doesn't want hot lather?

Durability: Seems like it will last. It shouldn't break unless you drop it.

Packaging: Came well wrapped.

I just stumbled over this review page after being part of another online shaving community for a while, and I have to say that the opinions stated on this page differs quite severely from ours.
I had the misfortune of ordering this scuttle last year, in hamada purple, two decisions I've come to regret ever since.

First off, I was told that the scuttle was "in stock". It wasn't, I waited over two weeks for it to leave the store, yet the customer service assured me that the scuttle would ship "soon". No such luck.

Secondly, the color. Mine looks like a white porcelain scuttle covered in vomit. The finish is uneven all over, matte in some areas, glossy in others and was generally a huge disappointment after waiting so long for it to arrive. I haven't got a camera on hand, but I assure you. What I got looked NOTHING like what the picture showed.

Thirdly, the shape. The base is uneven. I just redid my bathroom, so I've had two flat bases to try it on. It's so uneven that it makes a clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk sound as I make lather.

Fourthly, it loses heat fast. This is last years model, so I can't really say if the new ones do the same, but scolding hot water makes lukewarm lather for about two passes, third one is cold. Preheating is an option, but should be redundant with a good scuttle.
This is not a good scuttle.

I don't know if maybe they sent me a B product because I live overseas so they knew I wouldn't return it, but to this day, I feel owed an explanation for this absolute and definite waste of money.

Here goes my first review. I have had a Georgetown Scuttle for over a month and use it daily. I haven't used any other scuttle to compare it to, so I won't try. My previous method was to place a big coffee cup, with my Gold-Dachs jambed in the bottom, in the sink with hot water. It wasn't the greatest set up but it worked. I saw a thread on scuttles and after looking up the major players, I decided I liked the looks of the Georgetown best (judging a book by its cover I guess).
Price: On average with the others, so I can't really complain.
Quality: It is a very well made piece.
Performance: It does what I thought it would and does it well. I can whip up great lather in it, and it stays warm for 3 or 4 passes.
Usefulness: Great. I have tried several other soaps and creams because of it since I just used whatever was stuck in my coffee mug before. It has taught an old dog new tricks.
Durability: Seems solid. I have bumped it a couple times on the faucet with no harm.
Packaging: I take this to mean how it was shipped and it was delivered perfect.

I called Georgetown before I ordered and they answered all my questions and were very helpful. I know it is not 'hand thrown' pottery but it is made in the USA which is becoming harder to find everyday. I am very happy I decided to get one.

The Georgetown scuttle is probably the only piece of shave pampering I own other than the essentials (if indeed you can call them essential ). It does what it promises to do very well, help in building your lather and keep it and your brush warm.
What I have learned while reading around is that it does matter to take note how you plan to warm it up because these are made with thick ceramic all around. The way I have been using mine is by letting it sit in the sink in such a way that when the hot water falls on it, it simultaneously fills the inside and the outside while my brush sits in it to soak. I move it out of the sink and let it sit with both chambers filled as I face lather, once my face is lathered, I empty the scuttle and refill the enclosed reservoir with fresh hot water, now I park my brush in the bowl while I shave. This gets the ceramic warm enough to keep my brush and lather warm for the three passes I normally take and there is no noticeable decrease in temperature.

The new ones coming out of Georgetown have a few changes:

The inside bowl has been reduced in diameter; since the outside dimensions have remained basically unchanged this means the encased reservoir has an increase in volume, helping those that may warm up their scuttle in different ways.

The ridges inside the lather bowl are more pronounced and now run farther up the sidewall.

The filling spout is smaller than before; I was told that this was necessary due to the changes made. You can see that the brim needed to be wider since the inside bowl is smaller, stress points needed to get eliminated by reducing the width of the opening. This is really just aesthetics since the scuttle fills and empties just a easily as before, but personally I preferred the squared-off look of the old spout.

I followed Tiggercat's recommendation and got a matching tea cup. A puck of Tabac now resides in it.

Price is still better than the other recognized brands, specially when you consider shipping inside the US, but this is still pricey compared to just using a mug or a regular bowl. I gladly recommend the Georgetowns to anybody, but keep in mind that if you plan to warm it up differently, well, your results could be different.

To discuss and for more pictures, go here.

I love mine and would highly recommend.

I have used a Model 2 for about six months and love it. I understand that the newer version is improved but would not trade mine.
Hint: I use a Bodum model 5411 small electric kettle to heat the water while I am preparing my beard with a hot towel. It has an auto shut off when starts to boil and a small spout that is perfect to pour into the GT with the rest of the hot water in the sink for one last soaking of my towel. The GT grooves aid in the building of wonderful lather and keep it warm through my four passes.

For my complete review of the Georgetown V3 and how it stacks up against three competitors, check out my Scuttle Shootout Review

I've been happy with the G3 Georgetown scuttle, too. The ridges in the bowl seem to help with the lathering, and the hot water beneath the top bowl keeps lather nice & warm between passes. One thing I did was to attached little silicon pads underneath the scuttle, as I was worried the unfinished bottom might scratch my bathroom sink.

I have been using my new scuttle for a few weeks now and have been very pleased. Mine is the hamada and blue in color.
This is my first scuttle and I am very pleased with the purchase. It works very well and keeps the lather warm through my entire shave (thirty minutes or so).
The finish on the scuttle is very nice and I love the weight of the piece.

If I had one suggestion for improvement, it would be that the scuttle be about an inch taller. This would allow the brush to sit in a more vertical fashion and give a little more room to lather without spilling over the sides. I believe I would make that last inch almost vertical to make it more difficult for lather to spill over the edge. This is the only reason that I gave the unit an 8 in performance and 9 in usefulness. Others may think that it is perfect as is.

The above is not meant to detract from the unit but to be considered as constructive criticism. I love the workmanship and my new ability to maintain warm lather.

I have had my scuttle for just over a week and I really love it. It keeps my brush and lather warm from the start to the end of my shave. The quality of this scuttle is outstanding IMO. I use it everyday and retired my old mug I got from Pier 1.

I received mine two days ago...I chose the cobalt and purple pattern. While it looks amazing, it's not what I really expected. First, the base of the scuttle is rather narrow, which makes using a larger brush somewhat difficult. Second, while it keeps the lather warm, it's not as warm as I thought it would be (and this is using very hot water). Maybe this has to do with the fact that a lot of wather does not fit within its walls, and because water cannot sit under its base. Aside from this, the scuttle is pretty nice. It's smaller than I thought it would be (this is good) and not as heavy as I had anticipated. I say for $50.00 it's not a bad deal.

Top notch product! I have the Hamada & Blue, and it is beautiful. The scuttle works exactly as advertised, and adds a touch of class to the bathroom. My only quibble is that a slightly higher lip between the bowl and the water hole would help prevent unwanted water from splashing into the bowl when the lather creation process gets a bit more frenzied.

On a side note, Georgetown Pottery also make a tea cup that is a perfect fit for smaller soaps like Gold Dachs Spezial and some SCS pucks. Get it in a matching pattern and it's pure sweetness.