any thoughts on this shave mug?

[Xiomaro]

So i'm thinking of purchasing this mug and base. does anyone have one and can give a review for me?
Of course any other input is welcome.

http://www.amazon.com/Colonel-Conk-No-127-Shaving-Pewter/dp/B005I5Z5N4

 

[TheVez2]

My opinion, don't bother. It's too expensive and it's not very functional. If you are looking for a lather mug, then you want something that is wider than it is tall. A soup mug is perfect. If you try to use something like a standard coffee mug you don't have much room to work with and all you'll hear is clankety clank as your brush hits the side of the mug. You can get generic soup mugs at Walmart for $5 or get one for 50 cents at a thrift store. Vintage old spice mugs are nice and can be found between $10 and $20.

 

[brother cavefish]

UGLY. why dont you just go to a vintage antique store, i have got some sweet shave mugs and soap holders, it also more personal and pleasing, be unique

 

[Uncle Brian]

Waste of time dude go to a thrift store and find something like a soup bowl, low and wide.

 

[LegionPrime]

Why would someone be selling a podstakannik as a shave mug?

 

[OzoneAz]

HAHAHA... When I went in the AOS store last week to get a whiff on the soaps, the sales guy tried to sell me one like those for 80 bucks!!!... I just giggled at him and he left me alone from that point. I am using an Ikea 99 cent salad bowl and it works like a charm.

 

[john shea]

What works best for me while making lather is a coffee cup that is flat on the bottom and slightly higher than the length of the knot from the top of the soap puck. Look on e-Bay at Old Spice mugs to see this. For inexpensive, I find cups at discount stores, good will outlets, flea markets, and yard sales. For fancy, I get ceramic artisan ramkins that are slightly smaller in inside diameter than my soap puck and shave the puck to fit. Think of a ramkin as having the shape of an old spice mug without a handle.

HTH

 

[PugslyCat]

The first thing that I noticed was that the base alone looks to be a more practical shaving mug due to the lower sides. Less clanking of the brush that way. It is sold as Colonel Conk Model 137 Pewter Shave Mug with Soap. Oddly enough, it costs an extra 10 bucks to NOT get the ceramic mug with the pewter one. Either would be OK for holding a puck of soap while you load your brush, but I have to think there are more economical ways to go.

 

[johna2231]

Agreed with all the above. For my use, a shaving mug has to be low and squatty. You just can't beat the old ones you find in an antique store. I like the ones that slightly taper in as the sides go up. In the mean time, use a bowl like stated above. Works great.

John

 

[Mick]

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 over the years 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 Da Vinci, 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.

 

[smoothie72]

I found a nice polished chrome cup with a lid at homegoods / tj max inthe bath area for about 5 bucks matches my polished ej de 89 , brush and stand looks sharp on my counter. they had lots of options to choose from less than 10$

 

[retturn2blades]

I think some shavers are often penny wise and pound foolish. If this is a hobby, it may be attractive to buy the more expensive options simply because they're cool or cleverly designed for a specific purpose. If you just want a good clean shave for the least investment, use your soup bowl or latte cup.

 

[Gingerbread]

You should be able to find a less expensive, higher quality solution at local stores. All of mine were $1-$3 and they make a much better lather than the Col. Conk bowl I foolishly bought when I started out.

 

[TheVez2]

This mug cost me 25 cents at a thrift store!

 

[retturn2blades]

One issue for me is the lead content in cheap bowls and cups...90% of which come from "lead happy" China. Because these cheapo cups are exposed to hot water and chemicals, the lead is more likely to leech out. A lot of folks dumped their wonderful lead crystal when they learned the lead could leech out.

 

[¢orey]

If you want something a bit "fancier" you might want to grab an apothecary mug. There are many makes, this is just an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Colonel-Conk-Model-119-Apothecary/dp/B001XURHG6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hpc_4

 

[Gingerbread]

One issue for me is the lead content in cheap bowls and cups...90% of which come from "lead happy" China. Because these cheapo cups are exposed to hot water and chemicals, the lead is more likely to leech out. A lot of folks dumped their wonderful lead crystal when they learned the lead could leech out.

I love my lead crystal glassware. Makes wine better and whiskey phenomenal.

 

[Rivguy]

I have a fondness for pewter and have several pewter shaving items. If you like it and it would add to your shaving enjoyment than it is a worthwhile purchase. I have considered purchasing the pewter mug only version myself. This is clearly one of those YMMV items. Many on this forum like to spend as little as possible on both hardware and software items and enjoy the process. Others have no problem spending high amounts of money on their shaving products and enjoy that. I put a reasonably high value on presentation so I enjoy nice mugs, dishes and other containers. It goes without saying that the products must perform to a high standard. In the end, of course, it is your call. If you like it, buy it and don't give it another thought. While I value the thoughts of others when it comes to reviewing products, in the end, I buy what I like, not what the "group" buys... but in full disclosure, I flunked out of lemming school years ago.

Regards,

Doug

 

[duck dive steve]

As above. Thrift store. You will get somthing much better quality, better designed for a tenth of the price or less.

 

[sparco]

I wouldn't event consider it. You can save a lot of money buying a much more handy cup, as stated earlier in this thread. Then you can use the "leftover" money to buy some more creams/soap. Win-win