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Can you say, "That looks like about 2,000 degrees in there."

This short video is of one of the potters checking on our popular lather bowls as they are being fired. Take a look and Subscribe to our channel to keep up to date on all things Captain's Choice. There are some very informative brief videos that show our products being made, from our soap to our copper lather bowls to our ceramic bowls.

You can't beat hand made items that stand the test of time!

 
Can someone explain to me how a copper or any metal lather bowl works? It would seem that the lather would get cold right away because of the heat conductivity of the metal?
 
Thanks, that explains a lot.

Sigh......

Congratulations, you are the first B&B member to ever make it to my Ignore list.
Ok? I don’t think you need to announce that but ok?
My point being a wood, ceramic or metal bowl would all be the same temperature. Room temperature is room temperature unless you are keeping the bowl warm then copper would work in your favor I suppose.
 
Can someone explain to me how a copper or any metal lather bowl works? It would seem that the lather would get cold right away because of the heat conductivity of the metal?

Everyone has their own technique when shaving, here is mine. With my lather bowl - whether copper or ceramic - I whip up the lather and then it sits down in the sink which has hot water standing in it. As I do my three shave pass I am applying nice warm lather each time. It is wonderful, believe me.

So yes, the lather will get cold if the lather bowl is sitting on the counter. But it is a cinch to have the lather be warm. Give it a try, you are in for a treat!
 
Everyone has their own technique when shaving, here is mine. With my lather bowl - whether copper or ceramic - I whip up the lather and then it sits down in the sink which has hot water standing in it. As I do my three shave pass I am applying nice warm lather each time. It is wonderful, believe me.

So yes, the lather will get cold if the lather bowl is sitting on the counter. But it is a cinch to have the lather be warm. Give it a try, you are in for a treat!
That is exactly the explanation I was looking for. I use a Fine Accoutrements ceramic lather bowl now and I like the design and I like the way it works. I pre-heat it with warm/hot tap water and then drain it to make my lather. It sits on the counter after applying the first pass lather. It has enough thermal mass to stay warm for the first pass, but not the second or third which is OK with me. The only problem is that it is very fragile. I haven't destroyed it yet but I have quite a few chips in it from hitting the side of the sink when I am rinsing it out. It is that fragile. I am sure that if I dropped it in the sink it would explode. It is only a matter of time until that happens.

I don't know if I could keep a dish in the sink with standing water through the whole two/three pass shave. How do you rinse your razor, etc. with the dish sitting in the sink?

Thanks in advance for your reply to what must seem a silly question.
 
That is exactly the explanation I was looking for. I use a Fine Accoutrements ceramic lather bowl now and I like the design and I like the way it works. I pre-heat it with warm/hot tap water and then drain it to make my lather. It sits on the counter after applying the first pass lather. It has enough thermal mass to stay warm for the first pass, but not the second or third which is OK with me. The only problem is that it is very fragile. I haven't destroyed it yet but I have quite a few chips in it from hitting the side of the sink when I am rinsing it out. It is that fragile. I am sure that if I dropped it in the sink it would explode. It is only a matter of time until that happens.

I don't know if I could keep a dish in the sink with standing water through the whole two/three pass shave. How do you rinse your razor, etc. with the dish sitting in the sink?

Thanks in advance for your reply to what must seem a silly question.

Not silly at all, hey we are all in this hobby to learn and experiment - that is what makes it fun.

The Fine bowls are popular and are liked by a lot of guys. Those bowls are made in a factory in Taiwan and as such, are mass produced. I hear that there are bowls made by hand here in the States and they seem to be popular with guys too. Some vendors even have unbreakable lather bowls that guys can't live without.

Rather than sitting your Fine bowl on the counter just place it into the partially filled sink. You want that water hot, hot, hot that it will be sitting in. When rinsing off your razor between passes I would just dunk it in the water. Lather up for your next pass and have at it. Lather, rinse, repeat and you are good to go.

I hope that helps.
 
Rather than sitting your Fine bowl on the counter just place it into the partially filled sink. You want that water hot, hot, hot that it will be sitting in. When rinsing off your razor between passes I would just dunk it in the water. Lather up for your next pass and have at it. Lather, rinse, repeat and you are good to go.

I hope that helps.

Hi Captain,
I came across this last week and tried it. Totally legit keeps the lather warm. I even have a fairly thick ceramic bowl, and wonder if a copper bowl would be even better, keep the lather warmer/longer? Even used my favorite Cap'n scent (RIP).
 

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I'll be candid Bill and say that in my experience a ceramic bowl or a copper bowl works equally well when sitting in a sink of hot water. It comes down to personal preference and guys like to switch it up just like their razors and brushes. Some days copper, some days ceramic.
 
I have to rinse my SR under running water (can't just waive it around in a sink full of water). So the bowl has to have enough thermal mass to keep the lather warm at least through the first pass. In this regard the best leather bowl I ever had was a re purposed pot bellied ceramic soup bowl. Unfortunately the narrow top left my brush clanking along the sides which drove me crazy.
 
Can you say, "That looks like about 2,000 degrees in there."

No I can't but I'm not a potter or a black or knife smith.
It's called experience of a craftsman/woman.

At the beginning there are little helpers like thermo cones that change consistency at certain temperature ranges. If the one 1800 deg. cone tilts the tip because it's getting soft, there you go ...1800 deg.
Obviously nowadays there are infrared thermometers and you point the laser at the surface and get the reading on your smart phone instantly. After using any device for a couple of batches, you just look at the color of your work piece and you can pretty acurately guess the temperature.

Same like an experienced photographer can guess the correct exposure w/o metering and maybe correct within 1/2 stop.
 
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