How to keep my brush warm.

[Zatx Woopyoax]

Okay here is how my shave goes, please tell me how I can improve one area. That area being how to keep my brush and shave cream nice and toasty warm.

So before my shower I load up my sink with the hottest water I can get from the tap and place my shaving mug and Omega Boar brush in it. I take my shower then drain the sink (and shaving mug) and refill with fresh hot water. I do my face prep and whatnot then put some cream on the brush and proceed to a combination of mug and face lathering (hey it works for me). When I'm not lathering my brush sits in the mug, in the hot water (brush is not in contact with the water).

By my third lather the brush is pretty cold and off putting. What can I do differently to keep this brush warm?

Here is what I was thinking... one of those cheap one coffee cup plate warmer thingies. You sometimes see them marketed for women to put their jarred scented candles on as a candle warmer.

Has anyone tried one of these or have other suggestions?

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Depending upon the size of your mug, I would guess that the issue that you are having with your current set up could be that there isn't enough contact between the mug and your brush for the heat to transfer from the mug to the brush. It could also be that a sink probably isn't the best way to retain the heat in hot water. But I'm guessing the issue is probably most attributable to not enough brush/mug contact. I've never tried the candle warmer thing, but I would guess that if the problem is not enough contact between brush and mug, then adding more heat to the mug probably won't do much.

The ideal set up for keeping lather warm is to get a scuttle. You can get scuttles that have different size bowls. Some are set up for face latherers, which involves a smaller bowl so as to maximize brush-bowl contact. Others are set up to enable one to make lather in the bowl and are correspondingly a bit larger, but not so large as to loose the needed contact. If you are on a tighter budget, you can try making your own scuttle.

 

[fidjit]

+1 on the scuttle

This sort of thing is what you're after

 

[Zatx Woopyoax]

+1 on the scuttle

This sort of thing is what you're after

Ohhhh I like that a lot. I see your's was custom made though. Anyone have a good spot stateside to find a face lathering type scuttle?

 

[Greybeard]

http://www.dirtybirdpottery.com/shavinggear.html

http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss_scuttle.htm

http://www.georgetownpottery.com/st...P&Product_Code=SHAV0001&Category_Code=Shaving

 

[Bay Rum]

+1 more on scuttle

 

[WinstonSmith]

Maybe a cardigan? Some slippers? A little wool beanie?

Poor brush.

 

[Mr. Imperial]

Love. Love will keep your brush warm.



Just kidding. I'm a scuttle man.

 

[stubblefree]

In INDIA you do not heat water in summers !!!

.........because normal tap water is as hot as 75 degrees centigrade.....almost boiling !!

The ambient temp is close to 45 degees centi on a hot day in the city I live.

Can you believe that ????

 

[JPDyson]

A coffee mug warmer might help, but I second (or eighth) the recommendation of a brush scuttle. I have a Dirty Bird 1.5X scuttle for when I would typically bowl lather, but I also just received shipment notice for my brush scuttle (I face lather soaps and bowl lather creams).

I realize that this is an expensive solution to the problem, but Julie's work is functional art. Perhaps there is a scuttle that would be suitable for both creams and soaps in your case - you want something deep enough for the loft of your brush, and narrow enough that it makes good contact with the sides of the scuttle (to keep warm).

 

[Newfie]

I'll add 1 for the scuttle. Best thing for shaving since the invention of the razor IMHO!!

SNIP<<<<

Here is what I was thinking... one of those cheap one coffee cup plate warmer thingies. You sometimes see them marketed for women to put their jarred scented candles on as a candle warmer.

Has anyone tried one of these or have other suggestions?

You mean like this??

Actually works quite well with an onion soup bowl (as you see here). I used this for a few years before I finally got a scuttle last summer. These even work for melting glycerine soap, like Col Conk, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it.

 

[Zatx Woopyoax]

You mean like this??

That is exactly what I was thinking of trying until I scrape together the funds for a brush scuttle. If I remember right they are only a few dollars from the local big box retailers.

 

[sklegg]

I made my own "sink scuttle" by gluing some strong magnets to the bottom of my Crabtree & Evelyn lather bowl. I fill my sink with hot water until it is just below the rim of the bowl, plunk the "sink scuttle" down on one side of the sink, and start shaving. It keeps my lather and brush plenty toasty!

 

[SafetyManiac]

Awesome idea!! I'm definitely going to try this.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Another vote for a scuttle here. My shaving experience jumped a few notches when the Dirty Bird arrived. I can't live without it these days. I'm half tempted to order another just in case something happens to it.

 

[hathela]

http://www.dirtybirdpottery.com/shavinggear.html

http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss_scuttle.htm

http://www.georgetownpottery.com/st...P&Product_Code=SHAV0001&Category_Code=Shaving

are these scuttles for face latering only??

 

[Greybeard]

http://www.dirtybirdpottery.com/shavinggear.html

http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss_scuttle.htm

http://www.georgetownpottery.com/st...P&Product_Code=SHAV0001&Category_Code=Shaving

are these scuttles for face latering only??

No. You can bowl lather with most of them. It depends on the size of your brush and how big and deep a bowl you like. Check the measurements of the inner bowl. If I was a bowl latherer, I'd probably pick the DB 1.5.

 

[hathela]

No. You can bowl lather with most of them. It depends on the size of your brush and how big and deep a bowl you like. Check the measurements of the inner bowl. If I was a bowl latherer, I'd probably pick the DB 1.5.

i use Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush

 

[Greybeard]

i use Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush

That's a relatively small brush. You should be able to use any of them except the small Moss scuttle. That's the one I have and I use it as a brush scuttle.
The smallest I would use to bowl lather is the regular Dirty Bird or large Moss. You shouldn't ever need anything bigger than a Dirty Bird 1.5.
I started off bowl lathering and used a Georgetown scuttle. It worked fine, but I would probably get a Dirty Bird 1.5 today. I face lather now 95% of the time and only need a brush scuttle.
The Robert Becker scuttles on ebay look like bargains, but I've never tried one. I wouldn't get the small one, though. It's too narrow and deep to bowl lather.

 

[Deltaboy]

Get a Candle warmer they will get and keep the lather hot.