Interested in buying a shaving scuttle.

[Adam18]

Whipping up a nice smooth lather with a cream .... this is where my scuttle really shines !

 

[Old Hippie]

Not to dissuade you, but I had it in mind that a nice scuttle would be a nifty addition to the Lather Pit. I decided to try it on by first going to a thrift re-seller and buying a large ceramic mug (500 ml) and a china sugar bowl that would nest neatly into the mug. Lovely, lovely warm lather -- so nice on a day when it's cold outside. Until I went over those two spots that are prone to irritation, and blammo they blew up with a vengeance.

Trying it out first might save you some aggravation sourcing and shipping in a nice scuttle, or it might make that aggravation seem eminently worthwhile. At least you'll know! I never did buy a scuttle, but I occasionally pull out the mug and bowl and make a nice warm lather. I can get by with it if I don't do it too often.

O.H.

 

[Tomo]

I didn’t take to the scuttle in the end. A bit too bulky for me. I find it easier to rest the lather bowl in the sink with a inch or two of hot water. Works well for me.

 

[Whilliam]

An old (20+ years) Robert Becker scuttle does the trick for me. I fill it, put in the microwave for a minute and I'm ready to whip up some nice, warm lather on frosty morns.

Also, if I'm not up to using the scuttle, I run my Captain's Choice heavy copper bowl under hot water for a few seconds. Doing so also make for some welcome warm lather.

 

[ackvil]

As for lather quality the difference is nearly zero.
If the water is too hot, it can affect your lather and cause it to break down, so maybe a slight edge to the lather bowl there.
In the winter, having warm lather is nice and it stays warm through the shave, so the edge goes to the scuttle there.
Don't expect that you are going to get a hot lather deal out of it, it just doesn't work that way. Way too much surface area for lather to actually be hot even if you are using boiling water (which I question the safety of being the state of my relative clothing while shaving), and as said - really hot water can adversely affect your lather.
But it does keep the lather from going cold.

This. I have a scuttle that I used for the first year after I bought it. Now I use my Captain's Choice copper bowl. I seem to get a richer lather when I use a bowl rather than face lathering.

 

[OhioBob]

I have the large Georgetown Pottery scuttle and it's nice, but once filled with water it is heavy and being ceramic is prone to breaking. I bought a second and could only find two pin sized flaws in the glazing. I also have the PAA travel scuttle that is plastic. I find it a tad small but being plastic is practically indestructible. Overall I find it worth it to have one, but it's not a game changer.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I use hot water from the tap in my scuttle and I have not had any issues with the lather breaking down. I just get nice, warm lather throughout my shave. I leave the scuttle standing on the counter once it is filled with water, and just hold it down when I am creating the lather, rather than holding it in my hand and spilling the water.

For me using a scuttle is a good way to do things. The scuttle should not be too big, but should also have a large and deep enough lathering bowl. If warm lather isn’t preferred then of course a scuttle is entirely unnecessary and a regular bowl would be better.

 

[tehnothing]

I have a Georgetown Pottery scuttle. It is good sized for lathering, but, takes up a lot of space, is heavy, and, is basically too much of a pain to pull out. I get by with my Captain's Choice Copper Bowl, which I much prefer. My lather is warm enough when I want it after warming the bowl in hot water.

 

[JAHE]

Good evening all.

I am interested in buying a shaving scuttle. I know what it is and how it works after watching various YouTube videos. Are they really that beneficial over a standard shaving bowl? I do like the look of them very much though! Any help will be much appreciated as always.

Jason.

So, which one did you choose?

 

[musicman1951]

I have two scuttles. My first scuttle was gigantic and produced enough heat to partially dry out a couple of creams. Not a huge deal as a couple drops of water and a quick swirl put me back in business, but the bigger they are the more hot water you've got working for you.

For the past few years (3, 5? memory is not my strong suit) I've been using a Georgetown Pottery G12. It's small enough to easily hold in my left hand as I build lather and each pass is slightly warmer than the last. My hot tap water is really hot (around 135 degrees) and I've only had one soap that was changed by the heat - surprisingly enough it was SV.

The warm lather does not change the quality of the shave. But it rather dramatically changes my comfort level when applying the second and third coats of lather. I hate winter (yes, it's a little crazy that I live in upstate NY), and face lathering provides me with the opposite experience - each subsequent coat of lather is colder.

Aside from the heat, there is no difference from using a bowl. It's just a bowl with some hot water underneath. They come in a variety of sizes, so if you decide to get one I'd experiment with different sized bowls from the kitchen to see what's comfortable. I think smaller is better in most ways - unless it's so small you keep clinking the brush handle on the sides as you swirl. I find that unwelcome percussion accompaniment.

 

[TMacpherson]

I bought mine at The Mud Place on Etsy. It’s the Oiled Mahogany Iron Red and Gloss black. It’s in the rear of this photo. Highly recommend!

 

[timetofly]

Good evening all.

I am interested in buying a shaving scuttle. I know what it is and how it works after watching various YouTube videos. Are they really that beneficial over a standard shaving bowl? I do like the look of them very much though! Any help will be much appreciated as always.

Jason.

What did you end up getting?

 

[JasonJT]

What did you end up getting?

Havent got one yet. Still looking.

Jason.

 

[Borderboss]

I absolutely love using my scuttle and would never go back to a regular bowl again. The warm lather is great. The times I've had to revert to a regular bowl when traveling, with the cold lather, is enough to convince me of the benefits of a scuttle.

Mine is a no-name large ceramic one I got from Ebay years ago, but they're no longer there. However, the QSHAVE scuttle on Ebay looks very similar. My advice is to get the largest one you can find so that it will accommodate large brushes. I have a couple of brushes with 28mm and 32 mm knots, and a small scuttle wouldn't work with them.

 

[ridinshotgun]

As brucered said, "Dirty Bird Pottery for the win". I have been using one of her scuttles for 10 years or so.

I just broke my dirty bird brush scuttle and was lucky enough to be able to glue it back together. Went looking to see about upgrading and it looks like it is hit or miss now about getting stuff due to a medical condition she was diagnosed with.

May also look at a full scuttle instead of just the brush scuttle.

 

[Ivo4u2]

I concur that the Steve Woodhead scuttles on his Etsy store are fantastic. I got mine with the suribachi-style lathering bowl and it really produces outstanding lather very easily.

Here is mine, with a Semogue SOC brush for scale. I got the ’large‘ size in black glaze, which gives it a pleasing resemblance to cast iron and adds to the nostalgic vibe. The size is very practical - a big enough bowl for lathering but the whole thing doesn’t have too large a footprint and I can hold it securely in one hand. Really nicely made, and the price was GBP 45 - which seems like great value for the work and skill involved in making this.

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Definitely going on my bling list je is also making a brush scuttle!