What's new

Lather Bowl Design

Hello friends,
Before I started face lathering, I asked my wife to make me a lather bowl. And even though I've changed my mind about having one, she still wants to add a lather shaving bowl to her pottery sales on Etsy.

What are your ideal traits for a lather bowl? You can attach photos of what you like.

I think my wife would be looking to make a bowl that could suit many people but they would have a choice of glazing.

If my wife is up to it, maybe I can see if we could do a lather bowl pass-around provided that everyone writes a note of feedback on what they love and what could be improved.

I imagine this may be more for the crowd of shavers that like artisan creations. I know some will just use a salsa bowl to lather. In any case, I welcome your ideas.
 

DoctorShavegood

"A Boy Named Sue"
Ribbed...wait that doesn't sound right.:a13: Ridges...or bumps to sort of capture the lather as you swirl the brush around. If you look at the bottom of an Old Spice bowl there are little whatchamacallit ridges that stick up and help capture the lather creating some friction. I'm far from being scientific but it works great versus some of my smoother bowls. I like mine more wide and shallow versus narrow and deep but for it to still fit in the palm of the hand with out droppage.
 
Take a look at the Fine Accoutrements lather bowl. I like being able to hook my thumb in the handle loop so it won't slip out of my hand. Ribs inside the bowl help create lather. I even like the brush shelf over the handle now that I have been using it.

20191224_151734.jpg
 
I like two kinds of designs both of which I have. One is smallish, with a 4 1/2" inside diameter at the top (4 3/4" outside) and 2 1/4" depth. I like a rough outside so it's easier to grip when wet and a smooth inside with a very mild swirl on the bottom to help with building lather. And I like the inside to be a dark color as it would offset nicely the white color of most lathers. A dark navy blue looks really sharp with a brownish outside.

The other design I like is 5 3/4" inside diameter (6" outside) and 2" depth, again with the same features described above. The wider design is also nice with a sort of spout on one spot on the rim where a brush can rest while sitting in the bowl.

I'm sure others can expand and improve upon the above.

IMG_0238.jpeg


IMG_0240.jpeg
 
Last edited:
proxy.php

I actually pinched this idea from another guy so he gets the credit for this. I bought this bottom half of a stonewave cooker at a thrift store for 50 cents. Epoxy 5 nickels to bottom and created more bumps with left over epoxy. Great lather bowl for less than a dollar. Use it everyday.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
The ideal shape for me is as close as possible to a half sphere with a diameter of 120mm. The bottom should just be flat enough to stand without wobbling. Total height 55mm. Vertical edges at the very top.

C08D6294-2ABB-4373-8B99-4AB71F3B5AA6.jpeg
 
i am in se asia and had to be pretty inventive as the artisanal type bowls are not easily available nor affordable to ship.
If it helps, this is what i like about a couple of them.
One of my favourite is a japanese suribachi bowl - for grinding spices, its smaller than most lather bowls and easy to hold. Some have thought the ridges may be a little sharp for brushes but ive never noticed any issues.
Another is a'wavy' ceramic fish bowl - the ridges are not too pronounced and only really offer grip for my hands, i dont believe any lathering benefit - but again the shape and size is great for holding.
Both are small as well so handy when travelling.

In general - smaller than most artisanal options but easy to hold for daily shaves. if i have time and really want to get the lather going, i can use the bigger heavier bowls on the countertop

XRing3 - I do like the epoxy/coins idea - i might have to borrow that one too!
 

Attachments

  • 003.JPG
    003.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 38

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I'm glad I had a little influence with some fellow shavers with lather shaving bowls, I find ceramic bowls are excellent but when dropped on the floor they will disappoint in that respect. I have had a few ceramics for almost 3 yrs and have not broken one yet. The epoxied coins glued in a bowl work very well for slowly letting the soap dissipate into the stirring action of the brush with slowly adding water by brush tips.(works very well IMO)

I like to make a different bowl up every once in a while(3rd one) and I believe ceramic is a great choice to use or maybe stainless, copper metals (ceramic retains a lot of heat longer than metals). Every once in a while my wife goes to a thrift store and this time I was with her, I was looking at this bowl and was thinking is it a Fondo or cereal bowl? No it is going to be a new lather bowl so I purchased it back a few months ago for $1.00 Can.

Shaving bowl 5 (2).jpg


Shaving bowl 4 (2).jpg I used Marine JB weld and this stuff is amazing for strength, it takes thermal shock well from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to + 180 degrees Fahrenheit with no coins coming loose. (tested my other similar bowl for over a year.)
Shaving bowl 2 (2).jpg This all the soap you need to bring on a rich lather in 1- 2 minutes easily at most. Shaving bowl 1 (2).jpg These are my results almost all the time with these bowls I re-purposed.
Shaving bowl 3 (2).jpg Bonus with a handled ceramic bowl. I pour hot water from the tap with the lather inside over the outside to heat up the lather for those cold winter months. The lather is still warm on the last pass if your curious how long it lasts.
Place the soap in the bowl first then heat it up with hot running water finally start the brush lathering process because it heats the lather better & longer lasting IMO from my experiences.
Just started doing this recently and in about 20-30 seconds of hot tap water over the ceramic creating it nice and warm and so I started to spoil my self in the morning shaves. The lather does not see any of the water it seems and it works very well.(it doesn't get much better with warm lather in winter months IMO.)

Some other bowls I have used or improved over the years.
Shaving bowls 2019 (2).jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
Last edited:
I used to throw pottery though I never really made anything good enough to take to Etsy. But I did do some experimentation in pursuit of a lather bowl for myself.
I did not find any lather improvement from ridges or bumps on the inside of the bowl.
I found a tall narrow shape made good lather and kept the heat in. Trouble is of course that "narrow" is relative to brush width.
The bowl I ended up with had no handle but fit in the palm of the hand which I thought made for a more comfortable angle for the brush hand.
I did not glaze the outside because I liked the sensory effect - felt more secure in a wet hand. But I thought the same effect might be obtained by glazing part while leaving strategic unglazed areas.
Here is a picture.

28282.jpg
 
Last edited:
Very interesting choices. Maybe a lather bowl can be anything that holds lather. Lol

Captain's Choice lather bowl was my preferred, until I decided to design and 3D Print my own. I uploaded the files to Thingiverse for anyone to download and print, or even modify. Shaving Lather Bowl with Brush Rest by rogerquin - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3392930

[snip]

As I have no access to a 3D printer, nor personally know anyone with such access, I would seriously buy one of these if it was available for purchase. Well done.

Having broken a ceramic bowl, and suffering a non-trivial injury as a result (sliced shin), I have since sworn to never use a breakable bowl/scuttle ever again. I only have interest in unbreakable bowls. I happily use my cheap ridge-bottomed pet food bowl, but I seriously like what you've done. I'll likely end up purchasing one of those Pereira bowls eventually.

Pereira Shavery Unbreakable Lather Bowl_3.jpg
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Very interesting choices. Maybe a lather bowl can be anything that holds lather. Lol

Captain's Choice lather bowl was my preferred, until I decided to design and 3D Print my own. I uploaded the files to Thingiverse for anyone to download and print, or even modify. Shaving Lather Bowl with Brush Rest by rogerquin - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3392930 View attachment 1063198View attachment 1063200
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
What kind of 3d razor is the Gold one you have in the picture, never seen one before? Interesting bowl also!
 
Many artisan bowls are too small or too shallow.

I don't bowl lather a lot, but my preferred shape is similar to a Korean stoneware bowl, a dolsot. These come in several graduated sizes and can be stacked. Two stacked bowls can provide something similar to a shaving scuttle.

dolsot.jpg


Here is a singing bowl, from another member. This type of shape, in a ceramic bowl, could work. It's important that it can be held securely in one hand.

sing-bowl-3.JPG

 
What kind of 3d razor is the Gold one you have in the picture, never seen one before? Interesting bowl also!


Thanks! The razor is my design also. It's a SE that uses GEM blades. The OC plate holds the blade and locks in place when you tighten the handle. Plus I designed three plates with three different levels of aggression (mild, medium, and aggressive). Aggressive plate feels like an OC GEM Micromatic minus the weight.
 
Make one that won't break if I drop it that doesn't cost $40. I probably still wont want it though. It's just another item that takes up space, steals my lather, and needs to be cleaned out and put away.
 
Great thread with some very creative solutions!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

I prefer to face-lather these days, so take this with a grain of salt. When I was figuring things out I tried several ‘dedicated’ lather bowls that did not do the trick. Eventually, I decided that for me the best choice was ‘cereal bowl’ that I repurposed from the kitchen: good diameter but not too deep.
 
Top Bottom