I got this mug and razor recently. Was hot water placed on the deeper side and the brush rested after lathering on the more shallow side?
Shave Mug Use
- Thread starter Twelvefret
- Start date
Usually, the water goes in the deeper side.
Hot water on the deeper side, and half a puck of soap on the shallow side, dip the brush in the water and load it with soap!
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- #4
Okay, half a puck. Make sense.
I do not understand mugs with partitions or cross-pieces or smooth bottoms that allow the puck to swirl around in the mug with your brush.
No. I. Just. Don't. Get. It.
No. I. Just. Don't. Get. It.
Is a matter of getting used to and, back in the day, whoever was able to purchase such items was more of an statement rather than functionality, and about the puck spinning on the mug, I’ve seen countless barbers load and lather doing side by side motions on the mug rather than swirls, therefore canceling the problem of a loose puck.
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- #7
When my soap gets thin it no longer stays put, but I can still load the soap with a light touch.
Looking forward to testing this old shaving cup out with half a cake of VDH Deluxe.
Looking forward to testing this old shaving cup out with half a cake of VDH Deluxe.
Interesting mug, let us know how you get on with it .
+1! This ^
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- #10
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
Very nice.
My guess is this was a mug designed specifically for the use case of no running water or lack of water or being as conservative with water while still allowing a wet shave. I think we tend to look at these old items in the confines of today's modern amenities and say "what the hell?" without thinking about the time and place they were used.
Oh, and I bet the brushes used when this was new, fit.
My guess is this was a mug designed specifically for the use case of no running water or lack of water or being as conservative with water while still allowing a wet shave. I think we tend to look at these old items in the confines of today's modern amenities and say "what the hell?" without thinking about the time and place they were used.
Oh, and I bet the brushes used when this was new, fit.
I would call that more of a scuttle, of the vintage variety. Not to be confused with the modern double-walled mugs that are also called scuttles.
Does your have drain holes on the shallow side?
This photo of a 19th century tin scuttle suggests that you just parked the soap in it to dry after use.
I'm guessing they (the shavers or barbers) just held the soap in one hand to charge the brush, and then face lather. They clearly were not made to hold the lather, nor even to have lather made in them. (Which the modern scuttles are.) After all, you don't need massive volumes of lather to shave. A thin slick film will suffice, especially with a soap like Williams Mug.
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- #13
I would call that more of a scuttle, of the vintage variety. Not to be confused with the modern double-walled mugs that are also called scuttles.
Does your have drain holes on the shallow side?
This photo of a 19th century tin scuttle suggests that you just parked the soap in it to dry after use.
I'm guessing they (the shavers or barbers) just held the soap in one hand to charge the brush, and then face lather. They clearly were not made to hold the lather, nor even to have lather made in them. (Which the modern scuttles are.) After all, you don't need massive volumes of lather to shave. A thin slick film will suffice, especially with a soap like Williams Mug.
No holes in this new one I found. I have one similar to the top one in your post. It's from Staffordshire and a "Flow Blue" design.
I agree with your assessment, the cups were designed to hold the soap, not to make lather. From the descriptions @REV579 sent, the idea was to have water and soap convenient for obtaining the desired lather consistency. Having hot water in the receptacle would have made the lather warm and comfortable.
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- #14
Thank you and I agree we tend to look at the relics with modern eyes and perceptions.
If it's from an era when there was no safety razors or running hot water, the mug is basically your portable mini sink. Some are literally shaped like small sinks. One half to store warm water, the other for soap. This one is best.
Interesting find! And the idea of it functioning as a mini sink is one that I hadn't thought of before. I assume that one would probably face lather with such an arrangement?
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- #17
Yes, I think so. I've always opted to face lather.
I suspect warm water came from the kitchen cook stove or similar. At a time when the inside of a house was in the '50's or less, having warm water felt special.
Technically one half is to store your brush between passes, but if you had to carry soap with you it would be for storing soap in it as well. Most men shaved in the kitchen, so soap was usually there in a dish to load your brush from.
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- #19
According the patent descriptions on similar designs the shallow portion was for soap. Some design had notched edges for holding the brush.
From what I've read most people didn't use special shaving soap, despite the industry 'educating' them there is such a thing and they need to keep repurchasing it to shave. After WWII as economies started to recover this became the norm. Maybe you've seen an older youtube video of an old man talking his straight razor collection. He uses regular hand washing soap and comments that special 'shaving' soap is a scam for suckers. He would be from that era.
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