I have been looking all over about what the difference between a mug and a shaving mug is? Is the inside different than a standard mug?
Shaving mug - what's the difference?
- Thread starter ZackP
- Start date
I use a big ceramic green coffee mug for almost every shave...wider the easier to mix around imo
Diameter, depth, handle location and configuration, "grippers" to hold soap or aid lather building....
There may be a dozen things that differentiate a coffee mug from a shaving mug.
Or it may be nothing more than the artwork
But in general, coffee mugs are too deep to be used for "bowl lathering", but they may be perfectly suited to contain soap to load the brush for face lathering.
There may be a dozen things that differentiate a coffee mug from a shaving mug.
Or it may be nothing more than the artwork
But in general, coffee mugs are too deep to be used for "bowl lathering", but they may be perfectly suited to contain soap to load the brush for face lathering.
- Thread starter
- #4
So, do you lather the soap in it or is it just for holding the puck?
Personal preference.
Some load the brush and build the lather in the mug, others load the brush and lather on their face.
Some load the brush and build the lather in the mug, others load the brush and lather on their face.
Any size mug can be used, but some are made just for shaving. In a pinch however that shaving mug can be used just like any other mug or cup.
Get a scuttle 
.
If you're new to this, you should learn what a scuttle is and get that instead. Once you actually experience the pleasure of warm lather through an entire shave, you might be much happier with a scuttle. I know I am
.If you're new to this, you should learn what a scuttle is and get that instead. Once you actually experience the pleasure of warm lather through an entire shave, you might be much happier with a scuttle. I know I am
Both. Or either.
IMHO, a shaving mug is a mug that was designed to hold soap. Old Spice mugs are good examples, the classic low profile, wide mouth, shaving related logo, and some having vanes at the bottom to keep the puck in place make them good shaving mugs, designed for that use. The old occupational mugs that a barbershop kept are certainly shaving mugs. A Col Conk mug is a shaving mug. I've got a Fuller Brush creation that was designed to hold soap, even though the shape and depth makes it less than ideal, more like a scuttle that doesn't hold water. It was built for soap, however, so it's a shaving mug, although a lousy one.
A coffee mug can be used as a shaving mug, but most are too high and narrow to be ideal. A soup mug or wide coffee mug might be more suitable, but are they really shaving mugs?
A third category would be the shaving related coffee mug. This would be a mug that in every respect is a standard coffee mug, but it's got a shaving related image. I'd say those are shaving mugs, but not classic shaving mugs.
Mustache cups that are designed to keep a mustache out of the beverage are not shaving mugs, although they are commonly misidentified as such.
Whatever vessel holds your soap is your shaving mug, of course, but each man gets to define what a shaving mug is in his own den.
Antique Hoosier
“Aircooled”
I use these cups. I found them at Goodwill for 50 cents a piece. They had a set of 4 plus a double handled one (for sugar?). Anyways, I picked up the four normal cups and they're perfect for what I want: wide mouth, shallow mug with a handle that I can grip. The one finger grip is great as well in my opinion.
- Thread starter
- #12
Get a scuttle
If you're new to this, you should learn what a scuttle is and get that instead. Once you actually experience the pleasure of warm lather through an entire shave, you might be much happier with a scuttle. I know I am
I usually shave with cold water. But, wouldn't building a lather in the same cup as the soap make the soap soggy later on or something?
OK, at least to make the lather, even if you don't get a scuttle, you should be using warm or even hot water. It will lather easier and feel nicer on your fact too.
Building lather in the same cup as the soap is just fine. You pour off the excess water. The soap dries during the day just like any hand soap would when you pour excess water from a soap dish. Shaving soap last a long time, it's not a problem.
I use a soup bowl with a handle for lathering. Got it at Goodwill for .55 cents. I put it and my brush in the sink with steamy hot water while I shave, empty it and make my lather. The bowl holds the heat long enough for my shave (it's a thick bowl). Overall, pleased as can be. My soap puck is sitting in a small ramekin but I've been ignoring it for my tube of Bigelow.
I recently bought a two really nice bowls that fit a Mitchell's Woolfat puck, I think it's 170 grams. I found them at Target for $3.99 each and they're fantastic for whipping up a lather. I like that the Woolfat puck, which I usually slice into two equal diameter cylinders, fits the bowl with room to spare. I prefer this bowl to my EJ and other porcelain mugs and similar bowls. I would guess this is classified as soup/cereal bowl--but for me this is an exceptional mixing bowl; the best I've come across in some time--and I was always on the lookout for a good mixing bowl--no more, this fits my needs. The bowl' has a 5" diameter is ~2 5/8" deep. Mea culpa if these photos come out too large--it was unintentional.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #17
I'll have to try face lathering sometimes soon. But, although maybe that works, I really enjoy doing everything with cold water, although every now and then I use lukewarm and hot water. Might not work for everyone, but I personally love it!
The biggest difference between a coffee mug and a shaving mug is that a sip from one tastes better than the other.
For most of us the shaving mug is simply a glorified soap dish that holds a puck of soap which we load our brush from before making lather in a separate bowl bowl, on our face, or in our palm. You can build your lather directly on top of the puck, but will consume a little more product that way. I imagine that our fathers or grandfathers did just that back in the day when pucks of shaving soap were available everywhere.
The big thing you are looking for in a shaving mug is something that will hold the pucks of soap you use and has either low sides or enough space to swirly your brush without excessive clanking against the sides. Some soaps can be melted and poured into any size mug and the other can simply be grated and packed into the mug.
Any mug that woks for you can be a shaving mug
Similar threads
