What's new

The DIY "Moss scuttle"

A recent shaveblog entry mentions the "Moss scuttle", a pottery shaving mug with a shallow bowl on top for lather creation and a basin below it for hot water, so that the hot water in the basin heats the lather above it and you have sustained warm lather for your shave.

Of course, being the cheap bastard with the pvc shaving stand, I had to try this at home...

Basically, I just took a large chili bowl and a smaller cereal bowl, filled the chili bowl with hot water and smushed the cereal bowl into it so that the excess water ran out and the upper bowl was no longer floating wobbly on top of the lower bowl, and made lather.

You know what? It made a difference. It's too much trouble to use the two-bowl method all the time (since they didn't nest well, the upper bowl was pretty mobile) but it was really nice having warm lather for my second and third passes (usually it's fairly tepid by the time I get to it). If I found two bowls/mugs that worked like that, I'd probably use them.

I'm not about to stampede out and spend $35 for a Moss scuttle, but I'd use something like that; might make a good present. I can't say it made the shave more effective, but it was a nice luxury.
 
vputz said:
I'm not about to stampede out and spend $35 for a Moss scuttle, but I'd use something like that; might make a good present. I can't say it made the shave more effective, but it was a nice luxury.
I placed an order for one. :blush: Hey, I like hot lather (and while the Hot Pot Method works for the initial lather, following ones grow progressively colder), I like handsome pottery, I like new shaving toys, and I respect the shaving acumen of Chris Moss.

I can be the resident Guinea pig if the forum likes. :biggrin:

Your lemming in lather,
-Rich
 
came up with this a while back, the idea of a scuttle with plugged holes is not new, besides what im picturing you can buy a 'violet pot' (i think that's what it's called at walmart that does the same hting for 5 bucks.
 
I do something similar with some pans I bought from Goodwill for $2. One of them is ceramic (the big one) and the inside one is metal. The outside holds in heat well and the inside one conducts heat well to keep the lather warm.
 
The "Moss Scuttle" is named after Dr. Chris Moss, well respected member of SMF and SRP. He is the author of "The Art of The Straight Razor Shave, A Basic Guide", which can be downloaded from the hompage of SMF. I've got one one order and plan to place a review of it once received. After having tried the hot pot method, floating bowls, whatever, this just makes sense.

Randy
 
Having perused some of the chatter at SMF, re: The Moss Scuttle, some time ago, I was unable to determine anything other than there was a lot of noise in the channel and the few that had anything to say in the discourse were afraid to microwave the water in the scuttle. (A seemingly legitimate concern considering price, materials, and methods.)
While the idea is delightful and it would seem the execution (hand-thrown pottery) was appealing, it was not geared to chaps that liked to have boiling water in the shaving fault within 3 minutes 30 seconds of the urge.
Good luck and let me know how it works for you.
 
i think people just use normal hot water in it, from a hot pot or the tap. i wouldn't try to put that thing in the microwave.

i use hot water straight from the tap for my ghetto scuttle.
 
With The Grain said:
came up with this a while back, the idea of a scuttle with plugged holes is not new, besides what im picturing you can buy a 'violet pot' (i think that's what it's called at walmart that does the same hting for 5 bucks.
I'm sure there are seventy-five different ways to achieve the effect of hot water maintaining the heat of a lathering vessel. Most of them would be far less expensive than the $35 or $40 a Moss Scuttle runs, too. My issue is that, slick as the idea of nested pots may be, it tends to look cheap, and that doesn't do it for me.

I'm becoming convinced that there are two types of wet shavers: those in it for the luxury of the thing, almost regardless of cost; and those who are aiming for the most efficient or least-investment shave, for whom the luxury side takes a back seat, and cleverness in the name of getting lots of the same benefit as the luxury guys is king. This is right up the alley of a thread Kyle started a while ago.

The Moss Scuttle is definitely for the former group, of which I am a happy member. :biggrin: Of course, it's important to remember that the Moss Scuttle was purpose-built for fitting different sizes of brush (there are two sizes available, with the knot-size demarcation between them at around 24mm), and fulfilling its intended function. So the line between efficiency of function and luxury is not always a clear one.

-Rich
 
I've got a scuttle on the way. I've tried the "two bowl" method, and the violet pot, however I find both to be cumbersome. I believe that hot lather brings a luxurious element to all creams. The $35.00 cost for a hand thrown piece of pottery which should last for many years does not seem excessive. I've always used hot tap water for my shaves, so I don't have any microwave issues to deal with.
 
PoshRichM said:
I'm sure there are seventy-five different ways to achieve the effect of hot water maintaining the heat of a lathering vessel. Most of them would be far less expensive than the $35 or $40 a Moss Scuttle runs, too. My issue is that, slick as the idea of nested pots may be, it tends to look cheap, and that doesn't do it for me.

I'm becoming convinced that there are two types of wet shavers: those in it for the luxury of the thing, almost regardless of cost; and those who are aiming for the most efficient or least-investment shave, for whom the luxury side takes a back seat, and cleverness in the name of getting lots of the same benefit as the luxury guys is king. This is right up the alley of a thread Kyle started a while ago.

The Moss Scuttle is definitely for the former group, of which I am a happy member. :biggrin: Of course, it's important to remember that the Moss Scuttle was purpose-built for fitting different sizes of brush (there are two sizes available, with the knot-size demarcation between them at around 24mm), and fulfilling its intended function. So the line between efficiency of function and luxury is not always a clear one.

-Rich

well i cant say i think pottery is very good looking, if that were my goal id buy one of the beautiful quaich's that some of the guys have, now that's something you'd probably leave out vs tuck away. that said the bowl set up i use is a matter of function and returns to behind the vanity mirror after im done with it but the cream i mix does not falter in any degree of being "luxurious".
 
Seemed cool to me... I bought one - as I think it'll be cool for the shaving brush comparo!

WORD OF WARNING!
If you use boiling water, you will ruin the ends of your badger brush, as it will heat the pottery hot enough to actually damage the tips of your badger brush. If you don't care that it looks a little mangled at the tips - disregard this comment, but if you have an expensive silvertip/super - you probably wan tto just use steaming water!
 
Well, I'm definitely in the "quality shave for high ease and low cost" side of the camp... with luxury where it's as simple as possible (actually, more of the "learning a new skill at a low cost" end of the spectrum, which is why I still love and defend my $5 pvc shaving stand--which, incidentally, is upgradeable--I bought a couple more tees for it and now it holds both my HD and my injector with ease and dubious style; try THAT with your $60 pewter shaving stand! I could add another razor with no trouble, but beyond that I'd have to add other levels, though that has its own mad-scientist appeal as the razor stand expands to take up all available real estate... naw, maybe not)

Though actually my issue with the Moss scuttle (and yes, I know who Chris Moss is, and it's a good basic design) is that it appears to have a blind cavity in the bottom which can't easily be cleaned out, and that bugs me unnecessarily. I could be missing something (I've only seen pictures) but if the pieces could be taken apart for cleaning, I'd be more interested. It's not like you'll even be doing anything with the lower cavity but holding hot water, but I hate anything I can't take apart.

/shrug. Frankly, this morning I abandoned the two-bowl design and just plopped my heavy porcelain chili bowl in the sink surrounded by my hot rinse water for the razor, and my lather was nice and warm--so I think I'll probably just stick with that. I hope that Moss&Potter do well with the scuttle (not easy to make money as a potter, so I'm glad for its popularity), but it's a confection I don't need. I hope everyone enjoys theirs, though--hooray for invention!
 
FYI,
To get the "moss" scuttle you are looking at a month before it is shipped, it'll run probably a little over $50 after shipping and the $5 handling fee. I ordered one... but after hearing the whole "one month before shipping" and the $5 handling fee... I am thinking about dropping the idea. Anyone know of a potter(?) who could do something like this for us?
 
I was told mine was $45 (Canadian) and would ship within a week(?).

I tried the hot pot method. It bent the tips of my Vulfix 41 something awful. Then, it kept blowing fuses in my bathroom (when used with a hair dryer). Then, it burned out a GFI plug. Then, after replacing that with a ($$) heavy duty model... the hot pot burned out....

I gave up.
 
I ordered mine on the April 24. Sara e-mailed me on the 25th saying she would ship the scuttle this week.
 
i have had one for over two weeks...I really like it...mine even came with a dr moss's prescription to "use as often as necessary"...

Keeps the lather warm, not hot, and for several passes. Sara did mine in a off white with a light green stripe. Very nicely done and very heavy.

For those who have yours ordered, it will be worth you wait.

Trust me...

Mark the shoeshine boy
 
Top Bottom