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To scuttle or not to scuttle

Shaved DE for 9 years without a scuttle, just face lathering off the puck, so there's definitely no need for it. That said, I brought out my old Dirty Bird scuttle from the back of the closet when I got into straight shaving, and there really is nothing quite like a nice warm brush full of lather on your face first thing in the morning. It's an easy upgrade to a shave to make it more luxurious
 
Ah, but warm lather with a menthol chilled soap is the best of both worlds haha like driving in the car during the summer with windows down and AC on blast
 
I used mine like twice then didnt bother...not that anything was wrong i just couldnt be stuffed washing it all the time and getting inside getting all the nooks
 
I had one but stopped using it. I just leave my lather bowl in the sink with a bit of hot water in the bottom of the sink. This works fine for warm lather. There is a lot more water in the sink than the scuttle so the temperature is more stable. I found that many lathers either break down or dry out if they are too hot. And the scuttle cools down during the shave.

I’ve been toying with the idea of building a dry scuttle. A lather bowl concreted into a wide mouth thermos. I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think this would stay warm for a long time. The concrete is heavy and has a larger thermal mass than water. There would also be no heat loss through the base or sides. It’s always seemed like too much trouble through.
 
Warm lather daily is fantastic especially if you bowl lather. My Steve Woodhead scuttle in teak;
WP-scuttle-a.JPG
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
The other advantage of the scuttle: soaking a boar brush. Gives you a nice place without filling half the sink, and keeps the handle out of the water as well.

After my shave I put the scuttle under the running tap and clean my brush and the scuttle at the same time.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
There's an in-between.

Throw your bowl in the sink full of hot water, along with the brush.

While the brush absorbs water, the bowl absorbs heat. (Metal or ceramic).

You get warm lather.


AA
 
As has been said, a scuttle is definitely not a necessity. But this week we've had cold mornings with frost on the pumpkins when I go out. It's certainly nice to have shaved with soothing warm lather before braving the cold.
 
I often face lather with nice warm pre-lather from my scuttle. I use a modified Marco Method. Wet brush - load from tub - lather briefly in scuttle - then finish on face. Some back and forth between the face and scuttle to manage the build-up of soap so most is captured in scuttle for toasty warm 2nd, 3rd, and 4th passes.
 

Owen Bawn

Garden party cupcake scented
When I saw the title of this thread: "To scuttle or not to scuttle" I expected to read that the OP was looking for advice as to whether he should sink his ship on purpose.

I grew up thinking that the (noun) scuttle was the thing I had to fill with coal from the coal bin in the cellar each morning to haul upstairs to the fire. I never heard it applied to soap and water till I came here. I've obviously missed out on a lot in life.
 
There's an in-between.

Throw your bowl in the sink full of hot water, along with the brush.

While the brush absorbs water, the bowl absorbs heat. (Metal or ceramic).

You get warm lather.


AA
That’s what got me started looking for a scuttle. My stainless bowl didn’t hold the heat long enough ang if I tried to put the bowl with my brush in it, the buoyancy of the bowl caused it to tip over and fill with water. So I got a nice heavy ceramic scuttle.
 
I've been using a scuttle every day in the colder weather (and sometimes in the warmer weather) for many years now. I have a Georgetown G12. It's small enough to hold in my left hand while I make the lather.

My tap water is pretty hot - too hot, really (130's) and it's more than hot enough for the scuttle. Each pass the lather gets a little warmer. Lovely, really.
I just got a Georgetown Pottery G12 and I am enjoying it very much. I don't hold it though, I just use it on the counter. I have my hot water heater set 140 degrees. Plenty warm enough for my scuttle.

Scuttle and Brush.jpg
 
I just use a large, thick ceramic latte mug with a handle. I fill it with hot water before I get in the shower, drop the brush in, and it's nice and warm when I get out of the shower to shave. The thick ceramic stays plenty warm until I'm finished shaving. Simple, and it works for me. Most importantly, it's idiot-proof since I'm doing it before I've had my coffee!

Cheers all.
 
I have two, the plastic PAA travel scuttle and a G-20 Georgetown scuttle thoroughly enjoy using either for that nice warm lather feel during our cold Midwest winters.
 
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