Why use a bowl?

[golfnshave]

Been using a brush/AOS cream for about 2 years, just came to the site about a week ago and WoW, you guys are great and with loads of info. I see the lather you build and I never got anywhere near that much on my brush. I also see you use a bowl to "mix" it up. What is the purpose of the bowl? Is there a type that is better then another? Thanks for any bowl info

 

[Luc]

The bowl is not mandatory to make lather. As Mantic explain in one of his videos, you can face lather, bowl lather or hand lather.

Each method is good. One might work better than another, YMMV...

A Cereal bowl or a latte cup should be big enough. I like my bowl to be 2"-3" in diameter and maybe 1" tall. I get a bigger explosion of lather from a bowl than face lathering.

I prefer face lathering but I do use a bowl here and there.

Edit: Here it is
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc[/youtube]

 

[Tom Ford]

What he said ^

I bowl lather, as I find it easier to generate good lather for my four passes. I tried face lathering and found I had to reload after the second pass, however YMMV.

Give it a go, and see which you prefer.

 

[azmark]

I only use a bowl for creams and face lather soaps. A bowl is more of an fun use and luxury when I want a warm lather. With face lathering you really get under the whiskers and work the brush into frenzy with lather. Usually don't need to reload but it happens, no big deal.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Good posts above. The video by Mantic shows the different ways to lather.

I bowl lather except I use a scuttle. Check out scuttles because they provide nice warm lather for the whole shave.

 

[Valker]

I was using my hand to build lather prior to reading about the bowl method on this site a while back. I think using the bowl brought my shaving to the next level. The bowl works better for me.

 

[Shamus99]

I used a bowl/cup for awhile but I'm really digging on the G5 scuttle I recently received.

It has ridges built into its mixing area that help agitate the lather which I feel creates a better lather explosion, and it's also designed with an upper lip that holds in the lather a bit and keeps it from going up and over. Oh yeah, it also keeps the lather nice and warm which is excellent also.

Hey, anybody ever use a wooden mug/cup/bowl with a rough interior surface for building lather?

 

[JPM]

I am a scuttle fan. I have the large Moss, a G5 from Georgetown and my Dirtybird should arrive any day now. I find the ridges in the inner bowl help to create great lather and with the scuttle it keeps the lather nice and warm for several passes.

 

[tsmba]

My view going into wet-shaving was that any bowl or cup would be fine for building lather. It wasn't until I ordered a large lather bowl from Sara Bonnyman that I discovered all bowls are not created equal. Having a bowl with a flat bottom, a diameter >5", and concentric ridges makes building lather a breeze!

 

[Luc]

I used a bowl/cup for awhile but I'm really digging on the G5 scuttle I recently received.

It has ridges built into its mixing area that help agitate the lather which I feel creates a better lather explosion, and it's also designed with an upper lip that holds in the lather a bit and keeps it from going up and over. Oh yeah, it also keeps the lather nice and warm which is excellent also.

Hey, anybody ever use a wooden mug/cup/bowl with a rough interior surface for building lather?

Nope. I have wooden container for one of my soaps that I use, I only charge the brush on top. It's all right