Thread: Newbie in need of seasoned scuttle advice

I have owned 3 scuttles by previous makers and I find my SWK XL scuttle to be the best I've had. Functionally and aesthetically its a ringer, highly recommended.

Mike1011,

I have a G12 that will arrive tomorrow. I could respond to this thread then and give my thoughts about it.

The scuttle is definitely a luxury. A daily shaver can make do with a small bowl or mug, but a shaving scuttle can add that little bit of extra decadence if you're really going all out for that sweet sweet shave. A little more water may have to be added to the lather during the shave if the scuttle is very hot, but if you're spending the time to really enjoy the shave, you have time to tend to your lather. The one thing I love about many modern scuttles is the textured bowls to help build a lather. It sounds like you've done pretty well in adding the same kind of speed bumps to your bowl (I'm going to have to mod out one of my small bowls now lol). Scuttle, bowl, mug or whatever you end up using to whip your lather in, focus on building a GOOD lather. I love shaking my soaked brush almost dry and whipping soaps up with creams with fairly low water, adding mere drops to hydrate. top it all off with a little liquid glycerine into the lather. When I use my scuttle instead of a bowl, I tend to need to add a little more water to keep the lather to keep it from drying and breaking down. I'm looking at getting a smaller scuttle like Georgetown Pottery's G12, to save some counterspace. I love using a plain small lather bowl (a small fruit serving bowl is my current favorite for daily shaving), but if you're used to a big bowl, there are plenty of large scuttles on the market if you want to give it a try.

Thank you all, plenty to go on.

@Ted,
I shave on a night also and for me it is most definitely the quiet "me time", once I get my one year old daughter who sticks to me like glue as soon as I walk in from work down to bed (don't get me wrong I love it); I enjoy a nice bath and now with the addition of the straight shave its just my little treat at the end of the day. The whole thing takes me about 1 1\2 so I may actually take much longer than half an hour !

@AD3,
That epoxy trick works a treat but I must confess it was not my idea, I read it somewhere but I can't remember where....probably here. I'm like you on the lather I spend my time using little water to make a thick whipped cream consistency. Its just dawned on me that if someone had told me a month ago that I would be on a forum talking about making a lather I would have laughed at them. Funny how shaving with a straight razor changes something that was done in mere seconds with my now defunct mach3 into an enjoyable process that is worthy of discussion

I have just one question for the SWK (far to long to spell out), does the bowl have any texture to it? I've had a look on the website and its hard To tell. The do however look typically German; plain, well made and quite expensive but I suspect that little else will be able to compete in their function, particularly in the heat retention department...........but do they have ridges/texture in the bowl to make lather ?

@sheajohnw,
The stevewoodhead scuttle looks allot like the G20 to me but not as good looking (just a personal point) and would be quite a bit cheeper, thank you for pointing that one out.

The German oskar scuttle does have a pattern in the bottom. It is a very large piece by the way.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The German oskar scuttle does have a pattern in the bottom. It is a very large piece by the way.

Is it this one ? Schwarzweisskeramik big is good as I will be lathering in the bowl

Thank you all again for the help and advice its very much appreciated.

After much umming and arring over the G20 and the SWK scuttle I've decided to go for ze German one xl in black. Its probably the most expensive one and been a Brit I'm going to grudgingly admit that when it comes to engineering a functional object there is no denieing that the Germans take some beating; it seems shaving scuttles are no exception

Mike1011,

Sorry, I didn't have an opportunity to evaluate the G12 until last night. Here are some photos of my Scuttle.









Measurement details on the G12 Scuttle:
• Parabolic Arc Length of Inner Cup = 17.5 mm
• Upper ID of the Cup = 103 mm
• Depth of Inner Cup = 65.5 mm
• ID of Water Port = 18.5 mm
• OD at Scuttle's Greatest Width = 130 mm
• OD of Base = 100 mm
• Overall Height of Scuttle = 86.5 mm
(measurements are approx.)

Regarding how well it worked:
Filled Scuttle and Inner Cup with hot tap water @ approximately 120 - 140°F (48.8° - 60°C). Allowed Brush to soak for approximately 3 to 5 min. Emptied water from Scuttle and Cup and refilled Scuttle only. Created later with Classic Shaving Bay Rum Soap. Shave took approximately 20 to 30 min. While the later didn't remain "hot," it definitely stayed much warmer than room temp by the end of the shave (during former shaves, the lather would be "cold" by the end of my shave). The ridges and forms within the Inner Cup helped to create so much lather that I couldn't use it all during the 2 to 3 shave passes (some regions of my face / neck get two passes, the others get three).

I image that the G20 would do a better job holding the heat for a longer time due to the increase in mass, however I did not map the time-temperature response of my G12.

I see that you chose the SWK Scuttle. Please let us all know how it works for you.

BR//ShavingSnob

I still really like the GP scuttles, to me they are the best looking ones out there. I'll let you know how I get on with the SWK scuttle

I've had a DB for about 3 years now, the large model really pleased with it. Packaged really well and great service.