Shave soap bowls

Being new to str8 shaving, I have a question about what I need when I order a "refill" of shave soap. It seems like they all come in sort of disc/bowl shapes. Do I need to have a wooden bowl or something to put the shaving puck in?

What do you guys put your shaving pucks/discs/etc. in when you order a refill?

My first soap was the SRD in the plastic dish. Can I put a different puck in there or is it recommended to get a nice wooden bowl?

Also, I have the tall SRD shave mug and all I've used it for is soaking my brush. It seems like it would be hard to build lather in there because the sides of the cup are rather steep and it's a deep mug. I wonder if I should invest in a wider, lower shaving bowl to build lather in.

Thanks as always for the advice, gentlemen. This is the most responsive, helpful forum I can imagine.

-Stub

:beer2:

You can pretty much put your soap in any bowl you want. I use wooden bowls from amazon(about 5 bucks) however they smell like lacquer for days. Here is a site that sells plastic tubs for the cheap like 50 cents a tub Amber PET Heavywall 8oz Plastic Jar w/ Black Lid - 89/400 BLK The only thing is how u get the soap in the bowl. If there glycerine based soaps(mama bears, or ogallala, ect) u can melt them however for MWF or Tabac you will have to grate them and pack them in the bowl. As far as lathering bowls go , u can get scuttles (bowl within a bowl that you put hot water in to keep lather warm) from dirtybird, gerogetown pottery or sara bonnyman pottery, or i just picked up a bowl thats perfect for lathering from target for 4 bucks heres the thread i did on it http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...wl-3-99-a.html ENJOY!!!!

You can use just about anything that helps you generate a lather, heck some use their cuped hand. As my photo shows I have a few oddballs myself.

Stub,

In answer to your question...No you don't. Wooden bowls are a nice decorative touch, but other non-wooden options can be just as aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are much more durable over the long run.

As the previous posts indicate, you can use just about any type of bowl to store your puck of soap in. My preference would be a Corningware ramekin that is used for serving desserts or soups. That would make a great storage bowl for your puck of soap imho.

Hello, Stubbles:

As the other gentlemen point out, you can make lather in just about any container. Choose what works best for you.

I happen to like the classic mugs, and have several replicas, since the originals cost a fortune. If a soap does not fit in a certain bowl, I shave down the soap and make it fit.

I keep a pewter shave mug, another replica, strictly for making lather — with soap and cream. Recently I have added a little dipping bowl I found at Target for lather as well. In this case, sometimes I use the pewter mug as caddy with water to keep my lather warm in the Target super duper.

Regards,
Obie

The first task is get a bowl or mug appropriate for your use. If it's just for storage there's all kinds of stuff at Wally World or Target you can get. If it's to make lather in any oversized soup mug or coffee mug will do and if you want to lather and keep the soap warm then either a scuttle designed for that or you could do a homemade version of a pot in a pot. Won't look as nice but it will work. As far as the soap goes, well its soap. As has been said the glycerin based soaps can be melted down and the other stuff can be shaved or cut for size. Most hard soaps out there seem to come in just two sizes from what I've seen. If you want to go fancy all the shaving sites have plenty to spend your money on.