Thread: Keeping Brush Warm

Hello All,

I was wondering the best way to keep my brush warm. When I latther up my face it seems that the latther and brush are chilled which in turn makes my face chilled. I usually place a hot towel on my face twice before lathering and I run the brush under the hot water for a good two minutes. I think the cool lather is chilling my face down, which counteracts me doing the hot towel treatment. Any advice is welcomed. Thanks.

Tim

The best way to keep both brush and lather warm is using a shave scuttle. It is a particular cup which you can fill with warm water and this will ensure your lather to be warm during the entire shave. Some scuttles also have a "brush holder" for the same purpose.

I just dip mine under hot water if it loses heat. On the other hand, if it loses its warmth, it doesn't really bother me and certainly doesn't affect the shave.

Originally Posted by razorguy

The best way to keep both brush and lather warm is using a shave scuttle. It is a particular cup which you can fill with warm water and this will ensure your lather to be warm during the entire shave. Some scuttles also have a "brush holder" for the same purpose.

Tim, my friend razorguy offers excellent advice. Yes, a scuttle will do the job. You have a choice of several models: Moss, Schwarzweisskeramik, Dirty Bird, Straight Razor Designs, Becker and Georgetown, among others. Some are also meant for lather, and some just to keep the brush warm. Moss is only for keeping the brush warm. That's my current scuttle. I have used all the others except the SRD scuttle, although I have heard good things about it.

I have a Moss Scuttle and a SRD Scuttle. These both work well (SRD a little better as it is deeper and narrower) and are both meant for keeping your lathered brush warm. I fill the scuttle water chamber with boiling water. Then make the lather in a separate bowl and put the lathered brush in the scuttle. Then I strop the razor. By this time the lather and brush are so warm that I have to cool it down a bit by whipping it a bit more in the shave bowl for a few seconds. It remains this way throughout the shave no matter how many passes.

The cheap system I used was a deep (noodle) bowl that I part filled with boiling water, and a shallow (soup) bowl that I put in it, the two rims were the same diameter so the smaller bowl sat in there beautifully without dropping all the way in, I would then use the top bowl to mix my lather and then leave the brush in it, the whole shabang stayed lovely and warm. And cost about $9. As a bonus if an extra guest turned up I had crockery for them. Now I just use cold water though.

I also use the SRD scuttle and like it. Before I bought that I took anothers advice and set my plain mug in the sink that was filled with some hot water. That's the cheap way I guess.

If money is a problem here is what I did. At Goodwill I found an electric cup warmer plate and a metal cup (ceramic is good too). Put cup on warmer & plug it in before you shower. After you build a good lather up and lather the first time place your brush in the cup while you do your first pass. You can re lather the brush before you put in the warm cup. Then when you need more lather it's toasty warm and helps keep the beard hairs soft. Don't forget to unplug or shut the warmer off when done.

Good luck

Thanks everyone for the advice, I will definitely look into getting a scuttle. Thanks again for the advice.

Tim

This is my favourite solution.
It is a scuttle/bowl made by Steve Woodhead (see Ebay for his sales).
Hand Made Mugs, Shaving items in Steve Woodhead Studio Pottery store on eBay!

Basically it is a double walled bowl. Pour hot water into the spout... and then make your lather.
By the time you come back for the second and third pass the brush and lather is still deliciously warm on your face.