Thread: Moss scuttle review

I finally broke down the other week and shelled out the cash for a Moss scuttle. After using it for a week, I have to say I'm hooked.

The scuttle is hand-made, and while I'm not pottery expert, I think the work is excellent. Mine seems to have a few idosyncracies, like a rough spot in the glaze here and there, but I'd expect that for an item that's individually crafted.

I got the regular model with the smaller brush cup, not the bowl-like model that's being tested out right now.

Using just hot water from my tap, the scuttle seems to keep the lather hot to warm for about 20 minutes. Some days that's enough for a full shave, others not so much. Using hotter water, maybe from an electric kettle, would probably lengthen this time considerably.

Initially I was disappointed with how cool my brush seemed. But I discovered that was because I was just setting the brush in the cup like a paintbrush. If I mash the bristles down into the cup a little bit, the whole brush gets nice and toasty.

The small lather bowl doesn't bother me because I lather on my face. It wouldn't work well, though, if you did want to build lather in a bowl first.

I'm giving it . I think I am forever cured of the urge to buy new shaving mugs.

Josh

My small Moss Scuttle works best on my largest brushes. I am going to see if they will make a little smaller version so I can use some of my smaller brushes.

Lynn

Yeah, it seems like a tighter fit would keep the brush hotter. I got the 10 cm model; the other one is 8 cm. And my brush is a 22mm Vulfix. Pushing the brush down so the bristles splay outward helps a lot.

This morning I combined my scuttle with my mug warmer, which kept the lather really hot for about 40 minutes with no signs of letting up. I don't really plan on using the warmer all the time, but it worked pretty well.

I'm liking the scuttle more every day.

Josh

I may be misunderstanding how these are used. Can you or would you use a scuttle with a cake soap in mug, or are these strictly for cream shaves? Does that even make sense? I was thinking you might create the lather in the mug and then transfer the bulk of the lather and brush to the scuttle. thx - John

When Chris Moss worked with Sarah to design the scuttle, it was based on the fact that he lathers on his face. Not in a bowl or scuttle. The scuttle is designed to give you a place to "park" your brush while you are shaving. It was not designed as a bowl for building or creating lather. With a small brush, this may be possible. Build your lather on your face, splay out the brush in the scuttle, and hot lather is possible. Rest the brush in the scuttle, warm lather is possible. It was not designed to be used as a place to build or create lather.

RT

RT is right.

I'm a convert to lathering on my face when I use soap. I used to have a big latte mug that I'd use, but now I just build the lather on my face. It saves a step and makes for a much better shave, in my experience.

The scuttle is great for this approach. Sara is designing one that's more bowl-shaped for building lather in, but it's not widely available yet.

Josh

I love the "Park Your Brush" part. That is exactly what I do and it keeps it warm to hot the whole shave whether I lather on my face, hand or use a cake soap and lather in another mug. Gotta get one size smaller though on the scuttle......hahahaha.

Lynn

Great, I understand now.

As for a new prototype scuttle, I may wait to see how that turns out. I think I'll be mainly a soap shaver, and I'm not sure that the heat wouldn't make the glycerin soap too soft, shortening it's life considerably. If so, I guess I could still park my brush in it. I've got a B&B 2006 finest badger in horn coming. Can't wait. Hope it smells better than my Proraso, 'Boar's Ass Brush'...

John,

If you like using soap, especially glycerin soap, I get better results lathering in a mug or bowl that does not contain the soap. The reason is that it's hard to control the soap/water mixture. You need to be able to whip up the lather, but if the soap is in the mug the whipping will add more soap.

I keep my soap in a little Pyrex glass container with a rubber lid. I load the brush up with soap, then go to a bowl or to my face to build the lather.

Just a thought,
Josh

Hmmm...my first initial impression was decent, but concerning what the scuttle cost (waterfall large shipped to Texas, was something like $73.00 US - $60CDN for the scuttle, $26CDN for shipping and handling) - I have to say I thought it was a little less than I expected...This is not a large bowl, you need to take that into account, those who want to purchase one. If I had to do it again, I would have called and gotten her to make it bigger for me, as I like to lather in a bowl.

One of my first questions was the fact that the interior bowl is integrated into the scuttle - in other words, it does not come off, this is a sealed scuttle with only the small spout giving access to the interior (water holding) part of the scuttle - I guess this doesn't matter now, but with the hard water I have around here, I might like to get in there and clean the thing at some point, and that is going to be impossible I am afraid.

My first use was favorable...I used a soap and a cream just for comparison, and found that the cream lathered up well *in* the scuttle and the soap (lathered outside of the scuttle) worked equally well... I did find that the lather dried up rather faster, changed consistency, but adding water and swirling tended to make up for it...

Now for the shave, wow, having the hot lather was sweet...the scuttle stayed very warm, to the point that, even after my shave the bottom of the scuttle was so hot that I couldn't hold the scuttle in my palm, and was afraid to put the scuttle away on the wood shelf where it now lives, lest it burn the wood. I used pretty much close to boiling water from tea water boiler - waited until it cooled a bit as I was afraid of shattering the scuttle - after two passes (having blade issues) I started cleaning up and the lather was still hot, it really was marvelous - I didn't fell the rush I have felt in the past, trying to get through the shave and finish up quickly...was terribly - luxurious, decadent? Very nice. I would state so far that the thinning of the lather was unfortunate, but manageable. I would start off with seriously lathering cream or soap and the thinning will not be as noticeable - if the lather is thin to start out with, it will be water when you are done.

All in all, I like it, price aside. I have a feeling I will appreciate it more as I get better at this.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread...

K