Review of Doug Smith Pottery (Large Scuttle)

[kurtmhodges]

As a present my wife went on Etsy and ordered a scuttle for me from Doug Smith Pottery. According to Doug, his scuttles are made from white stoneware clay, are food safe, and he uses lead-free glazes. According to Doug’s website, “this scuttle measures roughly 6 1/2 inches across and 3 inches high. The top bowl measures 2 inches deep and 4 1/2 inches across. The top and bottom chambers hold between 1 and 1 1/4 cups.”

When my wife went to order it for me, they didn’t quite have the color scheme that she knew I would like in the large scuttle. So, she contacted him and Doug said no problem, he would make it, take a picture and then she could decide if she wanted it. Long story short, about a week later, we got a picture and ordered the scuttle.

While the pictures looked really nice, the scuttle looked even better when I took it out. It is very substantial (2lbs. 6oz.) and well made. I used a couple of swirls of TOBS coconut shaving cream and the deep grooves in the scuttle bowl really seemed to whip up and explode the lather quicker than I was used to; as the bowl I was using only has some very light texture. Just as advertised, the scuttle kept the lather warm for a leisurely three pass shave and made me smile every time I looked at it. One note: because the lather stayed warm in the bowl, I had to add a little more water to my lather between the 1^st and 2^nd shave (as I am assuming the hot water evaporated more quickly than normal from the cream).

While not cheap, at $65 +$12 and change for shipping, the scuttle is worth every penny. It is a functional work of art that could be passed down. I had never used a scuttle before, but it will quickly have me spoiled. I don’t know Doug, but I really liked his work and just wanted to pass this on to the guys at SRP.