Thread: Scuttles, Scuttles Everywhere...

I was looking into possibly buying a scuttle, and after looking around the forum, it's clear that there are many different opinions out there.
I was wondering if buying a scuttle is even worth it--it seems like a lot of money for a piece of clay. So I guess I'm asking for the Pros (any Cons?) of buying a scuttle. Thanks!

I've been brush shaving for over 25 years...though only a few months with a SR. It seems that I was always trying to find a way to get my lather warmer. And I thought piping hot was out of the question.

Then I bought a scuttle. It's a Dirty Bird, but I imagine any of the somewhat similar designs work as well.

I love it and unless travelling, will not shave without it. I went the extra half-mile and bought a $10 electric pot (plastic...holds half a quart or more...from Target) so I can load the scuttle with boiling water. I get hot, I mean HOT, lather for as many passes as I want. I use soaps, creams, and mix combos for terrific lathers.

The size of my scuttle is fine. I don't use a huge brush, but found a medium (23-26 mm knot) or small brush is fine; more important to have a longer handle to keep fingers free of slippery lather (even then, fingers are easily wiped clean).

I know there are many guys here who face lather and can get great shaves. I find the effort (and its little effort) of my regimen to be worth it. Love the scuttle!

Jim

I have a Dirty Bird scuttle. They are good at keeping lather hot . I seem to face lather most of the time though

I have a GP and will agree with Jim...load it with boiling water and lather stays warm...

Its plenty big to build lather with the 22mm knot brushes I have...

too bad i broke the handle off of mine...

Mike, I'm curious. Why do you mostly face-lather?

Originally Posted by jleeg

Mike, I'm curious. Why do you mostly face-lather?

I don't know about mike, but the reason I mostly face lather now that I'm using a scuttle is two fold.

1. If I were to lather on top of the cake of soap in my scuttle, the boiling water would disolve it too fast, and waste a lot of soap. total waste.

2. If you have really truly hot water, as in, "I just filled my scuttle from a kettle" hot water, and you're using a good quality badger brush, face lathering feels very nice. It's like a little face massage before the blade.

OK. I don't keep any soap in the scuttle....I just use it to whip up some lather after I've loaded soap or cream on the brush.

J

I have a GP Scuttle and I love the feeling of having hot lather for each pass. It feels great and I have noticed, maybe it is just psychological, it helps me to have a more comfortable shave.

I, too, have a Georgetown Pottery scuttle. I was having trouble getting it hot enough to hold the lather at a nice warm temputure. I found that putting it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes before building the lather REALLY heats it up well.

My .02 cents...

Steve

(I love it ... much better than the old mug)

I have a Schwartzweisskeramik, which I love. I used an electric kettle to boil water for the first month, but it's really overkill. I fill it with hot tap water to warm it up while I shower and then change the water before I start to shave. It keeps the lather plenty warm. In fact, boiling water dries the lather out too fast, IMO.