Thread: Wooden bowl opinions/ experiences

SRP Community,
Tell me about wooden bowls. Right now, am leaning toward a SRD ceramic bowl. But think I might want something wooden with a lid on it. Anything in wood that is absotively, posalutely to be avoided? Anything out there in wood that is so wonderfull you can barely stand it?

[As an aside, have been visiting SRP for a month or so now. First came because NOTHING else I have ever tried produced a comfortable shave, & thot maybe a straight might. And I have tried every thing EXCEPT a straight. Am hesitant about the investment & still getting dismal results. But, have seen several posts here that had the same problem & same concerns I had/have. Seems there is a steep learning curve, but the end results are great. So, have decided to get Ebony handle Dovo, 5/8, clip point, carbon blade from SRD; & the wool fat soap. Have a badger hair brush ( a left-over). Will get 3" strop now, get a hone a little later.]
Thanks for the information-- Shavingmule

Not quite sure what you are seeking. Are you looking for a lather bowl or a soap bowl? The ceramic bowls from SRD are lather bowls. I own one am very satisfied with it. It performs admirably and is deep enough to generate lather without it spilling over the top. If you are seeking a wood soap bowl there are many sources for them. I got mine on ebay for $6.95 each. Mama Bear and Colleen (TGQ) also sell nice soap bowls.

Dan,
Guess I want a soap bowl, as I intend to use soap rather than a cream. Thanks for the information. Have been to the Momma Bear's site several times, just looking. Shaving Mule

The question still is weather you want a bowl to build lather in, or a bowl to store soap in.

Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

in this wiki turotial you see what I mean. The soap is held in a wood bowl all the time. You just load your brush, then the LATHER bowl is the white one he uses to whip up the lather from the loaded brush. they are two different things.

Also if you have never used soap before I would suggest tabac instead of MWF. MWF takes some time to get used to for most people.

For storage, I really like the wooden bowls. If the soap fits well, it keeps too much water from getting under the soap. They also look cool.

Jordan

When travelling I use a Japanese wooden soup bowl. Looks very nice, and no problems.

But it does absolutely nothing to keep the lather warm. A ceramic bowl you can pre-heat with hot water prior to building lather, and it will retain the heat for awhile afterwards. Wood will not heat up, and so the lather cools off rather quickly (as in immediately...)

it looks fracking awesome though!

If your going to be adding water to the bowl then I would go with a hardwood as its less likely to be affected by the water especially if you use it every day. If you are just storing the soap then it doesn't matter.

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the information. Was planning to build lather AND store soap in it. Erictski, the wiki tutorial cleared that up. Guess I need to get one for each purpose. Decisions, decisions... HHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMM!!??!!?? Will let ya'll know what I finally decide. Thanks again. Shavingmule

If you want to use one bowl for both, I don't see why you couldn't use something like seraphim posted a picture of.

That being said, I used to lather directly on top of my soap, but I've found that I waste a lot less soap and get MUCH better lather by doing it separately. Personally, I load my brush and "face lather" which I think everybody should at least try. Some folks love it, some hate it. Personally, I really enjoy the little pre-shave face massage from face lathering.

If you find that face lathering works well for you, you'll see that a lot of places sell lidded wooden soap dishes to store the soap in. (several recommendations already) You just load up your brush in that dish, and lather on your face, and then you can close it up to keep the lav looking neat and tidy.