Thread: Keeping lather hot

Hey guys,

I've been hanging out in the background reading the forums quite a bit and I've finally got a question I haven't seen answered yet. I haven't received my first razor yet (just bought a Landers Frary from Lynn this morning), but I've got the Proraso soap and the Crabtree & Evelyn brush. I couldn't wait, so I tried making some lather the other day. I followed advice that rtaylor gave in this thread:

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

Soak your brush in a coffee cup of hot water. ... Then, I let the excess water drain out of the brush, and give the brush one good "flick". ... My preference is to use a butter knife (this is one time it's okay to use something dull!) to scoop out a dollop of shaving cream, about almond size. Drop it into the bowl, and wipe off any excess on the tips of the brush. Then start swirling. This is the "learning" part. How much water vs. how much shaving cream. You'll just have to experiment. The end result should be a meringue like substance, that forms peaks.

After about 2 minutes I think I got about the right consistency, but the lather wasn't hot anymore. Do you guys have any tips on what I can do to keep the temperature up? Perhaps I shook too much water out of the brush. I'm gonna go try it again, but any input would be great!

-Kyle

I use a stoneware mug and build the lather in there. I then keep that mug immersed in extremely hot water in the bathroom sink. Keeping the shaving brush in the mug helps too.

Originally Posted by Quatsch

Hey guys,

I've been hanging out in the background reading the forums quite a bit and I've finally got a question I haven't seen answered yet. I haven't received my first razor yet (just bought a Landers Frary from Lynn this morning), but I've got the Proraso soap and the Crabtree & Evelyn brush. I couldn't wait, so I tried making some lather the other day. I followed advice that rtaylor gave in this thread: After about 2 minutes I think I got about the right consistency, but the lather wasn't hot anymore. Do you guys have any tips on what I can do to keep the temperature up? Perhaps I shook too much water out of the brush. I'm gonna go try it again, but any input would be great!

-Kyle

Kyle,

The best way I know to keep it cosistantly hot is with a scuttle. Be sure to note there are soap scuttles( most popular) and cream scuttle.Both will keep the lather hot. You can see a soap scuttle on classicshaving.com and if you search the site someone has written on a moss scuttle that is for creams.
Good Luck

Regarding a scuttle, check out the "moss scuttle". There should be links to buy one on shavemyface.com I believe there are threads about it here too.

This is a scuttle made by a small potter in eastern Canada. Dr. Moss (a memeber here and on SMF) designed it to work with creams, but works well with soaps too. It is not used as a typical scuttle. There are no holes in the top portion. The bottom portion is filled with hot water and the lather is built up top. This keeps the lather piping hot for all three passes. This is the exact reason the scuttle was designed, to keep the lather hot.



Matt

A scuttle will work and I've heard of others that use those plug-in coffee mug warmers too.

Originally Posted by EdinLA44

A scuttle will work and I've heard of others that use those plug-in coffee mug warmers too.

Yup, I use one of those coffee warmers with a ceramic bowl for the lather. When I've applied lather to my face I put the brush in the bowl with the bristles splayed out. Next pass, nice warm lather!

Oh, yeah...I'm new here but am more regular at the B&B forum. I'm getting fairly good with my DE's but am interested in maybe getting into straights as well.......so HI EVERYONE!

Nice to see another DE shaver getting serious. Glad to have you here.

X

Originally Posted by xman

Nice to see another DE shaver getting serious. Glad to have you here.

Or a DE shaver who doesn't mind slacking off.

Originally Posted by shavethebadger

Regarding a scuttle, check out the "moss scuttle". There should be links to buy one on shavemyface.com I believe there are threads about it here too.

This is a scuttle made by a small potter in eastern Canada. Dr. Moss (a memeber here and on SMF) designed it to work with creams, but works well with soaps too. It is not used as a typical scuttle. There are no holes in the top portion. The bottom portion is filled with hot water and the lather is built up top. This keeps the lather piping hot for all three passes. This is the exact reason the scuttle was designed, to keep the lather hot.



Matt

Wow...I checked out the Moss scuttle and it looks great! At $40 the price is pretty good for a lifetime of hot lather (assuming one doesn't drop it ). Here's a link to a review of it from the shaveblog, and here's a link to the site where you can buy it.

Happy Lathering!

-Kyle

Originally Posted by woodbane

Yup, I use one of those coffee warmers with a ceramic bowl for the lather. When I've applied lather to my face I put the brush in the bowl with the bristles splayed out. Next pass, nice warm lather!

Oh, yeah...I'm new here but am more regular at the B&B forum. I'm getting fairly good with my DE's but am interested in maybe getting into straights as well.......so HI EVERYONE!

Hi Andy,

Welcome to SRP! For those of you who don't know, Andy has been voted "Most Photogenic" at Badger and Blade. He proudly displays the winning photo as his avatar!

RT