Thread: Just picked up a Japanese Suribachi "Mortar and Pestle" to use as a lather bowl!

I was just at kitchen Kapers Here in Bucks County Pennsylvania and picked up " Helen's Asian Kirtchen Suribachi with Pestle" for $12



The size is perfect for holding in the palm and its earthernware. The inside has a ribbed interior so it may work out well.

I'll post my results and personal photos after a few uses.

Nice! I was looking at a suribachi online just yesterday.. and it was about four times the price not including shipping. I'm not usually a bowl latherer but it seemed like it would work well for that.

BTW, I know that you are not going to be grinding stuff in it but the ceramic pestle is a bad idea.. they wear the ribs rapidly. The pestle (surikogi) is traditionally made of the wood of the Sichuan pepper tree.

rs,
Tack

Originally Posted by Tack

Nice! I was looking at a suribachi online just yesterday.. and it was about four times the price not including shipping. I'm not usually a bowl latherer but it seemed like it would work well for that.

BTW, I know that you are not going to be grinding stuff in it but the ceramic pestle is a bad idea.. they wear the ribs rapidly. The pestle (surikogi) is traditionally made of the wood of the Sichuan pepper tree.

rs,
Tack

Nope I had not planned to grind any thing in this baby. But what you mention makes sense

Just a warning about using these for lathering,, many of the Mortars have a rather rough surface along with the ribs, it makes them work better for their intended purpose..
If the surface is rough it will cut and wear out the bristles on your brush rather quickly
If it is smooth to the touch it should be fine, ribs are ok too if there is a glaze over them

Dammit, gssixgun beat me to the punch. I was just going to say that about the mortars. I have a larger one for cooking and it is great for quick reduction of solids to fine particulate (fancy for minced and chopped by hand). Let us know how it goes.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Just a warning about using these for lathering,, many of the Mortars have a rather rough surface along with the ribs, it makes them work better for their intended purpose..
If the surface is rough it will cut and wear out the bristles on your brush rather quickly
If it is smooth to the touch it should be fine, ribs are ok too if there is a glaze over them

I contemplated exactly what you said about the ribbed surface being to aggressive and they are not. They are smooth to the touch without any glaze. So I'm willing to experiment and provide feedback.

I am really curious how well the ribs will assist, if at all, with lather building. So far all I have to compare are a smooth stainless bowl and a plastic Sponge Bob Square Pants bowl that once belonged to my boys but was confiscated into the shaving repurposing program.

The ribs do help at least IMHO most of the Scuttles have them now too

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Just a warning about using these for lathering,, many of the Mortars have a rather rough surface along with the ribs, it makes them work better for their intended purpose..
If the surface is rough it will cut and wear out the bristles on your brush rather quickly
If it is smooth to the touch it should be fine, ribs are ok too if there is a glaze over them

I have used one of these with a Muhle v1 silvertip fibre. I found the brush too scritchy to begin with but using the suribachi has improved it hugely. I wouldn't use it with my badger brushes.
Having said that I know not everyone agrees about the tip wear. Just my opinion.

Ok I just used the Suribachi For a DE shave so I could spend time and focus on the lather, which makes me think of a good topic for another post.

I soaked the bowl in hot water during my shower and then used Proraso sensitive soap which I find difficult to lather.

My results are very good to great. I managed to create a better lather then ever before. I did use caution based on the other warnings about the ribs being overly aggressive. I used a light touch and let the brush ride along the top of the formed lather for most of my rhythm while only loading the brush deeper occasionally.

So the performance of this bowl has impressed me. The fit in the hand is superb for me at 5' 9" or (1.75 m for those not using imperial units) with hands needing large sized gloves typically. Also the shape of the bowl is parabolic which complements the complex articulations of muti-planar wrist movements "Just my nerdy observation and not currently funded research, although I would accept a grant for Human Wrist Articulations Associated with Producing Shaving Lather": sidetracked, sorry.

So, it worked; I need to do further evaluations to rule out the placebo effect based on my personal expectations and hopes.

Great, glad to hear that it worked as expected. Your "light touch" is generally a good idea for any technique. I find it hard to resist really "digging in" sometimes, for instance when loading the brush with soap. A light touch using just the tips usually does much better job.

Finally, I have to admit that the reason I visited this thread in the first place was that the title was listed as "Just picked up a Japanese". I just had to click on it to see if the next word was "woman".

rs,
Tack