Using a vintage mug

My barber is giving me a two vintage shave mugs one from the 1920s and one from the 1950s. I was planning on using them as my personal shave mugs. Tonight I was talking with an old friend of mine and he was saying that back in the day the reason everyone had a personalized mug at their barber shop was to prevent the getting of a type of rash that you could get if you used someone's mug. Is this true? Can I use these mugs or not? I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but does anyone else use vintage mugs?

Don't worry about it. First, things don't live long on dry surfaces. Second, it is really easy to disinfect a mug. Just fill it with a 10 percent bleach solution and let it soak for an hour. Even a few days of direct sunlight will kill just about anything you would need to worry about. So don't worry about it!

Put some boiling water in it with some dish soap and call it good. It'd sure be cool if you posted pictures of the mugs when you got em'! ;)

The personal mug thing was really back in the 1800s and probably in small towns. In big cities that was impractical. Of course there were some folks who had their own and some had their own brushes too.

Are you using a vintage straight razor? Or vintage DE? Clean it and use it...

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Originally Posted by Trimmy72

Are you using a vintage straight razor? Or vintage DE? Clean it and use it...

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Neither have any impact on his mugs.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Neither have any impact on his mugs.

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I guess my point is if your're using used gear all ready that you probably cleaned & sanitized them. that would apply to a mug too. Otherwise I'm not sure I get what you mean by neither impacts his mugs, was just using those tools as examples.

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Originally Posted by Trimmy72

I guess my point is if your're using used gear all ready that you probably cleaned & sanitized them. that would apply to a mug too. Otherwise I'm not sure I get what you mean by neither impacts his mugs, was just using those tools as examples.

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All the stuff I use is new. Thanks for the responses, I guess I will just clean the heck out of it first.

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Originally Posted by Hawkeye9086

...snip... Can I use these mugs or not? I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but does anyone else use vintage mugs?

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Certainly you may use them. You are cleaning them so they are fresh. Normally, the mug held a puck of some semi hard soap. A bit of hot water was added and a pre-soaked brush made the lather. Some folks use the mug for the soap and to load a brush and then a lather bowl to build the lather...I do it that way most days. The mug and brush may also be used as a pre-lathering for face lathering and or hand lathering. Your style may be different but will work for you!
Have Fun!
~Richard

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Originally Posted by Firefighter2

Put some boiling water in it with some dish soap and call it good. It'd sure be cool if you posted pictures of the mugs when you got em'! ;)

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I would not put boiling water in a cold mug. They may break... Bleach with some warm water and soak; should be fine.

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Originally Posted by Hawkeye9086

My barber is giving me a two vintage shave mugs one from the 1920s and one from the 1950s. I was planning on using them as my personal shave mugs. Tonight I was talking with an old friend of mine and he was saying that back in the day the reason everyone had a personalized mug at their barber shop was to prevent the getting of a type of rash that you could get if you used someone's mug. Is this true? Can I use these mugs or not? I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but does anyone else use vintage mugs?

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Don't listen to them! You're right to be paranoid. :rant:

All you need is to post pictures of them here at SRP. This effectively sterilizes them.

If you don't post pics then your face will rash up and scab all over. It'll swell and the skin will slide off. :angel:

...note, sarcasm liberally applied in this instance! :tu

Some vintage shaving mugs are rare and can be quite valuable, some not so much. The majority are rather worthless from a collectors point of view. Anything from the 1950's is probably not so collectible, unless possibly if it's a hard to find Sportsman's mug. Mugs from the 1920's are at the end, but still within, the "Golden" era of collectible barbershop shaving mugs. Just be aware that if you do have a collectible mug and it breaks, it's generally irreplaceable. Otherwise, enjoy using your shaving mugs!

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Originally Posted by ChopperDave

I would not put boiling water in a cold mug. They may break... Bleach with some warm water and soak; should be fine.

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I did break a vintage mug with boiling water. Don't do it!

Cajun is correct, if the mug is of glass and not ceramic, Breakage due to a big temperature change is a given.
~Richard