Thread: What is the best to use with Shaving Soap

Hi there,

I wondered what is the best sort of bowl to use with traditional shaving soap is. I have been looking at scuttles but get the impression that either you have to grate your shaving soap into them or that shaving cream is more commonly used with this particular apparatus. Is my presumption incorrect? I like the idea of keeping my brush and soap warm (if not hotter than this, I am currently noticing that while shaving the brush and lather gets cold quickly on while using the wooden bowl that the shaving soap comes in). Would a scuttle do this effectively with shaving soap (providing the cake fits).

Also, what about the traditional shaving mugs that have the place for the brush to be dipped in on the side and a platform for the soap in the top that drains into the main body. Is this the best option for cake shaving soap? Are there other options?

I look forward to your thoughts on what the best equipment is for shaving soap and keeping your lather warm while you shaving. Cheers guys.

You can use a cake soap with a scuttle. Simply fill the scuttle with hot water, load your brush on the cake soap and then put the brush into the scuttle and swirl around. Once the lather is where you like it put it on your face. Return the brush to the scuttle to keep the lather warm. This works for scuttles like the one Dirty Bird, or Georgetown Pottery puts out.

I do this pretty often and it works well for me. I have not used the latter scuttle that you speak of.

Ahhh so you can use the scuttle without the cake soap being in it. That makes sense, keeping hot water in the scuttle will make sure the lather stay warm... The other scuttles do the same with the soap in the top i take it and also save space, making more sense now... nice, thank you.

anyone who has reccomendations on the best way they use their cake soap would be very interested to hear, cheers.

I keep thinking a heated mug would be useful. I like to put hot water in a plastic cup, soak my brush in it and float my cake soap (in its own plastic holder (Col. Conk) on top of it while I do my face prep.

It always a great feel to apply warm lather with a semi-hot brush to a very warm face.

The hot water does cool down during the shave and I refill it with more hot water. A heated mug would make this process easier.

Pabster






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i agree. the georgetown g5 scuttles with the top look like they keep hot for a long time...

dont have one though. i dont even have a scuttle that does the proper job so ive never even had the experience of real hot lather... soon though i hope

I just got one, Read my post and pic. There are lot's of methods for keeping your lather warm. Check Mantic59 on Youtube. He has a ton of shaving vid's and lather building.
You can use a small bowl, heated up in a shallow sink of water, or double boiler method.
As previosly stated, You are transfering lather from the cake, or shave cream to your scuttle or bowl, or mug, whatever. You don't have to grate it....that way, you can use your scuttle for other creams and soaps. Start small, get yourself a little bowl, or large mug, and practice before you go to the expensive scuttles...

It all depends on what you like and how you make your lather. Personally I like a ceramic bowl that is deep and has a cover and that is where I keep the soap for storage and make the initial lather. I have an Oskar scuttle which I use to keep the lather warm and it holds it warm for the whole shave. I also have a Georgetown v5 and sorry but it does not keep things warm very long.

i bought a small scuttle recently for pretty cheap (29 i think it was with a brush) my soap doesn't fit directly in but i can shave the sides to make it fit, i am gonig to try that first.... so if the g5 doesn't keep things hot very long. what does? ? ?? ? any other recommendations as to scuttle that does bigspendour?

I've used the Moss scuttle, which is the same as a Dirty Bird, and settled on a Schwarzweisskeramik, which is a pricey 59 Euros. Since I like the water boiling in my scuttle, that means I can't leave the soap in it while it's nuked. The soap would burn.

So I do it two ways. If I'm using soap I mix it in a different mug and slop the lather down into the scuttle bowl. The faster way is to use cream and mix it in the scuttle. Mixing the cream in the scuttle, I get the hottest foam. Transferring from another mug, I have to let it sit a while, then mix it around, sit and mix, to get as hot, because I'm starting with a brush charged with cold-ish lather.

The cheapest way to give yourself hot later is to use one of those stoneware soup mugs and sit it as deep as possible in hottest tapwater while you're showering. The thick, heavy stoneware will hold itself down in the water while your soap sits in dry in the bottom, and the soap will warm up a little, even. That's a good way to get comfortable, warm lather. You won't get it hot that way but warm is so much better than cold.