What is the "canonic" way to use a two-piece shaving mug?

I have tried the search function, but I was unable to find an answer to this question--so I would appreciate the help.

I have a mug that looks like this:

Attachment 122689

Essentially, it's a 4" diameter mug with a detachable shallow bowl that fits in the top, the latter also featuring two prongs designed to hold a brush. Surely, this item hails from the days when hot water from a tap was not the common thing it is today, so I gather that holding hot water would be one of the primary functions of this mug.

In this spirit, I have used this mug in four different ways--all more or less satisfactory:

1 - Fill the mug with piping hot water, then make lather from shaving cream in the little bowl on top. Benefits: warm lather; drawbacks: the top bowl is a bit narrow and shallow to make lather very comfortably.

2 - Fill the mug with piping hot water, then make lather from a soap puck in the little bowl on top. Benefits: same as making lather from any soap puck; drawbacks: the warmth of the water in the mug underneath does not transfer to the puck and consequently to the lather.

3 - Make lather in the mug, and use the shallow bowl, detached, as a brush-holder during shaving. A bit anticlimactic, although the lather was nice.

4 - Fill the mug with piping hot water, use it to soak the brush; make lather either in the shallow bowl, detached, or in a separate bowl. This too felt anticlimactic, since I have a sense that I'm not really using this thing the way it was intended.

I know that probably none of these methods is the one for which this mug was designed, so I'll be grateful to anyone who can tell me the historically-correct way to do this.

Thanks

Tom

Good question and I am awaiting an answer because I don't know either.:)

Regardless of any answer you get, that mug is really cool!!

Thanks--yes, it is really cool! I guess this is one of the reasons why I want to make full use out of it and not feel like I'm only half-using it.

Part of the experience of wet-shaving for me is to give a "soul" back to these old objects... :)

I want one :hmmm:

maybe its an ashtray you carry around .... with a cigar holder ??? ...lol

my guess is like yours , id put hot water in the bottom and lather in the top ...lol

I reckon it's (1), just like placing your shaving bowl in the sink in hot water. Maybe it was a 'travel' set. I can imagine it being used in a cabin on a ship...

My dictionary, admittedly old, makes reference to a connection with a musical canon. I guess that means that as long as you whistle while using it you're OK.

You may want to look at the size of the brushes that were used back then. Your bowl probably originally came with a matching brush.
The style then was for a brush about a 1/3 of the size of the ones we use today.

I have one very much like that. Here is what I do. Put hot water in the bottom, up to where it won't spill out when the top is put on. Then make shaving cream by using your brush in your mug, and transfer the cream to the top part by squeezing it out of your brush with your fingers, into the top.-- It helps to put the whole thing in hot water before starting, to warm it up.

I'm with posts #7 and 9 on this. Looking at the size of the brush holder, the inner mug would be big enough for any brush intended to be held in the prongs. Also at nearly 4" wide the bowl would still hold plenty of lather so I'd stick with your number one method but try a smaller brush.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UKRob

I'm with posts #7 and 9 on this. Looking at the size of the brush holder, the inner mug would be big enough for any brush intended to be held in the prongs. Also at nearly 4" wide the bowl would still hold plenty of lather so I'd stick with your number one method but try a smaller brush.

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So much for post #8. I'm not sure my self-concept can take much more dissing.

Ace--in a philosophical sense, your post is actually spot on. A canon is an extreme form of counterpoint by imitation--we do that every time we shave. Right cheek starts, then left cheek follows, then neck--then reverse (canon rectus et reversus in contrario motu). :)

I actually found a fifth way, which I used today to obtain a particularly BBS shave:

Fill the mug with piping hot water; soak the brush in there; make lather in a separate bowl; once lathered up, rest the lather-laden brush in the top compartment of the mug. This gave me a nice and warm second lathering, and my Filarmonica did the rest.

(BTW, Rob, I am actually in Virginia USA, not in the UK--although I did live in Berkshire for a couple years! Greetings from across the pond!)

Anyone reading this would probably not understand the last post so I'll explain that I thought from previous posts by Corgi that he was in the UK purely and simply from the way he wrote in English.

It's usually possible to tell from which part of the English speaking world that people are from simply from the way they compose their posts. In this case I was wide of the mark.

Yes, you are right, Rob--and sorry I didn't reply to you directly. For some bizarre reason, my browser is no longer letting me get into my private messages--so I wanted you to know I got your kind note.

It looks to me like a shaving scuttle. I think the "brush holder" is a handle used to remove the inner from the outer bowl. Normal use for this type of scuttle would be to fill the inner and outer bowl with hot water and let them warm up a bit. Dump water, make lather in the inner bowl, refill outer bowl with hot water and insert the inner bowl. This will keep the lather warm for a more comfortable shave.

What you find in 1900 century scuttles is a system that was derived from the plumbing or lack of plumbing that existed in the homes of that time. If you have one of the typical shallow topped strainer type scuttles it was used to keep the brush and soap warm to start the lathering process . The lather was just Started in this Schuttle. The wet brush rubbed over the warmed soap gathered the soap that was then Lathered in the Shaving Mug. Two Step process using Two different pieces of Equipment.
That's why your having problems making lather in the shallow top bowl of the old scuttles. They weren't designed to do that.

I don't know how it's used, but it's hella cool!

Yep--it is a "hella cool." And the excellent suggestions from posts 18 and 19 sound like something that is totally worth trying.

Today, I used it again to keep my lathered brush warm after soaking it. I had a dream shave:

Attachment 122998

Art of shaving cream + oil; Caswell & Massey fine badger brush; Filarmonica Doble Temple 14, 7/8 razor; liquid glycerine to enhance the lather; awesome vintage mug; Pinaud Clubman aftershave & talcum powder; Django Reinhardt + Hot Club de France music to get the scything rhythm going.... ==> Awesome BBS experience (I wish I could shave 5 times a day).

Corgi, that is a really nice mug. I am not sure how it was originally used but it sounds like you are having a lot of fun trying some new lathering techniques. I just purchased a neat old mug myself and cannot wait for it to arrive. It is smaller but I believe it will be perfect for building a lather with cream. There will be more bristles focused on the product and more contact in the tiny space so less time swirling.

Attachment 123516

Thanks to this thread I am going to soak the milk jar in hot water first. I will be ecstatic if I can get warm lather in such a simple fashion!

The size of men's heads were approximately 1/3rd the size they are today, so sadly, you may never be able to make this process work to your satisfaction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Johnus

You may want to look at the size of the brushes that were used back then. Your bowl probably originally came with a matching brush.
The style then was for a brush about a 1/3 of the size of the ones we use today.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by WW243

The size of men's heads were approximately 1/3rd the size they are today, so sadly, you may never be able to make this process work to your satisfaction.

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I just about blew Earl Gray outa my nose on that!! Where did you come up with that? The reason for the near tea spouting was the mental picture my mind flashed to, trying to visualize guys with heads 1/3 smaller. But then I thought it would probably be an overall thing, not just the head. 1/3 huh? Well, at least I now have something interesting to look into!

Whisker,

That's a sweet find. I am looking forward to seeing it in action on a Shave Of The Day!

You know, that is exactly what I imagined as well. I am really looking forward to snapping a photo of this mug overflowing like a lather volcano. One of my razors pridefully gleaming off to the side, my brush stuck in sideways somewhere up lather mountain. Some bottles of obscure liquids in the background. The whole lot surrounded by an earth tone towel!

Oh man is it going to be sweet!:o

I think I have figured it out, in great part thanks to the helpful posts here.

First thing I did, I bought myself a brush from about 1900. I think it's horsehair, quite stiff compared to the cheek-pampering super-badger to which I'm accustomed.

Anyway, this is how I use this awesome 2-piece mug now.

Step 1: I take it apart, warm it up under the hot-water faucet and fill the bottom half with steaming-hot water. I then insert the brush for a good soaking, while I do my face-prep.

Attachment 127596

Step 2: in the top half (still detached, and still warm from the hot water), I put a couple teaspoons of Vaseline and the necessary amount of shaving cream.

Attachment 127597

Step 3: I remove the brush, refill the bottom half with new steaming-hot water, replace the top half and, after dripping the excess water from the brush, I start whisking up an awesome lather.

Attachment 127598

Notes:

1 - Since the diameter of the brush is only a touch over one inch, it fits the bowl beautifully and I can whisk vigorously for a good, thick, slick lather.

2 - After I lather up my face for my first pass, I rest the brush on the rim's prongs, with the bristles in the bowl, which keeps both the lather and the brush warm for my subsequent passes.

3 - The stiffer horsehair brush does a good job lifting my beard prior to shaving, and this plus its ability to retain lather with its longer bristles compensates for the slightly rougher feel on my skin.

4 - Although I still don't know whether this was the way in which this mug would have been used historically, I am getting some pretty awesome shaves out of it!

Happy shaving!

Corgi