Thread: More lather. Much hotter. Far longer.

Ever have one of those light-bulb moments?

I reached the same conclusion a long time ago: if you want big lather, you need a big bowl; it is a matter of larger surface (and comfort), that is all. And yes, hotter water makes lathering easier but it can also make it dry faster, especially in dry weather.

Al raz.

I love it...That's a great pictorial .
I hate coffee mugs..they are deep and narrow. Give me a good size bowl and let's get that lather going. My bowls tend to sink in the sink so I have adopted this with a hot pot express where the bowl floats on top of the hot water in the pot...I actually use two bowls and it's the outside bowl that's in direct contact with the hot water and the lather bowl fits in the outside bowl...much better temp control too.

Heh. It stopped loading for me for a minute, after the second picture was loaded. I thought you were lathering in a garbage can.
I was wondering what you needed that much lather for...

Lather, Better, Hotter, Longer... Reminds me of Daft Punk. (which inspired me to make an avatar change)

As to the post... I've tried floating bowls in the sink before, but never really had the right bowl for it, I guess. They tend to be too tippy or else they sink. The bowl has to have enough bottom weight to not be tippy, but sides that are high enough so that it stays bouyant.
I just use a scuttle now. It works for me.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I've tried floating bowls in the sink before, but never really had the right bowl for it, I guess. They tend to be too tippy or else they sink. The bowl has to have enough bottom weight to not be tippy, but sides that are high enough so that it stays bouyant.

Yes, the bowl I use is quite "V" shaped- either Pyrex or Corning. The V shape puts it lower in the water than a round-bottomed bowl would sit but that means the weight of the contents, (brush and lather), are below the water line, making the whole thing pretty much un-tippable.

For me it's the large Moss Scuttle and a 21 cm knot silvertip brush. This setup makes plenty of lather and keeps it warm with just tap water. Oh, the luxury.

Yeah, I started with the ubiquitous coffee mug, and during my incipient traditional shaving adventures was using the Williams mug soap. Well, though I achieved a good enough loading for a 3-pass DE shave it took even longer than 'ole Willy required under better circumstances.

I moved over to a 70+ cents (that's class for ya!) 8 oz. capacity plastic bowl with sloped sides, a small rice or even condiment bowl from an Asian grocer. It works beautifully and I can whip up a good lather in my Tweezerman (a small badger brush) with plenty of room for the lather outside the brush.

I have either soaps that have their own bowl to load the brush in or kept screw-top plastic containers (think body lotions, moisturizers, etc.) that are wide for easy loading. Loading and lathering are a breeze.

I find hot weather can dry the lather, but the cold weather makes very dry air too, so I'm used to readjusting the water with a few finger-tip drippings at the 2nd or 3rd pass to keep the shaving action slick and smooth.

I was thinking about a larger scuttle recently. The Dirty Bird keeps the lather warm but is not very large so the lather always runs over the top. I have also been using a ceramic bowl my daughter made. It works pretty well. I leave it in the sink in the hot water also. It won't float so I only fill the sink enough to reach about an inch below the top of the bowl. More room and says warm.

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

I love it...That's a great pictorial .
I hate coffee mugs..they are deep and narrow. Give me a good size bowl and let's get that lather going. My bowls tend to sink in the sink so I have adopted this with a hot pot express where the bowl floats on top of the hot water in the pot...I actually use two bowls and it's the outside bowl that's in direct contact with the hot water and the lather bowl fits in the outside bowl...much better temp control too.

Do you have a picture of that set up? I'd like to see how you do it.

Thank you,
--Shoki

Here's my trick. Works better for cream than for cake soap, though if I load up real heavy from the cake I can whip up a good lather in the mug. It probably runs a little too hot for the lather, as the bubbles expand and I have to whip it from a froth back down into a lather from time to time. But it does feel nice on the face!