Lather cold by the second shave

Some where in these forums I read of filling 2 bowls with hot water. Once both bowls are heated up you dump the water from the bowl you'll make the lather in. The other you dump out enough water so it does not over flow when you put your lathering bowl in it to stay warm.
I tried it this morning and the lather was toasty warm for the 2nd shave. Neat trick.
I see a pottery scuttle for sale at Straight Razor Designs. Looks like it does the same thing. Has anyone tried it?
I'm just 5 full shaves into the straight razor so still lots to learn.

I haven't tried that particular scuttle, but they do work. I've got a GP scuttle which does the trick nicely. One thing to consider is their weight. When I fill it up with water, I have to put it on the counter to mix up the lather or remix it. I'm fond of a shaving bowl and holding it in my hand, so the scuttle was a bit of a change.

A bowl floating in hot water or two nested bowls forming a water jacket between them will both work. Neither works as well as a scuttle like the one you are looking at. If you are going to stick with wet shaving and appreciate warm lather a scuttle is a good addition to your gear.

One problem I find with a bowl floating in water (or nearly floating) is the 'danger' of splashing water into the bowl, ruining the lather for a second or third pass, or indeed the bowl tipping up in the sink. Generally, I find if I'm using a DE I need to remove the bowl from the sink as I shave so I can rinse the razor head. I haven't used a double walled scuttle but think it'd be the better solution.

I preheat my lather bowl, but the lather is cool by the time I get around to a second pass.

A scuttle sounds like a worthwhile investment....oh no...my wife just caught me looking at scuttles, she's already astounded by the cash I've laid out for soaps, razors, and brushes. Looks like cold lather for another month....

I have yet to afford a nice scuttle. But I found that we had one of those "mini" crockpots laying around unopened that someone gave to us one Christmas, the ones that just keep stuff hot as opposed to cooking it. Before I get in the shower, I fill the little guy with hot water and turn it on. I fill my lather bowl with hot water and I place it on top of the mini crockpot filled with hot water. The bowl makes contact with the surface of the water and the edge of the ceramic on the crockpot, but it doesn't float in the pot, it just sits on top.

When I'm out of the shower, I refill my lather bowl with new hot tap water and soak my brush while I get ready for my shave. By now, the crockpot is nice and warm and so is the lather bowl. I dump the majority of the water, shake out my brush and start making lather. I rest the lather bowl with the brush in it on the crockpot while I shave and it stays nice and warm for as long as I like.

It's probably not as good as a real scuttle, but it's a cheap alternative for me.

I am a newbie and this is my first post. The comment about the crock pot reminded me about something. I once got a present of a coffee mug warmer. It is a little hot plat looking device with a teflon looking circle that heats up. It would work great for a shaving bowl. I believe they are sold at Office Depot.

Sorta hokie but you can make one of these for about 3 bux.
Double wall SS bowl (asian type stores) Bore a hole in one side (dremel works).
JB weld in a pipe fitting,make a weep hole on the opposit side (inner wall) tilt bowl to add water to your lather.Holds maybe a pint of hot water,works for me.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...econe/dwss.jpg

Thanks!! That is a nice solution!!

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Originally Posted by BrianF

I am a newbie and this is my first post. The comment about the crock pot reminded me about something. I once got a present of a coffee mug warmer. It is a little hot plat looking device with a teflon looking circle that heats up. It would work great for a shaving bowl. I believe they are sold at Office Depot.

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I read somewhere that they tend to be too hot and dry the lather too much. I don't know, but I think there are two level heaters out there one of which may or may not work.

I've used both antique scuttles and make shift ones. I've found that you need to be careful with the dimensions of the older scuttles. The ones that I have aren't deep enough for the way that I work my soaps or creams. You also have to be careful with the paints that they used if you're going to microwave the water to warm it.
I've found that small microwave safe cookware fit together nicely and have a clean modern appearance and prove to be very functional.

I have the oskar scuttle and at first would boil water in the microwave and fill the scuttle but I found the thing got too hot and destroyed the lather. Now I use plain hot tap water so you do have to mind how hot your vessel becomes no matter what you are using.

I bought a dirty bird 1.5 scuttle, and it's one of the best investments I've made in straight shaving... I'm very happy with it.

Dirty Bird Pottery - Wheel thrown and hand crafted home goods, kitchenware, gardenware, shaving pieces and more...

Buy it and don't look back!!

:)

I am a newby to straight razor shaving but not to working up a good lather. I have allways used a brush since my father bought me one to wash with when I was a boy. he was sure it would help with my acne which it did thanks dad . I started to use a shaving mug soon after and still do. I fill my mug with boiling water then go for a shower. When i get out I refill the mug and soak my brush then start to work up my lather normally quite thick. as I start to apply the soap to my face I thin out to the desired cosistancy with the water from the mug witch by now has a small ammount of soap in it anyway. this gives me a real hot lather once i complete the first pass. I again refill the water in the mug from the kettle and repeat the process. I find no need to work up more lather using what I have left in the top bowl. But the addition of more hot water to thin whilst applying yet again gives me a good hot lather for the second pass. I use a mug with a perforated top bowl to stop my lather becoming too wet and sloppy. try one allways available on good old Ebay I can recomend the Wade pottery type witch fits most standard shave soap refills. I also have a large earthenware double skined bowl with a large round spout for my brush, this has no drain holes. I find the rough inner surface helps to make a good fine lather. and stays hot throughout the shave. The only reason I don,t use this more regularly is the weight once full of water almost a pint plus bowl its self and soap gets abit heavy ! hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by Nix

I preheat my lather bowl, but the lather is cool by the time I get around to a second pass.

A scuttle sounds like a worthwhile investment....oh no...my wife just caught me looking at scuttles, she's already astounded by the cash I've laid out for soaps, razors, and brushes. Looks like cold lather for another month....

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LOL I understand bro I understand!

I've tried all kind of contraptions. I did little flower pots from Home Depot, one for hot water, one for lather. (Double boiler)
I have the small potpourri crock pot I use with an insert, It's an old SRD one piece scuttle that sort of looks like a flower pot. I even had Julie at Dirty Bird make me a custom insert for it. Both work well. The crock and flower pots work as a double boiler. With the mini crock, the trick is knowing when to turn it off, otherwise it'll just about cook your lather.

I finally broke down and bought scuttles, I started with Georgetown Pottery's GP5 I believe, it has the little rubber cork, and held about 2 cups of water. It didn't really hold the heat very well. After that I bought the Dirty Bird 1.5
It worked a bit better, but again, it lacked heat retention.

Finally, I bought a Dirty Bird Double scuttle, This thing is a monster. Here's a link:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...scuttle-2.html
Scroll to the the bottom.

The Double holds 4 cups of water and has excellent heat retention. It's also about 6 inches wide. The extra size seems to aid in lather building. I'm finally content, and don't plan on buying any more scuttles.

You guys just gave me an idea! My wife has these candle warmers all over the house, may just have to "relocate" one to the bathroom. Hmmm......

I recently acquired one of the GP scuttles and it makes a world of difference. A good scuttle is a worthwhile investment. I'm thinking about trying out one of the big Dirty Bird Scuttles. The GP scuttles works really well but I'm pretty sure I have some kind of scuttle acquisition disorder.

I use something like this

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Piece-S.../dp/B0006IW040

I got the idea from my wife. I told her I wanted to keep my lather warm and she immediately went into the kitchen and gave me a dip cooler set up and said, just use hot water instead of ice inside it. She's a smart cookie.

Looks like a pretty awesome idea, joebehar

My scuttle from SRD arrived yesterday afternoon and I tried it this morning. The heavy pottery holds the heat much better than the 2 bowls I stole from my wife's kitchen. I think this scuttle will be hard to improve on.

I have two extra Schwarzweisskeramik scuttles brand new, a white basic and a white XL both including the extra soap dish. Since I bought a Moss I haven't used either. PM me if interested.

I just use a very large coffee cup with a soap puck stuck in the bottom and the hottest water that comes out of the tap (faucet). Provided that you shave quickly and efficiently the soap lather stays warm enough without a lot of diddling around trying to keep it hot.

I have a latte mug that I use to build my lather, (Soap sits in a seperate dish) when I first get ready to shower, I fill the mug with hot tap water (as hot as the tap will go) and fill the sink with hot water too, I let the filled cup sit in the filled sink (the brush is in the cup wetting down)

Then when I shave I dump out the cup but leave it sitting in the water as I shave, nice warm lather :)

Want warm lather, then buy a 5$ candle warmer along with a ceramic (not metal) lathering bowl $2 from Wal-Mart. It works great. I even checked the surface temps to make sure it would not harm my silver-tip brush. The warmer is limited at ~220 so the lather barely reaches 120 degrees in the bowl. No harm to the brush sitting in the lather between passes. I get three WARM lather passes from one bowl of cream. Enjoy.

karlej,
Scuttles are great for this. i have a large Dirtybird scuttle that is beautifully crafted and works extremely well. Unfortunately, i have been enjoying face lathering and do not use the scuttle. i will probably sell it as soon as i allowed to post on this site.
Good luck

groovyd,
Do you enjoy the Moss scuttle more so than the Schwarzweisskeramik and why?

I just ordered a Robert Becker scuttle # 009 in Night Sky. It has a brush cup that is part of the water reservoir and a lid. Seems very reasonably priced. I'm looking forward to comparing it with my SRD scuttle. Currently I just use hot tap water in the SRD scuttle but I'm going to try hot water from the tea kettle in the Becker scuttle and see what the difference is.

Well, to add my 2 cents worth...
I use a Bonneyman/Moss scuttle filled with very hot tap water. I leave it alongside the washbasin, with the brush soaking in hot water in the bowl of the scuttle, while I shower. The scuttle is at perfect temperature for lathermaking after 5 minutes and stays warm for the whole shave...bliss in an unheated bathroom!

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Originally Posted by karlej

Some where in these forums I read of filling 2 bowls with hot water. Once both bowls are heated up you dump the water from the bowl you'll make the lather in. The other you dump out enough water so it does not over flow when you put your lathering bowl in it to stay warm.
I tried it this morning and the lather was toasty warm for the 2nd shave. Neat trick.
I see a pottery scuttle for sale at Straight Razor Designs. Looks like it does the same thing. Has anyone tried it?
I'm just 5 full shaves into the straight razor so still lots to learn.

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Seems a bit complicated. I recommend just getting a scuttle. They are great.

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Originally Posted by celestino

groovyd,
Do you enjoy the Moss scuttle more so than the Schwarzweisskeramik and why?

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I do enjoy it more. The difference is the vessel is narrower and this closes off the opening to really keep the lather warmer, the only thing I don't like about it is my brush clanks around the lip when I make my lather and I am concerned it will mark up the brush handles eventually. I don't see any marks yet though. Also the Schwarz is too big for my small bathroom. I have 2 Shwarz, the smaller classic and the xl that I am thinking to put up on the classifieds. PM me if you are interested.

Recently I have been using a scuttle I made myself which I call the Groovy Scuttle. It is super easy to make, and very practical, a perfect size, and looks sharp since it goes with all the other polished stainless of the blades and other things...

Attachment 86260

To anyone out there looking for a cheap and impressively simple, easy to make, and well performing scuttle (beats my moss) give this a try. Order this quality double walled stainless mug.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i01_details

Using the barrel grinder that comes with a dremel tool simply cut a thumb sized notch in each side across from each other.

Attachment 86261

Fill sink with hot water and let it heat in the sink as you normally would while you shower. Then just take it out and put your thumb over the handle side notch and turn it upside down to empty the water from the bowl, the water will remain between the double walls keeping the lather warm. The space between the walls holds about 4+ ounces of hot water, depending on the temperature of your water enough to keep the lather warm for 3 passes. What allows it to work with such little water is the good thermal conduction of the metal. When you are done simply turn it upside down without closing the notch with your thumb and the water inside drains.

Cheap, very elegant polished stainless, indestructable, and takes all of 5 minutes to make. With this there is no longer a good reason anyone who would like a nice scuttle should be without and feel good about it since they made it themselves. The saucer that comes with it is also a nice touch.

Two words: Dirty Bird!

Attachment 86297

Am I the only one here using the sink as a hot water retainer to set my lather bowl in? Simply preheat th bowl and sink with slow running hot water, build lather, drain down sink to about an inch and replace lather and brush to stay warm - works great!

The sink does work great except for some of us who like to rewet the face between passes. I have a ceramic bowl on a candle warmer that keeps my uberlather warm, which keeps the sink clear for rinsing my blade and rewetting the face.

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Originally Posted by Gammaray

Want warm lather, then buy a 5$ candle warmer along with a ceramic (not metal) lathering bowl $2 from Wal-Mart. It works great. I even checked the surface temps to make sure it would not harm my silver-tip brush. The warmer is limited at ~220 so the lather barely reaches 120 degrees in the bowl. No harm to the brush sitting in the lather between passes. I get three WARM lather passes from one bowl of cream. Enjoy.

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Could you show us a picture? Double O

Im after a scuttle , but in the mean time i put hot water in a casserole dish which my lather bowl rests in. 3 passes warm lather no bother. Doesnt look very attractive but it works well for now.

Attachment 86502

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Originally Posted by Double0757

Could you show us a picture? Double O

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I bought one for my son. It is still in the package next my DE setup. It works for me.