They have these little palm bowls. As I recall Classic Shaving used to sell them, made of horn I think.

I never add water to any soap no matter how hard. I just load up the brush with hot water and adjust the amount of water in the brush to the particular soap or cream I'm using and just twirl to load the brush. Then I just build the lather on my face. Sometimes I'll use a scuttle but it's only to keep the brush warm.