Thread: Leaving mug in sink of hot water

I have been letting my scuttle and mug soak in hot water while I take a shower. I lather up then leave the brush in the mug in a sink full of hot water, then when I return It seems that the brush is nice and warm and ready to be transferred to the scuttle. The brush is always easier to use after this method and and the soap is always nice and warm for the first lathering, after that I transfer the lather and brush to the moss scuttle.

Does the hot water on the outside of the mug only melt soap, or waste any. I like doing this because the brush is always more loose and forgiving, not to mention warm and my shaves have been better becasuse of it. Is this a new discovery here or do other people do the same thing?

Matt, everyone probably has their own routine for this. But here is mine. After my shower, I run hot tap water into my lather bowl and brush, leaving the water tunning. I also put a little hot water on my soap to soften it up. While the water is running in the lather bowl, I do my stropping (40 laps on the leather). After stropping, I empty the lather bowl, put my towel under the hot tap, dump the water from the soap boal into the lather bowl, get the excess water off teh brush, get lots of soap on the brush and whip it up in the lather bowl. Then I do my face prep (hot water splash followed by the hot towel). Then on to using the brush on my face and shaving.

This routine is one I like and it works for me.I hope others will chime in with their routines, because sure theirs are all different. I picked and chose parts from several forum entries. Good luck...

I soak my scuttle in hot water while bathing. I set a small tea kettle of water on a hot plate in the bathroom and it's boiling when I am done bathing. I put the boiling water in the scuttle, and about 5 cc in the bowl part to mix with the soap/cream. I dip the brush in the now hot but not boiling water, being careful not to soak the knot so I don't melt the glue. Nice hot shave.

i found a set up just recently that works great. when i was at the local Value Village (thrift store) i found a nice sized ceramic bowl, and another that the first for some reason fits perfectly into (kind of strange how well it fits and i'm not sure what either one is supposed to be used for). i usually shave after my shower so my face is hot, i set the electric kettle on the counter so i can turn it on a couple mins before i am done (or i get my girlfriend to do it while she is putting on her make up ha!). when i get out i put coconut oil on my face immediately and let it soak in while i pour hot (doesn't have to be boiling) water into the larger bow, then i set my lather bowl in it (i used a cheese grader to put soap in the bottom, Rocky Mountain Soap Co. very natural). i rinse my brush in hot water under the tap and flick about half the water out, then flick the rest in the lather bowl to wet the soap and by that time the bowl is usually heated up. it gives me a really nice hot lather and if the lather needs a bit of refreshing i just dip the brush in the hot water and it works great again.

sorry my explaination is so long, i have no excuse, i was too lazy to edit. ha!

Originally Posted by matt

Does the hot water on the outside of the mug only melt soap, or waste any. I like doing this because the brush is always more loose and forgiving, not to mention warm and my shaves have been better becasuse of it. Is this a new discovery here or do other people do the same thing?

Hi Matt,
Well, I don't know if hotter lather will be more forgiving. It will if you're talking about using the exact same products, in particular, the same shaving cream or soap.
I have found out that now that I'm starting to use Mitchell's Woolfat soap (Kent brand) it's more forgiving than anything else that I've used so far. And the strange thing is that it doesn't get as hot as I usually use other lathers. So, hotter lather = more forgiving shave? Maybe, in most of the cases, but my case is probably the exception.

Originally Posted by matt

Does the hot water on the outside of the mug only melt soap, or waste any. I like doing this because the brush is always more loose and forgiving, not to mention warm and my shaves have been better becasuse of it. Is this a new discovery here or do other people do the same thing?

I don't think hot water on the outside of the mug wastes soap. Some soaps are so hard they need a little softening up to get the brush properly loaded. Now if you put hot water inside the mug and let it sit there very long you will waste some soap.

The best technique is the one that works best for you.

I have to agree with AusTexShaver. I don't think that the water will waste the soap that much, I'm sure that you probably have about handful of soaps anyways lol. I just let the hot water run over my brush while I shower and then apply it to the soap and later up. It's mainly only good for about the 1st to 2nd passing. Otherwise, I run hot water on a small portion of the tips before applying.