Shave scuttle options

I have never used a shave scuttle before as I am largely a face latherer and use the soap puck for this purpose.

With winters approaching and having bought few softer soaps in the last few months I am now considering a scuttle.

Which one would you guys recommend..
1. Georgetown pottery
2.Paa shave scuttle
3. QShave
4. Any other?

Thanks in advance.

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I researched it at length some time ago and settled on the large Georgetown pottery one. It’ works great but I have decided I am not a scuttle user. If you decide that one is for you (I can send you pics) and want a good price on it, send me a PM. Thanks

My experience is that you don't really need one of those double wall scuttles to get a warm lather shave.  A  decently thick (or thicc as some of you gentlemen might prefer)  ceramic shave bowl can get warm enough and retain heat for a warm lather triple pass shave.  By this I mean that you fill the lather bowl with hot water and let it sit while you are showering.  Let your brush soak in the hot water as well.  When you are done with your shower and ready to shave, dump out the water, shake out your brush as desired,  load your brush and build the lather in the bowl.  It is nice if the bowl has a place to rest your brush between passes to keep the brush warm.





If the ceramic is thick,...er....thicc enough, it will have sufficient thermal mass to remain warm though the passes.  The Fine Accoutrements bowl works reasonably well in this respect, but it looses some heat because it has a wide opening.  The best hot lather bowl I ever had were my pot bellied soup mugs.  They were fat, er...thicc...in the middle but had a narrow top opening so it didn't lose much heat.  I got rid of them when I moved.  It retained heat better than the FA bowl, but the brush clanked against the opening because it was narrow.  I hated that.

If you don't want to fiddle with a kettle of hot water, just submerge the bowl in a sink full of hot tap water. That works reasonably well but you might only get hot later for the first pass. It is always a good idea to have some sort of lather bowl handy even if it is just a plastic kid's cereal bowl. If you have a creme in a tube it is much easier to build the lather in a bowl than squeezing it on the brush and then trying to build the lather directly on your face. It just doesn't seem to spread out evenly to me.

Here is another option. I have a very old style, thick walled ceramic shaving "scuttle":



Now this is a true scuttle like they used prior to there being hot tap water in the bathroom and water had to be heated on a stove.  The top "chimney" portion has a receptacle with drain holes in it and the mouth/spout is where you put the hot water and your brush.  You put a slice of soap in the chimney part and your brush soaking in the "spout" then you go to a mirror.  You take out the brush, give it a shake over your wash basin and load the brush from the soap which has been warmed up by the chimney.  You then build the lather on your face with the hot brush, and the divots in the chimney side wall allow you to rest your brush there between passes so it isn't in the water, but the heat rising from the chimney keeps the brush and the lather in the brush warm.  

It works surprisingly well, but modern bathrooms with hot water taps make it sort of redundant.  Nevertheless, I have some artisan hard soap in kind of a wedge form, and this works well for that when I cut off a piece and want to shave like a Union Soldier.  The only difference is that the ones that the soldiers had was made from tin as best I can determine so they would not have retained heat as well.  I suspect that these ceramic ones were popular in rural areas where water had to be heated on a Lange wood fired range or a pot bellied stove.

Would work great for a remote cabin or if you are car camping and want to shave.

You can still find these new.  You can also find them at antique stores were they are very cheap because nobody knows what they are or what they are for.

I have a Sara Bonnyman scuttle and also a shaving mug. I like them. 

https://sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss-scu...her-bowls/

I have a Sara Bonnyman scuttle and also a shaving mug. I like them. 

https://sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss-scu...her-bowls/

Those do look nice. Are the inner and outer parts two separate pieces or are the two parts permanently joined together?

I have a Sara Bonnyman scuttle and also a shaving mug. I like them. 

https://sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss-scu...her-bowls/

Those do look nice.  Are the inner and outer parts two separate pieces or are the two parts permanently joined together?

They’re permanently joined.

I like her coffee mugs too . I might have to get some.

[edit - How did I not see Tedolph's post before?]

A proper scuttle (which once belonged to my grandfather):



Y'all are talking about a "double-walled-lather-mug-that-you-fill-up-with-hot-water", that do not look like a coal scuttle at all, which is where their name came from.



That being said, I do this:



It's a 4" diameter thin-walled stainless steel bowl that floats (even with the brush in it) in the sink full of hot water. It keeps the lather and brush warm all through the process.
Just imagine if your double-walled shaving mug could hold a gallon of hot water?
This wall is better because it transfers heat to the lather immediately.

The only drawback is that I cannot use brushes with long handles.

In case you're wondering, the soap is a local product I bought at the Farmers Market. They thought it was a good idea to add crushed flax seeds to it. I have not convinced them otherwise.

Something I figured out about using a proper scuttle.

Recall that a puck of Williams Mug soap has a "crater" on both sides.



So does a Godrej Shaving Round (which I used in the shave-of-the-day photo in my previous post):



They've both been around a while, almost as long as proper scuttles, right?

What I learned was that if you place the soap in the top of of a proper scuttle they fit perfectly. Pour the hot water onto the top of the puck, letting the excess water drain through the holes into the lower section. Let the puddle of water (held by the bowl-shaped top of the puck) sit there a while and allow the soap to bloom.
After a few minutes you have nice mushy layer of soap that easily whips up into a creamy lather.
For the next pass, dip the brush into the water in the bottom and work the top of the puck again. 
Don't expect mountains of lather prøn, just some nice slick lather.

So the rim (on the soap puck) is there for a reason.

I would not recommend soaking your entire brush in the sink like that. Eventually it's going to negatively affect the bond between the knot and handle.