I use this self-watering violet pot as my lather bowl/scuttle. It is perfect for keeping lather warm. Hot water goes in the bottom portion of the violet pot. Then the top part of the pot sits in the bottom. Fill the top with hot water, and soak the brush. When you are ready to make your lather dump the water out of the top, and go to work on your soap/cream in the top. Place the top inside the bottom (still contains hot water), and it keeps your lather warm throughout the shave. Heck of a lot cheaper than a Moss scuttle, and widely available, in many styles and colors. We got ours at Wal-Mart for under $5. Accommodates brushes of almost any size, from the C&E BBB to the B&B brush. Holds heat extremely well.
Quality: Excellent. This is a basic self watering pot so it isn't hard to nail quality. But all the glazing is nice and even, no air bubbles etc. Weight: It has a nice weight to it that helps keep it in place without the fear of it tipping over. It could be a touch heavier but it serves the purpose well. Shape: The shape is fine for a flower pot. I think that if the outer pot, mine anyhow, were a little more bulbous it would allow more warm water to stay in between the outer pot and the inner vessel. Heat Retention: It does this exceptionally well. The terra cotta retains the heat very well. I haven't done any quantifying by taking measurements or anything but it feels just as warm after 4 passes as it does before the first. Price: $5. For $5 and the amount of cozy goodness you get from the warm lather, this easily gets top marks.
I finally found one at Walmart! I had been looking for these and could not find them locally. It seemed that every one I found online was at least $20.00. Well spring is here, and I found one at a local Walmart. $5.00 + tax, and it is mine. Mine is not fancy like the one pictured above. a simple round shaped bowl with a small pot that fits inside, available in either red or green. It seems a little bigger than I was expecting, but this thing really keeps the lather warm. It easily would hold enough lather for 6 or seven passes. I have a hot pot to boil the water, and fill it up before I get in the shower. As I said lather stays quite warm. I seem to need to add more water to keep the lather from drying out. Maybe the pot is wicking water out of the lather. I like it! Nice & simple but very functional.
Some thread necromancy is in order! More folks need to know about the awesomeness that is the Violet Pot Scuttle. I've been using a "self-watering pot" for a couple of weeks, and am very pleased with its performance, cost, size/weight & ease of cleaning. Before moving cross-country last month, I sold my gorgeous GP20 scuttle. It was just too infrequently used b/c of weight & my fear of breaking the costly piece. I don't miss it now & I'm having fun looking at the variety of inexpensive pots available. This handmade pot is on loan from my mum~ I will gather some images & links to give interested folks an idea of the range of violet pots out there. Bigbox stores, gardening centers & HomeDepot / Lowes-type stores often carry them. Here are some VPs I dig from the web. (I'll include sources/links in the upcoming VP images post.)
