Why A Scuttle?

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by Art Vandelay, Oct 8, 2010.

  1. Art Vandelay

    Art Vandelay Active Member

    I have a shaving mug and a regular coffee mug. I put my soap in the coffee mug, load the brush, then whip up the lather in the shaving mug. I see all these beautiful scuttles, some of which have a spout to pour, but I'm not seeing the practicality in that. What are you pouring, and why? Is there an actual benefit to a scuttle, other than the novelty of it, and how do you use it exactly?
     
  2. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    The spout is used to put hot water into the tank that the lathering bowl sits on top of. It keeps your lather warm between passes and oh so very nice!
     
  3. glassmtn

    glassmtn Member

    I have a Dirty Bird Scuttle. It has two bowls, an outer bowl that acts as a reservoir for warm water, and the inner bowl that holds the brush/shave lather. In between the two bowls you fill it with hot water through the spout. The reservoir of hot water keeps the shaving lather warm while you shave. With each pass, you are treated to nice warm lather. I don't know if it improves my shave, but it sure feels good to have warm shaving lather on my face. I like using the Dirty Bird Scuttle so much that if it broke, I would immediately order a new one.

    eric.
     
  4. Art Vandelay

    Art Vandelay Active Member

    Oh man this place is going to cost me a lot of money. :sad027
     
  5. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Yeah! We are all a bunch of huggy enablers around here! :rolleyes:
     
  6. Art Vandelay

    Art Vandelay Active Member

    Guess it's time to start working on that Christmas wish list.
     
  7. Hanzo

    Hanzo Well-Known Member

    The Dirty Bird and ebay seller Robert Becker scuttles look to be the least expensive scuttles, both makers can produce custom scuttles. A member, California Cajun, did a comprehensive review of the scuttle worlds offerings and seemed to say regardless of price most performed about the same.

    The biggest benefit of a scuttle is warm lather. Some scuttles you build warm lather in and some just keep your brush warm. Both kinds seem to work. If you like warm lather then thats the reason to buy a scuttle. If you are indifferent to warm lather , no reason to buy one really unless you like pretty pottery.
     
  8. The only disadvantage 'that ordered the goods in China may break during the trip ....
     
  9. 1OldGI

    1OldGI New Member

    There is an economic alternative. Here's how I do it:
    1. Before getting in the shower run a sink full of ridiculously hot water
    2. Place your mug (also filled with ridiculously hot water) in the middle of the sink and your brush inside the mug. Get in the shower
    3. When you get out of the shower, empty out your mug, except for about a TSP of water, give your brush a couple shakes and load with soap
    4. When loading your brush hold your soap sideways or upside down over the mug this way the inital gobs of lather will collect in the mug. Continue to load your brush until...it is well loaded
    5. Whip up your lather in the mug. When you get a nice shaveable lather apply some to your face
    6. Let the foam rest on your face while you drain the inital water out of the sink and replace it with some fresh ridiculously hot water. SAFETY TIP: Mind how much water you put in the sink, when you put the mug in the sink hot water should be no more than about 3/4 of the way up the mug. Otherwise, "waves" caused by rinsing your razor will run into the mug and make your lather useless.
    7. Place the brush in the mug and the mug in the middle of the sink. Surrounded by hot water it tends to remain warm long enough for all but the longest shaves. The scuttle effect is achieved with gear already on hand and (at least in my case) the additional expense of a scuttle can be redirected to other acquisition disorders such as straight and/or safety razor AD or soap AD. Not to worry though, with or without a scuttle, it is still bound to become expensive :D. Good Luck and Have Fun out there.
     
  10. Art Vandelay

    Art Vandelay Active Member

    Wow, that's a great idea 1OldGI. I'm all about squeezing a dollar when I can.
     
  11. CSBudzi

    CSBudzi Member

    The cheapest solution I've seen is about 2 dollars. At Ikea, instore only, there is a white plastic bowl that is hollow plastic. On the rim you drill a hole or 2 next to each other widen the hole a little with a utility knife maybe and you pour hot water in it. Done. I tried finding a link to it on Ikea i came up short though. But I'm sure any plastic bowl that is not solid will work. The original post where it was mentioned is here I think
    http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13530&highlight=ikea+scuttle

    And btw I'm a practicality person I don't have a whole bathroom full of stuff. I have what I need and few real nice things that'll last me a long time (maybe that's only because I'm 25 and 2-3 years into wet shaving). But i do have a scuttle, A Georgetown scuttle, and when I travel and I don't have it I miss it. More importantly it looks very sexy next to my brush and razors. I get a lot of comments on it from house guests.
    I say make one or float a bowl in hot water for now till you can save up for a scuttle. It is worth it.

    C. S. Budzi (A.K.A. H.E. Pennypacker)
     
  12. sffone

    sffone Member

    The funny part is that we tell people that getting into wet-shaving and traditional-style razors is a way to save money, a way to avoid paying for all those expensive throw-away, multi-blade cartridges. Yet, most of us end up spending far more on wet-shaving gear than we would have on cartridges.:happy102
     
  13. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    Oh so very true, that was exactly the reason I ended up here. :D

    One thing we mustn't lose sight of though, is that for many of us here (not all) we've turned a dreaded chore into something that we enjoy and look forward to doing, and for me personally it is worth the money spent.
     
  14. CSBudzi

    CSBudzi Member

    It's actually pretty close for me. I'm pretty sure I'm saving money. I use Iridiums Supers (Best Blade EVER) they are "Expensive" compared to other blades. I use tops 3 a week at 50 cents each. So weekly 1.50, yearly 78 dollars. I have used less then half a puck of Crabtree and Evelyn soap and half a puck Mitchells wool fat in two years. Those are 8 and 10 dollars. So my Yearly cost is around $85.
    My Father buys Electric blades every 2 months. At 30-40 dollars for electric replacements 6 times a year, comes out to $180-240 dollars a year.
    I have a friend who uses mach 3's 1-2 a week. Thats $4-8 a week thats $208 a year at least + plus canned gel foam stuff. (I have actually converted him to DE's as of last week)
    So at least for me DE's yearly cost 85
    My Fathers electric as much as 240
    Gillette around 200
    Now I realize I have a nice brush around 45 for it but it will last 5-7 years I bet so maybe I should have figured an extra 5 dollars a year for that. But every other piece of equipment lasts forever. Bowls, Razor etc don't wear out. I'd Argue that DE/wet shaving is still cheaper then anything else even with the start up costs. Especially when you have people like Jeff (A.K.A. Stingraysrock) selling great razors for $10.
    But what Dridecker said is the most important. I was a beard guy i hated shaving. I tried straight razors then DE and I love shaving, I look forward to it. And I don't need a bunch or expensive stuff to enjoy it either (It certainly helps though :) ). To bring it full circle here. Scuttle not important, but it is fantastic though. Fortunately my scuttle was gifted to me.
     
  15. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Check your local Wally for a self watering violet pot..in the garden center, AKA The Redneck Scuttle. $5.00.
     
  16. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    That reminds me... my last couple shaves with the Redneck Scuttle produced a thin lather. I believe it was because of water seeping through - like that's not supposed to happen! DOH! :happy102 I need to go down into the basement and seal it with some poly.
     
  17. KiltedShaver

    KiltedShaver Member

    Here are my last two Shaves of the day, featuring a blue Dirty Bird scuttle!

    10/9/10
    [​IMG]
    Merkur Heavy Duty
    Feather Blade
    Dirty Bird Scuttle
    Coates Limited Edition Shave Cream & Tabac soap superlather
    Van der Hagen Boar Brush
    Ed Pinaud Virgin Island Bay Rum aftershave


    10/10/10
    [​IMG]
    Dirty Bird Scuttle
    Mir shavette
    Wilkinson-Sword blade
    Crabtree & Evelyn/Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush
    Tabac soap
    Virgin Island Bay Rum aftershave
     
  18. Art Vandelay

    Art Vandelay Active Member

    I LOVE that scuttle, Kilted. I'm going to have to get something like that.

    Dear Santa ...
     
  19. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Yeah! That will fix it right up!
     
  20. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    Not sure which brush you have, but it will very likely last longer than that. I've been at this for 4+ years, and have yet to have any brush quit on me. And not a sign of them giving up the ghost either. :happy088

    (not talking cheapo brushes, folks. Yes, I realize they may not last past 5 - 7 years.)

    Better hurry, if you want to go this route. Wal-Mart should be moving out their spring/summer gardening goodies. (Gotta put that Christmas stuffs somewhere. :))

    I never had any water seepage issues, but you can always seal the underside of the inner bowl if seepage becomes an issue for you.
     

Share This Page