I use one of those thin Turkish copper shaving bowls. By the second pass, the lather is cool. Third pass, not warm enough for me. Any tricks to not lose heat?
What I use is ceramic bowl that are thicker and holds heat longer it seems than plastic and thin metal bowls are not quite as enduring for retaining heat. This is what I do and it might help you also, even with the lather in the bowl. Just turn your copper bowl upside down and let the tap with hot water go over the base (20-30 seconds)and it should warm it up again and hopefully you do not get water inside bowl while doing this, I have done this many times in the middle of winter just to warm up my spirits or took to long taking SOTD pictures. I custom made my bowl and with some nickels epoxied in the bottom and it has a longer handle do warm my lather and not scald my hand. I found press the soap or cream in bowl first and then turn upside down and then warm the bowl under the tap (20-30 seconds) and then with a warm brush start to create your lather seems to work for me. It will warm the lather long enough that you do not feel the cold lather(I spoiled myself fine tuning this simple procedure). I made this bowl when shaving bowls where not that common like they are today and I own lots of modern shave bowls & cups and this old $1.00 onion soap bowl feels good in my hand and has done well over 1,000 lathering's over the last 6 years as a daily shaver. Hope this helps in your search for warm lather, a modern scuttle works also but they have a larger foot print on the counter and can be expensive for some beautiful looking units. (20-30 seconds under hot water works wonders for warm lather.) Have some great shaves!
I use ceramic mugs. I let it soak in hot water along with my brush for a couple of minutes while I'm getting ready for the shave. Boar brushes are the only ones that really need to soak, but I soak my badgers and synthetics to get them warm, as well.
THE SOLUTION (Credit to my wife) Candle warmer. Just keep it dry. Simple. https://photos.app.goo.gl/398jkdi2m4cuJfqD9
Not for everyone. I've tried cold water shaveing several times. Hated every minute. Too much tug and pull. But that's me. Certainly worth a try if you haven't already.
Since we have indoor plumbing where I live, I just use hot water from the tap to make my lather. Do people still use Moss scuttles? Once upon a time, it seemed like nearly everyone was using them. The originals are still sold at https://www.mossscuttle.com/. There same design is sold by several other potters.
Yeah, using hot tap water is obvious. But, by the time I get to the second and third pass, the lather has cooled off.
Strange enough we do have indoor plumbing down under, too. Even stranger though is it takes 3 - 5 for the water to get hot, that's heaps of water wasted just getting up to temperature. Even stranger though is that in such a dry country water is dirt cheap. Anyway, I bought a cheap kettle to keep upstairs and get hot water that way much quicker.
Home made bain marie using a larger kitchen bowl could also work Bargain! How is that working for you Jim? Those scuttles are overpriced and look tricky to clean and dry.
The scuttles are not hard to keep clean , I have one of the prototype scuttles that Chris ( Dr. Moss) first had made.. I don't use it often nor do I use the prototype adjustable shave brush that he also gave me that he designed with Bernd ( Shavemac ).. There are plenty of scuttles out there other than the moss ones though and their prices are pretty reasonable. I have another one I use more.. Also you could look at the double walled stainless steel bowls because they keep lather warm in winter and cool in summer due to their double walls....
@jaro thanks for that, I like the look of those double walled SS bowls. Not too pricey by the looks of things.
It works so well that the lather is warmer by the third pass than it was on the first pass. I can't imagine anything better. The Turkish copper bowl heats up fast.
A few seconds in the microwave works too plus you can heat up your towels at the same time. My Q-Shave scuttle keeps water nice and warm, $25 off Amazon two years ago and even came with a silicone stopper. Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk
In the winter, I like a warm shave. I just run the brush under hot tap water, give it a shake, load it up in my bowl, and face lather. For my second pass, I just run the brush under the water again, give it a shake, and reload it again from the bowl. I probably use more shaving soap this way than if I just reused the brush for the second pass, but my way I get a nice warm face lather each time. I tried using the "Intergalactic Indestructible Shatterproof Travel Scuttle by Phoenix" it was far too much work, too hard to clean, and way too large. Face lathering with hot water was a much better solution. For me, anyway. Bax
Thus the scuttle solution. A lot of guys really liked them, and apparently still do. There were some reports of trouble lathering if the water was too hot. Kiss My Face shaving cream should work well in those situations, though. Warm Kiss My Face must make for a fantastic shave!
I I've found that if certain soaps/ lathers get too warm on the candle warmer, they will break down a bit, and have to be whipped up again for a bit.
