Are shaving mugs special?

[Just Guess]

This is just a quick question. Is there anything makes a shaving mug different from other kinds of mugs?

If not I'm just going to put my soap into regular coffee mugs, not that I have very much soap anyway. :rolleyes:

[jholen]

From what I've seen, nope. I know a number of people goto places like target and get some pretty cheap bowls.

Heck, some just open up the cabinet and use those!

[monkeyman]

I just use a big latte' cup. It's nice and big and has the handle on the side I can hold onto when I'm really whipping up some lather.

There's a video I saw awhile back where the dude was whipping up his lather right on the corner of the sink itself. If I had a big enough of a sink I'd try it but I don't. He was able to add water to it easily and the lather stayed put. It made for real easy clean up too.

[velvetgoldmine]

I think it's just a question of the size. It's pretty difficult to swirl a decent sized brush around in the average coffee cup. Shaving mugs seem generally wider, and some seem to be made from a thicker porcelein, so presumably they have greater heat-retention properties.

[kjoygard]

I use one of my wife's teacups. Its big and wide with a handle that fits around my thumb, and the texture of it makes creating lather very easy. (The wife yelled at me because I broke the mug that came with it, but I think its worth it).

Oh, and I keep my soaps in an O'ccitane aluminum soapdish, I don't lather up on the soap.

[Shave Cat]

This is just a quick question. Is there anything makes a shaving mug different from other kinds of mugs?

If not I'm just going to put my soap into regular coffee mugs, not that I have very much soap anyway. :rolleyes:
Some Old Spice shaving mugs have ribs in them, reportedly to help keep the soap from moving. Some old mugs had a wider base for a little added stability and style. Ohterwise, a shaving mug is just something to hold your soap. Although you can build lather in them, usually they are not a convient size for that purpose. I do like their nostalgic look though.

-Clarke

[n33470]

It would be a travesty to spend more than a $1.00 for something like this. Go to Goodwill, or any local thrift store, and there will be loads of kitchenware that will fit the bill. My large latte mug cost $0.75. You can also get normal size coffee mugs that work fine for cakes of soap. I know I may be burned at the stake for suggesting this, but I have a $20 DR Harris Arlington soap in a $0.49 mug, and it works perfect!

No need to spend more on this type of stuff, if you don't want to.

[Milton]

It would be a travesty to spend more than a $1.00 for something like this. Go to Goodwill, or any local thrift store, and there will be loads of kitchenware that will fit the bill. My large latte mug cost $0.75. You can also get normal size coffee mugs that work fine for cakes of soap. I know I may be burned at the stake for suggesting this, but I have a $20 DR Harris Arlington soap in a $0.49 mug, and it works perfect!

No need to spend more on this type of stuff, if you don't want to.

+1

This is what I do all the time. Soup bowls and chilli bowls work like a charm.

[AzulLuna]

As Joel stated I found a soup bowl at a garage sale for .25 its wide but not to tall on the sides so you are whaking the handle of your nice brush on the sides as you whip up your lather.

[Zach V.]

As Joel stated I found a soup bowl at a garage sale for .25 its wide but not to tall on the sides so you are whaking the handle of your nice brush on the sides as you whip up your lather.

I'm in the thrifty camp on this issue. I could see myself trying out different prep stuff creams/soaps, after shaves, and colognes, but I doubt that I will deviate too much on the hardware.

I use a big yellow coffee mug that I stole from my cupboard. The handle broke when I dropped it on the floor a few weeks ago, so I chipped it smooth with a flat screwdriver and small hammer laying nearby. It works for me.

[danstar250]

I personally invested in a custom Georgetown scuttle, but although it retains heat well, and the size is nice, I too agree that any cheap bowl or mug made of glass, porcelain, or wood works right nicely.

[Not A Nice Person]

Well, I started with a coffee mug from my cupboard, with my first puck. Works okay, but it's a bit narrow. Nana June's lemongrass puck fit just fine, but HBS Sue's Yuzu had to be melted in. Brush knocks a bit during loading.

My others are all vintage ones off eBay---the Aramis one is wider, with an unusual "bombe" shape to accomodate lathering, the occupational mug is wider and footed, the Old Spice and Medarta ones are both a little wider and a lot shallower. I like having them in the shave den, but most of the time I just load my BBE straight off the top of a Mama Bear's soap. :001_smile

Anyway, coffee cup's fine. But pick the right coffee cup for the job, whether from the cupboard or the dollar store or a yard sale---it should be fairly thick, wide enough for soap, and with flared sides or a rounded shape.

NANP™

[Bluestaco]

My "real" shaving mugs tend to be a tad thicker, which is probably good because I have whacked them a few times in such a way that a teacup would probably have broken. Good old thrift store coffee cups are still the best, though.

[_JP_]

"Back in the day," shaving mugs were larger than the teacups and coffee cups that were in use. That allowed for room to work the brush. Today, we all sorts of monstrosities for coffee, soup, hot chocolate, or whatever.

[ateace]

This is the area where my thriftiness has not given way to an AD. Since I started using a brush and soap over 15 years ago, I've purchased two mugs that cost $1.00 each.

[langod]

I picked up a couple of small custard cups to hold my soaps and a mini souffle dish (maybe 4" dia) as my "mug". It's thick so it holds the heat, and ribbed on the outside so I can hold on to it easily with wet hands. (it doesn't have a handle.)
I think the custard cups were about $.50 each and the souffle was maybe $2.

[Eagle]

Yep, wide and deep. That's what you want. Latte or oversized coffee mugs will work just fine. I used one for 12 years before switching to a deep bowl. Now my mug is used to store blades, razors, comb etc.

[DanOK]

Coffee cups are fine. In fact a lot of mugs you see in antique malls are just white coffee mugs with brushes stuck in them. I prefer Old Spice mugs for all the reasons given above, plus I can stack them two at a time in my drawer by my sink. Currently have 23 Old Spice Mugs, I'm a little out of control. Mugs are for holding soaps and bowls are for building lather, IMO.

[htownmmm]

Well, I started with a coffee mug from my cupboard, with my first puck. Works okay, but it's a bit narrow. Nana June's lemongrass puck fit just fine, but HBS Sue's Yuzu had to be melted in. Brush knocks a bit during loading.

My others are all vintage ones off eBay---the Aramis one is wider, with an unusual "bombe" shape to accomodate lathering, the occupational mug is wider and footed, the Old Spice and Medarta ones are both a little wider and a lot shallower. I like having them in the shave den, but most of the time I just load my BBE straight off the top of a Mama Bear's soap. :001_smile

Anyway, coffee cup's fine. But pick the right coffee cup for the job, whether from the cupboard or the dollar store or a yard sale---it should be fairly thick, wide enough for soap, and with flared sides or a rounded shape.

NANP™

And.........


Yep, wide and deep. That's what you want. Latte or oversized coffee mugs will work just fine. I used one for 12 years before switching to a deep bowl. Now my mug is used to store blades, razors, comb etc.

there it is!


Coffee cups are fine. In fact a lot of mugs you see in antique malls are just white coffee mugs with brushes stuck in them. I prefer Old Spice mugs for all the reasons given above, plus I can stack them two at a time in my drawer by my sink. Currently have 23 Old Spice Mugs, I'm a little out of control. Mugs are for holding soaps and bowls are for building lather, IMO.

of course you are-RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

marty

[kelbro]

I had a coffee cup that had a chip in it but I still used it for quite some time. I'm lefty and the chip was on the side that didn't interfere with my coffee drinking. My wife grabbed that cup one day and the chip was on her 'drinking side' so she was going to throw it out. That cup then became my shaving mug and has served me well for many years.

[studman46]

Coffee cups are fine. In fact a lot of mugs you see in antique malls are just white coffee mugs with brushes stuck in them. I prefer Old Spice mugs for all the reasons given above, plus I can stack them two at a time in my drawer by my sink. Currently have 23 Old Spice Mugs, I'm a little out of control. Mugs are for holding soaps and bowls are for building lather, IMO.
Ditto. Mug or small bowl with lid of choice for soap; bowl of choice for creams. Half the fun of satisfying this particular AD, is searching thrift stores, etc. They have a ton of cups, bowls, etc. Problem is there are so many soaps of different proprietary sizes now that you either have myriad of mugs/cups or do as many and melt down soap to fit. I use small '1cup' Rubbermaid container with lid for VDH and Col. Conk soaps and wide bowl within a bowl for creams. They say stoneware holds heat the best but I find porcelin bowls work better. Try to find a smaller bowl that just hangs inside first bowl but not as deep to allow hot water in big bowl which keeps smaller bowl hot for hot lather. Always wanted a moss scuttle but they're only handmade in Canada, and price is $50 + S/H. There are vintage scuttles on ebay, but I'd rather search antique malls for one.

[AverageJoe]

Target sells a "latte mug" I think they call it----perfect size and shape, has handle and CHEAP!! Although for my Williams Mug Soap, I feel COMPELLED to use a plain old mug. Well.....not TOO plain--it's my Rush Limbaugh "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" mug!

[Just Guess]

Okay, so here's my next question. What's with this cups for soap, bowls for cream distinction some of you are making?

[vcardona]

Cups have been used traditionally for soaps. Many soaps come in a convenient size that fits in a coffee mug. So it was popular to just drop your soap in, and make your lather on top of it. It is still a great way to make lather. My barber does it that way, and his lather is always so incredibly hot and rich that it inspires me every time I get my hair cut.

On the other hand, bowls have been used to make lather with creams. There really is no reason why. You can use either a bowl or mug to make lather with either soaps or creams. I think it is just tradition at this point.

[Shave Cat]

Shaving soaps have been around a lot longer than creams. Many years ago, a man or his barber would put a partial cake of soap into a mug, add a little water, begin building a lather in the mug, and finish the lathering on his own or his customer's face. The shaving mug was a convience. It is easier to build lather in larger containers, and since a tube or tub of shaving cream doesn't really fit into a mug, a bowl is usually used. I guess it's a matter of tradition. You can make soap lather in a bowl, and you can build cream lather directly on your face. It's whatever way you want.

-Clarke

[tom myers]

In my opinion and in my personal usage, the shaving mug is to hold the soap and to facilitate loading the brush with soap. The building of the lather is best done on the face. I feel that building the lather on the face, with either soap or cream, gives just that much more time to work the lather into the beard. Working the lather into the beard is what softens the whiskers and provides that comfortable, "can't tell there's a blade in the razor" type of shave.

As far as the most useful size and shape of mug, I vote for something like the Old Spice mugs which are sized for the average puck of soap and are not too deep. I have several of these mugs with various soaps in them.

Scuttles are for a different purpose altogether. They are great for keeping the lather filled brush nice and hot for further latherings after the first one which was when the lather was built on the face. Some feel that the scuttle is only for use with creams, but in my opinion, the scuttle does it's job after the lather is already made, consequently it can be useful with any lather whether it was produced from a soap or a cream.

Again, I know not everyone uses mugs, and scuttles just like I do and I know that some build lather in bowls and even in their other hand, but the above pretty well outlines what about fifty-five years of shaving has shown me works the best for me. (I'm still open to trying different methods; I only started using a scuttle a few months ago.)

Regards,
Tom

[mr_clean]

it's nice if you want to be fancy....you do want to be fancy don;t you?

[DanOK]

I also find that porcelain retains heat better that stoneware. I use a large porcelain creamer to built lather when I use creams. Part of the enjoyment I receive form shaving with a DE is the tradition. One of the most expensive collections of shaving mugs I have seen was out of an old barber shop and had the customer names on them. Customers kept a mug at the shop and the barber used their mug and shop when they came in for their shave. Tradition.