Shave mug vs. Coffee mug, what's the difference?

hey guys, new to DE shaving as of 2ish months ago. thankfully i'm not slicing my neck up too bad anymore....gotta love the learning curve.

okay, i've been using TOBS sandalwood and proraso cream w/ a lot of success. well, i wanna try shave soap. can i not just use a regular coffee mug and drop the puck in that. was looking at some shaving mugs and they're kinda expensive.

Thanks guys!

The difference is the price.

A mug or cup can hold the soap, but not a good idea for making lather in; too small, no room to move and you just keep lifting soap off.

Drop the puck in a mug for loading up, and use a cereal bowl to make lather, that's a good size. I face lather, quicker, easier and more tactile feedback on where lather's at.

You can use whatever you like, mug, bowl - it doesn't really matter.

Just make sure it's wide enough that your not smacking your brush against the sides as you load up.
Nothing worse than that "tink tink tink" early in the morning.

Rounded bottom Gibson mug that I bought from Big Lots. $4.00 + Tax.

Mine is brown rather than blue. (Ignore the standard cylindrical cup).

Works well and holds in heat and allows for easier brushing.

The expense of specialty mugs was a big turn off.

I have an Old Spice shave mug that has some ridges in the bottom. It seams to help build the lather, but I could be wrong. I guess I could use it as a coffee cup if I really wanted to. I also have a bowl from Target that I use. No difference in the mugs or cups or bowls, I just use what ever I feel like using that day. Use what ever works best for you.

I did learn that my wife's grandmother's coffee cups are not good shaving mugs... I am not sure why but I was informed by my wife they are unacceptable, they are a nice size though and they worked pretty good.

Head over to Target or even a local restaurant supply store. Plenty of great choices on the cheap.

GDCarrington said:

The expense of specialty mugs was a big turn off.

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Not to mention that fact that many of the so called "shaving mugs" don't work at all for their intended purpose. Too small to lather in, so what you end up with is a fancy vessel for holding your puck of soap, aka TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY!!

Use a $5 mug, and save the money for more important things like more soap, cream, and razors!

Cappuccino mugs work great. The dollar store in my neck of the woods, Dollarama, has the perfect mug for only a buck.

I was super happy with the O'Brien bowl I got from Target for a couple of bucks. I used it for any time I didn't face lather. Then, for Father's Day, my kids got me a G5 scuttle. I use it every once in awhile, but the bowl is just as effective in building lather. I think you can go cheap here...

Picked up a small soup bowl from Kohels. $3.99. Works like a charm with soap and cream and looks great. Kind of like an old Aztec/Indian design. Looks really old school.

thanks everyone. coffee mug/cappucino mug to store and cereal bowl to lather. awesome. on a student's budget so your advice helps a lot.

81FSUnole, whatever you use, you don't have to spend a lot of money on that bowl unless you want to.

My big revelation was that, even when using hard soaps, it was faster and more efficient (i.e. less wasteful and cheaper) to load the brush, then use a separate bowl to build lather. Sounds like more bother, but for me it really isn't. I was just stirring soap around the top of the puck and never getting the right mix, while the separate bowl gave me a lot more control. Now if you lather on your face, YMMV and it could be a whole 'nother story. But from what you've said, sounds like you're on the right track!

Here's a picture with my current favorite items.



The apothecary bowl is bigger than your typical coffee mug, and does cost something but it holds a big puck and the flare is nice - to me.

Inside that is a stainless steel doggie dish for miniature breeds that cost me under $4. Covers the mug with the puck to keep it from drying out. And you can float it in hot water for a luxurious shave!

To the right is a porcelain bowl from Pier One, $2.38 after tax, that is the perfect shape for my brushes. Diameter 4", depth 2-7/8", flat bottom only a bit wider than the brush, sides flare just right so nothing gets spilled but I don't bang the handle against it. If I want hot lather, I partially fill the stainless bowl with hot water and set the porcelain bowl inside that. Really works.

Many, many options out there and fun figuring out what's right for you.

- Bill

GDCarrington said:

Rounded bottom Gibson mug that I bought from Big Lots. $4.00 + Tax.

Mine is brown rather than blue. (Ignore the standard cylindrical cup).

Works well and holds in heat and allows for easier brushing.

The expense of specialty mugs was a big turn off.

Click to expand...

Lol, I got one of those Gibson mugs from Big Lots and, using some Gorilla Glue, painted a cross, and some circular rings on the bottom. Gorilla glue expands when it dries, so I have some ridges along the bottom to help with the lathering.

Seems to work ok so far.

Excuse the sloppy work with the glue.

An Edwin Jagger mug, has a stem type handle to hold and also has ridges on the inside, on the bottom, to help make lather. Yes, it did cost alot but I wanted soemthing "nice" to add to my shaving experience.

Hex said:

Lol, I got one of those Gibson mugs from Big Lots and, using some Gorilla Glue, painted a cross, and some circular rings on the bottom. Gorilla glue expands when it dries, so I have some ridges along the bottom to help with the lathering.

Seems to work ok so far.

Click to expand...

That sounds cool, I'll have to try that.

I use a couple of mugs I picked up from Goodwill for $0.25 each. One is a coffee mug from a local diner (has ads all over it). Fits a puck of Van der Hagen soap perfectly, but it has straight sides so I get that "tink tink" every time I use it. The other one must be more of a cappuccino or soup mug. It has a smaller base, and sloping sides. I use it lather in, and the sloping sides work great, no tink at all. Best of all, $0.50 total for supplies. When I rest the cappuccino mug in the sink, it keeps the lather nice and warm.

I also picked up some cheap custard cups from Target (after reading about them in another thread here). I melted some Col Conks into one, and it works perfectly for lathering up on top of the soap.

Definitely go by a Salvation Army, Goodwill, or some other kind of thrift shop. It may take a few visits, but you'll find something a lot cheaper that will work great.

I dunno, folks.

The Old Spice mug I picked up at Goodwill for two bits simply doesn't do the job as well as the Old Spice mugs that I payed a little more for.

Likewise, the cheap, no name soup mugs and second hand store bowls I use really do lather better if I put a fifty dollar bill under them.

Go ahead and kid yourself that cheap is good, but we know deep down, that unless you paid a ridiculous amount for it, it's just sub par.

Topgumby said:

I dunno, folks.

The Old Spice mug I picked up at Goodwill for two bits simply doesn't do the job as well as the Old Spice mugs that I payed a little more for.

Likewise, the cheap, no name soup mugs and second hand store bowls I use really do lather better if I put a fifty dollar bill under them.

Go ahead and kid yourself that cheap is good, but we know deep down, that unless you paid a ridiculous amount for it, it's just sub par.

Click to expand...

If I put the fifty dollars under the mug, will that enhance the experience, or must the fifty dollars be no longer in my possession to make this work?

81FSUnole said:

hey guys, new to DE shaving as of 2ish months ago. thankfully i'm not slicing my neck up too bad anymore....gotta love the learning curve.

okay, i've been using TOBS sandalwood and proraso cream w/ a lot of success. well, i wanna try shave soap. can i not just use a regular coffee mug and drop the puck in that. was looking at some shaving mugs and they're kinda expensive.

Thanks guys!

Click to expand...

If you'll look carefully in the bottoms of the mugs, you'll find that the coffee mug has coffee in it, and the shaving mug has soap in it.

That's OK, no need to thank me.

TxPhoto09 said:

If you'll look carefully in the bottoms of the mugs, you'll find that the coffee mug has coffee in it, and the shaving mug has soap in it.

That's OK, no need to thank me.

Click to expand...

Genius.