Cheap Mugs or Bowls

I can't be the only person here who's thinking that $45 for a brand-name shaving mug is a rather stupid price. Anybody else using whatever they find around the house? I wound up taking one of my main tea mugs (it's big, I drink lots of tea) and using it for my shaving mug. The problem is that it curves inward instead of outward. I've figured out that outward might be nice.

So - Ikea anybody? Thoughts? I'm using Tabac in the bowl, so I don't need it for the soap, just for lathering, and when the Tabac is gone then it's time to try Proraso/CO Bigelow. Ikea, yah?

On the subject - is it better to have a glossy smooth surface like porcelain or a rough surface, like glazed but hand-thrown pottery?

What about an unglazed solid-bottom flower pot? Would that work? Or would it be a germ magnet?

Besides the outrageous price, most of the so called "shaving bowls/mugs" don't work very well for their intended purpose. They might be fine for holding soap, not so fine for using as a lather bowl.

Just about any large mug (aka a cappuccino mug) will work great, or a medium sized bowl with gently slopping sides.

My current lather vessel of choice is wooden salad bowl. Perfect sized, and no worries about it breaking if dropped.

The best place to find lather bowls is your local second hand shop/ Goodwill/ Salvation Army. You can find all sorts of potential vessels for a dollar or two (sometimes even a quarter!).

I use a small stainless steel pet food bowl. Came with a rubber ring around the bottom to keep it from sliding.

I'm using one of these. It's cool because it's vintage, and it's heavy to use as a blunt weapon if I'm ever attacked in the shave den.

bmacqueens said:

I can't be the only person here who's thinking that $45 for a brand-name shaving mug is a rather stupid price. Anybody else using whatever they find around the house? I wound up taking one of my main tea mugs (it's big, I drink lots of tea) and using it for my shaving mug. The problem is that it curves inward instead of outward. I've figured out that outward might be nice.

So - Ikea anybody? Thoughts? I'm using Tabac in the bowl, so I don't need it for the soap, just for lathering, and when the Tabac is gone then it's time to try Proraso/CO Bigelow. Ikea, yah?

On the subject - is it better to have a glossy smooth surface like porcelain or a rough surface, like glazed but hand-thrown pottery?

What about an unglazed solid-bottom flower pot? Would that work? Or would it be a germ magnet?

Click to expand...

Ikea is good. So is the Dollar Store. I went looking for a mug for Williams, the wife needed to go to DS, so I said "what the hell?". Put the puck in my pocket and off we went. Got a strange look or two, but I found the perfect mug for 99 cents. Nice handle, right circumference, right depth- all for a dollar. It is worth a shot.

I use one of these from Target:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=90444

Works just fine for me and was only like three bucks.

Just keep an eye out as you go about. I've picked up some cool vessels over time for little or nothing at all.

as posted in another thread, I just scored 4 Old Spice mugs for $17 on the 'bay. there's plenty of bargains out there.

regular expresso coffee mugs do the job just fine. I found 4 mugs that I've had wrapped up in boxes for the last 14 years. plonked a puck of Williams in, perfect fit!

_MementoMori_ said:

I'm using one of these. It's cool because it's vintage, and it's heavy to use as a blunt weapon if I'm ever attacked in the shave den.

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+1, that is amazing!!!!! Where did you find it?

antique stores can have some cool bowls. I found a small corning ware bowl with a handle at one store. I use it as an outer bowl to hold boiling water to keep the lather hot. The handle is 4 inches long and really helps me to be able to move the whole works around without burning myself.For an inner/lather bowl I use a cool tall sugar bowl that I had laying around.

I think almost all of us just use something from around the house or something that caught our eye at the store that was made for something other than shaving.

For bowl lathering I prefer a wider bowl with a flat bottom. I found a real nice looking bowl at Target for about $5.00. Now I face lather so the bowl's just sitting in the drawer. Any bowl will work no matter what it's intended purpose. Scrounge around antique stores, Target, Pier One Imports, cooking stores, anyplace that sells bowls or mugs and you'll find tons of stuff that will be just right. You might even find something that's really cool. There was a time when anytime I saw a bowl at a store I'd start wondering if it would make a good lather bowl.

As to the texture of the bowl's surface. I've always had smooth bowls and gotten great lather but I have heard that some gents prefer a textured surface. I say try one of each and see what happens.

RockyNomad said:

I use one of these from Target:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=90444

Works just fine for me and was only like three bucks.

Click to expand...

I'm using s $3 Target deep rice bowl.

jonofd said:

+1, that is amazing!!!!! Where did you find it?

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Thank you. I got mine at an antique store about an hour from my house. The pic I posted isn't mine, though. Mine is in much better shape.

I used to be on a trip to get a nice bowl when I was using cream. After I started face lathering not sure I will ever get one. I personally like the ceramic bowl that came with my MWF. It was like $35 for the ceramic dish + soap from West Coast. Not sure the picture on West Coast does it justice. Maybe the picture of it in my Den is a little nicer. It's nice and heavy to hold while I prepare my brush in the luscious lather each morning.

michiganlover said:

The best place to find lather bowls is your local second hand shop/ Goodwill/ Salvation Army. You can find all sorts of potential vessels for a dollar or two (sometimes even a quarter!).

Click to expand...

Thrift stores rock! ... Got all these for probably $15 max. I used the Gruelich's bottle for Witch Hazel until I found the clear bottle with a pour stopper. I just got the tall, thin cup today. I use distilled water for shaving, and will soak my brush in that to cut down on how much I have to dispense each day. I'm looking for a cheap crock to keep my distilled water in. Right now I use a clear plastic jug I got at a garage sale last Saturday - for $1!

I have two right now, one I purchased at Wal-mart for 3 dollars and is a soup bowl, the other I got on a whim at target in the 1 dollar section. The one from target is supposed to be a candy dish for easter.

Tupperware makes, or used to make, a small cup that was almost exactly three inches across, about the same size as many soap pucks, and around 1 1/2 inches deep. They're ideal for many pucks, and as an added attraction they come with airtight lids that make them great for travel. IIRC they're sold in sets of four, but it's been so long since I bought mine I wouldn't swear to it.

bmacqueens said:

I can't be the only person here who's thinking that $45 for a brand-name shaving mug is a rather stupid price. Anybody else using whatever they find around the house? I wound up taking one of my main tea mugs (it's big, I drink lots of tea) and using it for my shaving mug. The problem is that it curves inward instead of outward. I've figured out that outward might be nice.

So - Ikea anybody? Thoughts? I'm using Tabac in the bowl, so I don't need it for the soap, just for lathering, and when the Tabac is gone then it's time to try Proraso/CO Bigelow. Ikea, yah?

On the subject - is it better to have a glossy smooth surface like porcelain or a rough surface, like glazed but hand-thrown pottery?

What about an unglazed solid-bottom flower pot? Would that work? Or would it be a germ magnet?

Click to expand...

Herban Cowboy has a good mug for some 3 or 4 usd.

If the bowl was Crystal and Made by MIKASA "Brand Name" Then Maybe i would consider it, but i have a nice 99 Cent Bowl i got at a "of Course" a 99cent Store, and looks good and is slick, also made of a nice unbreakable Plastic, so if i drop it, it bounces right Back into may Hands and i continue Lathering up

Im not cheap i like buying good stuff, but don't like getting Ripped off Either, An Over sized Ceramic or Metal Coffee Mug Designed for shaving $45.00 That's insane........................


Here are some pictures.

Well, I've never paid $45 for a mug, but functionally, there was no reason to pay the up to $15 I have for some of my Old Spice mugs (the cheapest was about $5). I even paid $20 for one that had the unused OS soap in it. Also got some "collectible" Surrey mugs for a bit less, and a couple of the old style one piece scuttles.

The thing is, these vintage and semi-vintage pieces have become another collectible that I like having. They're used just to hold the soap; I always face lather so I don't need bowls. When I started out, I used some appropriately sized coffee mugs, which worked just as well as the O.S. mugs.

When you get into the really expensive vintage pieces, they're either overpriced, or so rare and valuable that I wouldn't feel I could use them for their intended purpose. None of the more expensive modern mugs I've seen appeal to me.