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Moss Scuttle Notes

Well, it arrived, finally. I feel like I'm one of the last to receive theirs, but isn't it a beauty? I ordered the smaller of the two sizes Sara offers.

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It's even smaller than I expected, so it'll likely require a bit of adjustment to my lather-building technique. I'm going to make this thread a diary of sorts of my education in using it, for those who might be considering investing in one.

I'm going to grab some teflon "feet" for it at Home Depot tonight so as to preserve what's left of my bathroom countertop.

-Rich

[Edit: because the question was asked, you can order a Moss Scuttle at http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/. She offers a large and a small size in either brown or cobalt blue, but my understanding is she will customize both color and bowl size if you ask.]
 
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Rich,
Sara makes Moss Scuttles in two sizes. This is probably the small one.The large one is 4" in diameter. Same price. I requested large one and got it yesterday.
With my Vulfix 2236, it works great. I'm sure you will enjoy using it as I do.
The leather stays worm for 15 minutes. And it helps to produce a rich leather.

Congrats!
 
I specifically ordered the smaller size, since all the brushes I'll be using with it are of the smaller variety. I'll make the appropriate note in the first post.

-Rich
 
Patience, patience! A virtue seldom rewarded, unless it's a case of RAD SCAD, SBAD, SSAD, etc., etc. They certainly are handsome. Rich, do you think you would be wiser to have hard rubber feet? Perhaps to keep it from sliding about on the vanity? Enjoy.:001_smile
 
Ron, I'm debating whether nonskid rubber feet, slippery Teflon feet or simple hard plastic feet are best.

On the one hand, "grippy" makes sense as it'd free up a hand while lathering, but on the other I'm unsure how well stick-on "feet" like this will adhere to the porous bottom of the scuttle, and if not well, then slippery feet would be the better option, since they'd stay on more easily. Trial and error!

-Rich
 
Rich
I think you should try it first. When scuttle is filled with water, it's quite heavy.
Even the wipping motion with the BIG brush does not move it. Unless you would like to prevent mars/markings on the counter.In that case I would recomend a simple felts from HD.
But it's not going to move around the counter, if that is what you trying to prevent.

Regards, Anthony.
 
It's time for a stupid question. Are you ready? Who is Sara? How can someone order one of these and are they actually worth the money?
 
The first thing I did with my scuttle was sand the bottom down a bit...not only is the base very coarse, mine had a few burrs on it as well. I placed sandpaper on a flat surface (my workbench) and moved the scuttle over that.

I've thought about pads, but wonder how well they will adhere to a porous surface that's constantly getting wet...
 
Agent86 said:
The first thing I did with my scuttle was sand the bottom down a bit...not only is the base very coarse, mine had a few burrs on it as well. I placed sandpaper on a flat surface (my workbench) and moved the scuttle over that.

I've thought about pads, but wonder how well they will adhere to a porous surface that's constantly getting wet...

I'm still waiting on mine to arrive, but I really like the sanding idea. Sounds like something I might consider as well once my scuttle arrives from the Great North.

I currently use an extra large mug from Mast General Store that was a bit rough on the [cultured marble] vanity top so the wife has me to place it on a coaster. Actually works pretty well and its not a lot of trouble. Now all we need is someone to start making "Scuttle Coasters." :lol:

Scuttle Coasters...the Next BIG Thing!!! :thumbdown
 
PoshRichM said:
Ron, I'm debating whether nonskid rubber feet, slippery Teflon feet or simple hard plastic feet are best.

On the one hand, "grippy" makes sense as it'd free up a hand while lathering, but on the other I'm unsure how well stick-on "feet" like this will adhere to the porous bottom of the scuttle, and if not well, then slippery feet would be the better option, since they'd stay on more easily. Trial and error!

-Rich

Rich, I put the little sticky fabric feet on mine and they work really well and haven't come unstuck for the 3 weeks I have had it.
 
Jim Thompson said:
It's time for a stupid question. Are you ready? Who is Sara? How can someone order one of these and are they actually worth the money?

Sara is Sara Bonnyman, pott maker. I have heard "A famous pott maker". Here is a link
http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/

I paid $65, including shipping. Not a chip piece of pottery, but works really good. Wether it worth the money or not, nothing is chip.Look at the shaving brushes.

All the best.
 
PottyDoctor said:
I'm still waiting on mine to arrive, but I really like the sanding idea. Sounds like something I might consider as well once my scuttle arrives from the Great North.

I currently use an extra large mug from Mast General Store that was a bit rough on the [cultured marble] vanity top so the wife has me to place it on a coaster. Actually works pretty well and its not a lot of trouble. Now all we need is someone to start making "Scuttle Coasters." :lol:

Scuttle Coasters...the Next BIG Thing!!! :thumbdown
Ron,
This scuttle thing is becoming a growth industry! Scuttle Feet R Us! Wow, I can see it now with Geoffrey the Counter Scratch Resister...
Here 'tis lads,
RON'S SPECIAL SCUTTLE FEET.​
  • Five to the Package.
  • Using special glue made from the secretions of the Pago Pago Periwinkle (alliteration? Yeah!).
For the discerning scuttle user. Don't want any of that Wally World trash on the bottom of your scuttle? Get these high quality, top shelf scuttle feet now for only $15.00, our special introductory price. Won't scratch, won't mar, won't tick off SWMBO!
Also available:
RON'S SPECIAL SCUTTLE COASTER.​
Available at the same fine e-tailers.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
The scuttle I ordered right around May 1st arrived yesterday (the 17th :wink: ). It's the large one and my 26mm Savile Row super badger brush works perfectly with it; just as hot at the end as at the beginning. At just under $60 with shipping, I think it's a great investment that I'll be enjoying for a very long time.


Rich, look for some of this stuff in the drawer/closet accessories aisle at most any store. It's usually about $5 a roll and can be easily cut to any desired shape. It works great to prevent stuff from sliding around and comes in various colors.
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Jim... I love mine, and think it's worth every penny... Especially now that I'm using to produce the lather in, not just to keep my lathered brush warm.

My wife, a trained artist herself who dabbled in pottery in art school, was so impressed when I took it out of the box. She had no idea I was ordering it, or what it was when it came, but when she saw it for the first time she was genuinely impressed with the design, artistic workmanship, and aesthetic beauty of the thing.

As for me, ah, well, it never fails to keep my lather warm, so that's a good thing.

RICH: After a coupla weeks of using it (the small one in brown/reddish), I'm thinking of ordering a large blue one for my larger brushes (especially my new Chubby 2, which I tried, with some success, to cram in there fully loaded with lather!)!!!
 
Hey guys,

By the way, Sara also will make one (or two/three ....) based on your requirements. She stated so in e-mail to me. You have to provide the diameter of the top. I told her that I have a large brush (Vulfix 2236 is kind of large and I love it) and she asked how large the scuttle I would want. I opted for 4" scuttle that she makes. Works great. The lather is worm from start to the end of shaving.
 
Time for another stupid question. Wouldn't the large size be a better investment if someone were to have only one? I would think it would work just as well with the smaller brushes as with large brushes. Not to mention that the large brushes might be too large to build good lather with a smaller opening. Just wondering. As you may have guessed I have not given much thought to lathering vessels before I read this thread.
 
Jim,

I specifically requested the smaller size because three of my brushes are under 25mm knot sizes, so I thought the smaller would be better (but it turned out to be smaller than I thought). My answer to your question about size-accomodation is that, in my experience, when I've tried to lather a small or midsize brush in a mug or bowl that's too big, no lather will come of it.

I can't say why, scientifically, that's the case. My guess would be that there is a certain amount of friction and proximity necessary to actually build the cream and water into a lather, and if the recepticle is too big, there's not enough friction.

On the other hand, I was able to build a healthy, steady lather this morning with my Simpsons Chubby 2, which is fairly large at 27 or 28mm, even in the small size of Sarah's scuttle.

The bottom line is that the small size is much smaller than I thought it would be. I think the next size up (the "large") is probably what I imagined the smaller size would be, to better accomodate the majority of my brushes.
 
Wow, this thread has gone berserk! :w00t:

I grabbed both rubber and felt feet at Lowe's last night, and decided to try the felt feet first, if only because there were more of them in the package, and I figured that if I ripped them off (or they fell off) later, I'd still have more of the package left for other purposes.

Anyway, the result: I love the felt! I tend to move stuff around on my counter a lot while shaving (and it's scratched to dullness as a result), and I've come to the conclusion that the rubber feet would have driven me bonkers, either by holding too well and preventing movement, or by "juddering" during movement, or perhaps by getting too slick when wet and/or lathery. The felt feet (I used 6) prevented scratching, and wound up not being too slippery, and even gripped a tiny bit better when wet! Score!

As for lathering, I tried whipping up some Trumper's Violet cream just for grins last night, and for someone used to a medium-sized bowl to fly a brush around in, my Vulfix #2234 (hardly a big knot at 22mm) felt sort of cramped in the Moss Scuttle at first. But after a few tiny swirls and some pumping the thing turned into a lather fountain! More lather than the brush could hold, spilling over the lip. And it was excellent lather, too: hydrated, meringue-like, and above all warm. Not hot, because my tap water wasn't piping, but warm and consistently so. The violet smell was powerful, and lathering the wet palm of one hand was very promising indeed. Anyway, I didn't want to shave before bed, so I dumped the scuttle out and washed everything, and turned in.

This morning I decided to go outside the box for my first Moss Scuttle shave. I've been rediscovering soap lately, so I brought forth my QEDMan Lavender soap and primed the Vulfix from it before splashing a little water in the Scuttle and going to town. Long story short, I got the same result as last night: a slow-motion geyser of excellent soapy lather, smelling wonderful and wonderfully warm to the face.

The QED soap is excellent anyway, so I can't really say that the lather was any more effective during the shave than that generated via hot-pot or simple bowl lathering, but one great side-effect of Moss Scuttle use is that since the point is to "plug" the lathering pocket with your brush, the lather has less surface area exposed to the air. This means that not only is heat retained, but so is moisture! Normally when using a soap (and frequently with a cream), I'll need to add some additional water to the lather about halfway through the shave, to compensate for evaporation, and risk throwing off the water-soap balance. Not so this morning. :thumbup1:

So, based on two lathers and one shave, the Moss Scuttle is looking like a real winner, at least for me. Makes me wish there were a travel version!

-Rich
 
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