Do typical shaving mugs seem too small?

So, the brush I have is the B&B 2006 brush and I've been using a small rice bowl I got from target as a shaving mug. This has been working great but I thought I would try something different.

I bought this apothecary mug from ems place and it seems small.

Is my brush just too big for the typical shaving mugs? Any mug with a 3" opening just makes me hit my knuckles when whipping up lather.

Do you guys find this as well?

Can't comment on Em's mugs. I don't know how big the B&B 2006 brush is.

You can often find Old Spice shaving mugs at antique/collectible stores. They are pretty wide and low. Lots of folks seem to like them.

I found a gravy boat that I use and like. It's got a fairly large oval shape, holds heat well, and I can rest my brushes in the spout. It handles everything from my Rooney 3,1 and Tweezerman to my Rooney 3,3 and Shavemac.

Haven't tried, but that is the reason I don't buy a mug. I use a big cereal sized ceramic bowl, I like my space.

Paul10 said:

So, the brush I have is the B&B 2006 brush and I've been using a small rice bowl I got from target as a shaving mug. This has been working great but I thought I would try something different.

I bought this apothecary mug from ems place and it seems small.

Is my brush just too big for the typical shaving mugs? Any mug with a 3" opening just makes me hit my knuckles when whipping up lather.

Do you guys find this as well?

Click to expand...

Paul,

I found the same thing to be true with anything with a smaller opening. I bought a soup mug at Target that worked great with the B&B brushes. They look like a large coffee cup, and they are deeper than most small bowls. When I was drinking a pot of coffee every day, that's what I used.

Ciao,
chop-chop

I did experience that when I first started wet shaving. I have not been wet shaving too terribly long and have really only used 3 different mugs. One was for my soap, and it was too small for me (bought it at Target), then I switched to cream and bought another one from Target, but it was also a little small for me. I found myself banging my brush and/or my knuckles as well. I actually found a guy on one of these forums that used a mug he found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I went and grabbed one after reading what he had to say and I love it! It's a little deep, but it's huge and has plenty of room for me to swirl around my brush and not sling lather all over the bathroom.
If you are interested, here's a link to the mug I bought:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=12092172&RN=554&KSKU=108328
I put it in a sink full of hot water while I'm in the shower and it seems to hold the heat well while I am shaving.

Thanks for the responses.

I think I will try a soap in the new apothecary mug...I really like the mug design. I'll also check around for another one.

+1 on the soup mug.

I did find shaving mugs to be small.

Probably so.
I think that most are made to transfer the soap to the brush, not to make lather in. when used to get the brush really loaded with soap and then face lathering, they work like a champ.

I looked at a purpose-made shaving mug at a local high-end toiletries store.

It was $28 for what looked like an ordinary china coffee mug, albeit with some sort of sporty Victorian gent being shaved on the side of it. I passed.

Instead I bought (for $2) a very nice porcelain rice bowl. The bowl is big enough to submerge my brush in hot water as I go through my pre-shave regime, it holds heat very well, and when I'm ready to lather it gives my wirst room to work, without knocking my knuckles. It looks just as nice as any purpose made mug, but works better, and is less than a tenth of the cost.

I had a Van Der Hagen bowl that I purchased when I first started Wet Shaving, It worked great until I dropped it. I'm Clumsy.

Purchased 2 small Mugs at the 99cents store that work great for creams, but new cakes of soap are too big...So I just use a different coffee cup for those until the cakes are small enough to fit in the other mugs. Still looking for something unique....

I've been eyeing the Moss scuttles also(http://www.sarabonnymanpottery.com/moss_scuttle.htm#ms).
Anybody have any experience with these?

It's not the opening, but the depth of the mug.



==Tom

MotoMike said:

Probably so.
I think that most are made to transfer the soap to the brush, not to make lather in. when used to get the brush really loaded with soap and then face lathering, they work like a champ.

Click to expand...

Bingo. Whipping up the lather and then putting it on the face is a more recent method. Face lathering was the original way togo.

Hows the mugs from vintage blades?

MotoMike said:

Probably so.
I think that most are made to transfer the soap to the brush, not to make lather in. when used to get the brush really loaded with soap and then face lathering, they work like a champ.

Click to expand...

That's how I always use 'em.

Their too small for me. A Latte mug would probably work. I like alot of space to whip up a lather.

I have a GeorgeTown Scuttle, a Colonel Conk Apothecary mug and an Old Spice (vintage) shaving mug. Far and away my favorite is the Apothecary mug. It allow me to Make LOTS of thick lather; however, I think if I were face lathering, the Old Spice would be my choice. I find the soaps that come in their own (sometimes wooden) bowls to be messy.

I found a really nice looking cereal bowl at wal-mart for $3.00. I like the wide opening and depth. Since I dont have a scuttle I fill the bowl with hot water and let my brush warm up and after I've got my lather I set my bowl down in the sink of hot water to stay warm. Works so well it is the one thing I'm not wanting to expiriment with.

Paul10 said:

So, the brush I have is the B&B 2006 brush and I've been using a small rice bowl I got from target as a shaving mug. This has been working great but I thought I would try something different.

I bought this apothecary mug from ems place and it seems small.

Is my brush just too big for the typical shaving mugs? Any mug with a 3" opening just makes me hit my knuckles when whipping up lather.

Do you guys find this as well?

Click to expand...

I used a couple of different lathering bowls when I first started because I started out using creams. I used a nice looking rice bowl but found the lather would spill out over the sides, so I found a bigger hand made bowl. Worked well so I was pretty happy except there seemed to be a lot of wasted lather going down the drain, not to mention the daily clean up of the bowl, etc.

I read this threadhttp://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136 and decided to try this. After learning to load the brush properly, I realized I could load it and lather directly on the face without using another "lathering" bowl. I haven't looked back. It is a lot less messy and I use less soap. It also works super well.

The lather bowls I had were a bit big for a puck of soap (L'Occitane Cade), but I found the perfect soap bowl -- it is a very heavy, porcelain ceramic mortar from a local market here in Toronto (St. Lawrence Market) for $18.99. I love it, fits the soaps perfectly and has a really nice heft to it.

I find the rice bowl option works well but I agree that a wider, shorter "soup mug" works great too.