How do shaving mugs work

Mugs that were decorated were colorful and often the most expensive to purchase since the painting was often complex. The depictions include floral designs, scenic designs, birds, butterflies and comic figures. Many men belonged to fraternal organizations during this period for a very practical reason; fraternal organizations often paid burial fees and death benefits for members in good standing.

The organizations all had rituals and symbols that made membership unique. They are representative of the era when shaving mugs were used, so the scenes of horses and wagons, men working at their jobs and tools of the trade painted on the mugs give us a glimpse into the everyday life of this historical period.

All collectors should become knowledgeable about the items they collect. Fortunately, there are many resources available. Contact the National Shaving Mug Collectors Association NSMCA and attend their semi-annual meetings where educational presentations are made and friendly members are available to answer questions and help the beginner. Information is available at www. Line Road, Richmond, IN , telephone Books on shaving mugs include Occupational Shaving Mugs by W. For whatever reason you decide to collect — good luck and happy hunting!

You must be logged in to post a comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. As with any collectible, you should ask yourself some questions so that you will feel comfortable with your collection: How much money is available for your hobby? Shaving Mugs Used in the Home Decorated Mugs Perhaps the most plentiful mug is the decorated mug with all types of designs — some hand-painted and some with transfers.

Glass and Advertising Mugs As sales promotions, many shaving soap manufacturers gave free or inexpensive mugs to customers. Scuttle Mugs As the name implies, scuttle mugs are in the shape of a coal scuttle. Character Mugs A character mug is similar to a scuttle mug except that it is in the shape of an object, person or animal. Metal Mugs Early metal shaving mugs were made by tinsmiths.

Souvenir Mugs When people vacationed they frequently brought back a souvenir to remember the experience. Decorated Mugs Mugs that were decorated were colorful and often the most expensive to purchase since the painting was often complex.

Fraternal Mugs Many men belonged to fraternal organizations during this period for a very practical reason; fraternal organizations often paid burial fees and death benefits for members in good standing. Tell us about your shaving mug collection in the comments below!

Guess What? November Also, on an unrelated note, I received my first bottles of Grey Flannel edt and as yesterday. I've determined that they smell like baby powder. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I do feel the need to vent about it, because I thought I was getting Speed Stick Original in a bottle. Last edited: Mar 7, You don't really need one if you face lather, however, you can use almost any mug or bowl for lathering. To me, soup mugs work well as they are typically larger than coffee mugs.

Which leads me to the question, how can you tell if a mug is a shaving mug? I see "shaving" mugs advertised on ebay all of the time and they look just like a coffee mug. In fact, I ended up with a "shaving" mug that came with a brush I got off of ebay. It has a horse and buggy on it, as I recall. Nothing to tie it to shaving whatsoever, and it looks like and is the same size as a typical shaving mug Fellow noob here. I keep my soap in a nice wood bowl and with a a slight wet brush I start get the brush going on the soap and once the tips are covered I then switch to a seperate bowl with some C.

Then next thing I want though is a scuttle!! You have a different good options. You could load or charge your brush with soap in it's existing container, then lather on your face by swirling or painting the proto-lather on your wet face, adding water to the building lather by lightly dipping your brush tips into the water in the sink. You can also build lather in a mug or bowl.

You can easily use a large coffee mug, or small soup bowl. I prefer to use a rounded large coffee mug. Additionall, it also has a rounded bottom. Hit the thrift stores and get a chili bowl or soup cup large cup for onion soup. You should have a good choice at any thrift store. You are going to have slop over when you load your brush unless you are careful.

All you want to do is " load " the brush, NOT build a lather in your soap bowl. You build your lather in another empty bowl or on your face. My preference for a lather bowl is a stainless Danish gravy server. Click to expand View attachment I hate chasing my soap when I just want to have my shave.

My preference with Conk is to load lots of soap onto my brush, which basically starts to build a little lather right on top of the puck. Before the lather really gets going, I take the brush to my face and face-lather the rest of the way. This works just fine for me, but many others prefer to load in one mug and build lather in another.

As we say here, YMMV. OK, I guess I've been doing it wrong for 3 weeks. I was under the impression that one builds the lather in the same container as the soap. If you choose to go with a metal bowl, you also want to make sure it is stainless steel so you can prevent rust more effectively.

Some metal bowls are more ornate than others, so at that point, it depends on your personal preference when deciding what kind of bowl or mug you want.

Something to remember, if it bothers you, is that a metal bowl will not stay warm, so your lather will eventually get cold. A ceramic shaving mug, or stoneware piece, is wonderful for building lather if the bowl has built-in ridges or bumps on the inside of the bowl or mug. Not only do they last, but they also hold on to the heat. Another bonus to using ceramic is the way that it is easy to clean. On the downside of using ceramic, it is also pretty fragile.

It could chip easily and smash into a thousand pieces if you were to ever accidentally drop it. Because of this, ceramic is not the best choice for traveling. Wood has a classic appearance that looks sophisticated when you add it to your bathroom. The rough texture of wood also provides a much better surface to build lather against compared to the metal or ceramic counterparts. Wood is also relatively good at holding on to heat, and it is nowhere near as fragile as ceramic. On the downside, wood will warp if it is not adequately taken care of.

If you care more about price than looks, a plastic bowl is going to be the most inexpensive option available to you. There are some definite benefits to selecting a plastic shaving mug or bowl. Secondly, plastic bowls are easy to come by. You can pick up a plastic kitchen bowl and be good to go.