Face vs Bowl vs Hand lathering - which and/or why?

have never hand lathered and dont use a bowl either..

I only ever face lather, cant be arsed building a lather in a bowl, plus as an upside I find I need to do minimal pre before a shave because face lathering is a two in one deal for me, you build lather and prep your face at the same time :)
 
For those who bowl lather, can you recommend one? The Muhle ones look nice...
 
MrT said:
For those who bowl lather, can you recommend one? The Muhle ones look nice...
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Captain's Choice.

Not cheap, but they are an excellent bowl.

www.captainschoicestore.com

Copper Lather Bowl, Standard - Captain's Choice — Captain's Choice Products

Finally, an unbreakable lather bowl with that vintage look! The Standard version weighs in at six ounces and comes with an appealing rolled edge to the lip. Coated in a protective lacquer for durability and long life this eye-catching lather bowl is a marvel of hand made craftsmanship. Handcrafte
www.captainschoicestore.com www.captainschoicestore.com
 
MrT said:
For those who bowl lather, can you recommend one? The Muhle ones look nice...
Click to expand...
Captain's Choice OR Symmetrical Pottery


These pictures below are from Symmetrical Pottery
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il_340x270.2295244535_d2ym.jpg
il_340x270.4834473671_5w60.jpg

il_340x270.1906695317_ceec.jpg
il_340x270.869442668_cefz.jpg
 
+2 for the Fine bowl from Vshod.

...and don't forget if you wait for P&C Charity Auction 2023 there may be a few bowls including a Fine Lather Bowl from VSHOD

My experience don't go too extreme with the lumps and bumps, grooves and peaks, they'll create a lather but aerate it at the same time. Something that holds the soap in place and provides minor agitation is all that's needed. All of the above are in this category (y)
 
Holiday said:
+2 for the Fine bowl from Vshod.

...and don't forget if you wait for P&C Charity Auction 2023 there may be a few bowls including a Fine Lather Bowl from VSHOD

My experience don't go too extreme with the lumps and bumps, grooves and peaks, they'll create a lather but aerate it at the same time. Something that holds the soap in place and provides minor agitation is all that's needed. All of the above are in this category (y)
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Holds the soap? So you put the soap into the bowl? (I've only ever face lathered).
 
MrT said:
Handle or no handle?
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No handle just make sure the bowl isn’t too bloody big, and not too bloody deep. Must be very comfortable in your hand.

The depth of the bowl should be no more than 40mm deep from the loft height of your knot, otherwise, your brush handle will be singing loudly against the bowl like MAD!!! If you’re bloody married and have kids, they’ll probably be screaming at you, DADDY STOP banging your shitty lather bowl, HONEY if you don’t STOP banging your lather bowl you’ll be sleeping outside the doghouse for life.
 
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MrT said:
Holds the soap? So you put the soap into the bowl? (I've only ever face lathered).
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I believe its common practice to scrape an almond sized kernel and then squish into the grooves and crevices but I dont I just load really heavily on the puck and then transfer to the bowl, sometimes loading the brush twice. to make a really thick and luxurious lather.

an you tell I start dreaming of "soft serve" ice cream when talking lather :unsure:
 
MrT said:
For those who bowl lather, can you recommend one? The Muhle ones look nice...
Click to expand...
Muhle looks nice and is a good mug for soaking the brush but not wide enough for a good lathering. Also has no bumps or ridges to help agitate.
Wide and shallow with some ridges is good, You don't want to be smashing the handle into sides while lathering, especially a good brush

Do you have an oversized coffee mug or soup cup, Asian bowl?
 
Nanook said:
Captain's Choice.

Not cheap, but they are an excellent bowl.

www.captainschoicestore.com

Copper Lather Bowl, Standard - Captain's Choice — Captain's Choice Products

Finally, an unbreakable lather bowl with that vintage look! The Standard version weighs in at six ounces and comes with an appealing rolled edge to the lip. Coated in a protective lacquer for durability and long life this eye-catching lather bowl is a marvel of hand made craftsmanship. Handcrafte
www.captainschoicestore.com www.captainschoicestore.com
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I use a custom-made bowl from a local craftswoman, but if cheap is your thing, you can't do better than these...
Rover-Lathering-Bowl.jpg

From Artisan Arcade. I have the green one. :smug:
 
MrT said:
Holds the soap? So you put the soap into the bowl? (I've only ever face lathered).
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Personally, I've decided to keep water out of my soap containers. Various reasons are behind this decision, and I'm comfortable with it. I'm not missing out on anything by doing it my way, of scooping about a half teaspoon into the bowl and smushing it down so it holds in the bottom of the bowl when I start agitating with a damp brush. Add water as necessary. If it takes a year to get back to that soap again, at least it didn't get put away wet in a sealed container for all that time in between shaves with that particular soap. While I don't have as many soaps as some of our soap-masters here do, I have enough (like everyone else does) for that scenario of extended periods between uses to be realistic.
 
MrT said:
Holds the soap? So you put the soap into the bowl? (I've only ever face lathered).
Click to expand...
I use an avocado spoon to scrap the soap off the puck. You don't need anymore than say a thumb nail sized amount. Squish this on to the bottom of your bowl. They you can either put a little water into it to soften the soap before lathering with a dry brush. Or leave the soap dry and lather with a wet brush.
 
TroyTools said:
Personally, I've decided to keep water out of my soap containers.
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I used to bloom mine in the tub while I had a shower. I've got a few Chisled Face and Noble Otter soaps that I've almost ruined doing this so I've stopped it as well. Unless you leave your soap out to dry with the lid off, they never get the chance to dry.
 
I'm more a face latherer these days as limited for time when it comes to shaving but there's nothing better than taking your time to whip up some creamy lather in your favourite bowl/scuttle, especially those colder months of the year.

I only hand lather when breaking in a new brush as that way I can work in the lather without fear of dirtying the tub/puck.
 
I load a bit on the brush in the bowl, but i make the lather on my face. Lathering in the bowl is more convenient, but i find that i end up loading the brush way too much that way and i end up wasting a lot of soap. But the soap im using at the moment doesnt need much to make a lather so it might be different if you are using a hard soap that needs a lot of water or something.
 
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