I'm a full time bowl latherer and a scooper. Tobin Fetters and Matthew Lawrence on here convinced me of the advantages of scooping versus tub lathering (especially the hygienic advantages) and I couldn't agree more with them. Plus, building a lather in a bowl is just a cool process once you can get the "soap-to-water ratio" correct. Anyways, I use a custom resin bowl from Ca Yuen Workshop (Etsy) and a Captain's Choice Copper Lather Bowl for my lathering, along with a syringe for accurate water dispersal. No breakable ceramic bowls in my shave den! 😁😁😁
I have to admit I haven't tried tried the cold water shave that you profess, but summer is coming to the northeast, and I think it's time to give it a go. I learned to lather in a bowl, and now use a wonderful scuttle that keeps my lather warm, and it feels so good when I apply it to my face on a cold winter morning. I have an Old Spice mug like the one you just used, and I only use it for decoration...never liked that clanking! Love your videos!
Great video Matt. I love to bowl lather because I feel I have more control of the consistency and water content of the lather. When scooping out the soap or cream, I just use a plastic spoon like the ones you would use at a picnic. Also, I use a cheap collapsible pet bowl with the bumps on the bottom. I does not harm my brushes and I get a great lather in about 1 minute. Making a great lather also depends on your water. We are lucky to have a water softener which make lathering easier. Love the how to videos. Keep them coming. Have a great week. 👍
I myself have a custom-made ceramic bowl made for me by an artist in Virginia. I special ordered it about 15 years ago and it is truly a favorite. I also have a bowl purchased from a lady in Nova Scotia and it is beautiful. I really need to learn how to use it better, though. Your demonstration of the scuttle brought back memories of my paternal grandfather. He and my grandmother were sharecroppers and they lived in a quite old house that did not have hot water. They had running cold water, but for many years, there was no water heater. So they boiled water on their stove. I don't know if he used a scuttle. I have never really seen his razor. I often wonder how my grandfather shaved. He must have had something like a scuttle. He did have a large bowl to hold warm-to-really-hot water for shaving. He did not allow grandchildren or any others to watch him shave. He was good at it though. He was also a World War II veteran who had seen combat, so I guess he did plenty of shaving in Army camps where living conditions were not very good to really bad.
Thank you Matt for delivering an insightful and engaging exploration of the art of crafting the perfect lather in this highly anticipated second installment of the shaving series
Thanks, Matt for the demo of all these different style bowls. I finally found a bowl I like to lather with. I am using the HC&C stainless steel straight-walled bowl. I can whip up a thick luxurious lather in it without much clanking. The walls are not too high. I have found that I can use a 1/8 teaspoon of soap. and it really is enough for a 3 pass shave.
Im am a new DE shaver. I am experimenting with soaps. I need my lather wet and creasy, like oil to make my DE smooth and sliding to avoid irritation. I now use a little jar, put in some soap and water and shake it till i have a foamy substanse. I use pre shave proraso as basis. This works good and good results and instant use when make my shake the night before. I enjoy this channel 👍
Yep, it's called "hydration threshold", the point at which water to soap ratio is balanced. It's hard to do on the face without making a mess but with practice it can be done. I do both, bowl and face, why miss out on all the fun😉 Thanks Matt
Ive been wanting to win one of those shirts for years. I definitely prefer bowl lather. Some of my soaps have gotten softer after lathering right out of the puck. Always enjoy your vida Matt. Have a blessed day my friend.
Good vid. But for the white apothecary mug with the knob, best way to hold is hold mug in palm of hand while hooking your thumb over top of the knob. Nice and secure.
I also can create a poor watery lather if I'm determined to. Whether it is in a bowl, scuttle, shaving mug or even attempting a face lather. However, I make certain my shaving brush is not holding as much water as in your demonstrations.
Great channel Matt! I'd been using a mini crock "as seen on TV" for a shaving bowl. It's shallow & wide. And it has a Big handle! Normally it's intended for Blooming onions & single serve dishes. But I recently started using a scuttle. I love it! I prefer cold shaves, but still want warm lather.
Thnx Matt! Thnx for covering most on choices we shaver’s appreciate using. Missed -1 the one most of us have gotten some & don’t remember of, the daughter, granddaughter, wife or mother in- law. Someone took a pottery class & whalla yep a real artisan pottery lather bowl. You’re dam right we’ll use it cause we were gifted it. 😉X- large thnx Fred H.
I must have a lifetime supply of shaving creams purchased from you. Nonetheless, I really enjoy these shaving videos. Now, with only a mild beard, I do not go to the effort of 'whipping up' a massive lather as you do. A mild, slippery lather does the job for me. These are really 'fun' videos Matt & I enjoy them. Thank You! Dave
I am a bowl lathering “expert”. I have experimented with many combinations of bowls, soaps, and water. First the bowl. My go to bowl is the PEREIRA Shave Bowl. It is a lather machine. It is deep, wide, and has an excellent pattern on the bottom. It is made of 50% plastic and 50% mineral. I use 1/32 tsp of soap (aka a “SMIDGEN”). I scrape out the soap from the measuring spoon with a small pen knife. I add 1 1/4 tsp of DISTILLED WATER. Even though I have soft water, distilled water makes the lather “pop”. I agitate to soap/water mixture vigorously for 75 seconds. This “recipe” works for a variety of high end soaps; it makes enough for a 3-pass shave. It likely won’t work for triple milled soaps which are very hard. I am speaking of triple milled soaps like Martin de Candre or Saponificio Varesino. Soaps makers have sent me death threats because I use so little of their soap. 😂 To recap: 1/32 tsp soap to 1 1/4 tsp of DISTILLED WATER. Try it; you’ll be glad you did.
Nice job Matt! I am a bowl latherer, and either put in a puck and leave it there or smush in a small amount of soap and go to town with that. It depends on what soap I am using. I prefer the bowl with the knob on the side, and I wrap my hand around the side of the bowl with the knob between my thumb and the side of my palm. One question to you - do you find it easier to create a creamy lather with a badger brush than with a boar brush? I prefer a boar brush with its backbone, but find that my badger brushes make a creamier lather.
Congrats - you're the winner of the Weekly T-Shirt give-away! Please contact us at help@razoremporium.com with your address and size and we will get it shipped out right away! Thanks everyone! Stay tuned next week for another giveaway! - Razor Emporium Team
Im a face lather my self. If I use a bowl I usually just load the brush from it. I would like to see you lather a non tallow geo f trumpers shave soap and shave with it.
Matt, did you discontinue the King R. Emporium shave soap and aftershave? I went on the website and don't see it anymore. It's my all time favorite scent.
I'll have to re-watch and listen to what you do here, but I've had great results spreading just a pea-sized amount of soap (including Mitchell's Wool Fat and triple milled soaps) in the bottom of a cheap, plastic, barely textured salsa bowl, then working the dry surface of soap with a barely damp 26mm (or more) synthetic brush until it forms a paste on the brush. At this point (and this is key) I lean the knot of the brush on the edge of the salsa bowl and get all of the proto-lather out of the knot to re-work it (instead of leaving it stuck in the knot) and add small amounts of water and repeat this a few more times until lather is created that will easily last 4-5 passes. I have an idea for a 'better' shaving bowl (which would most likely be stolen immediately), but I think having a larger synthetic knot is more of a key, since more bristles better agitate soap to make a great lather - even in a cheap plastic salsa bowl! Now, if only someone (RazoRock?) would make a cheap, well-proportioned Rubberset 400-style brush with a 30mm synthetic knot...
I use a big hemlok wood bowl from Goodfellas Smile. Grab a small "dollop" of soap, push it firmly into the ridges, add a tiny tiny little bit of water as needed, and lather for a good solid couple of minutes. Great results, and over time you learn to use JUST enough soap for like a two-pass shave, you really don't need much. Can even scrape out any soap that doesn't lather up and put it back. I'm a clumsy one so I'm not fond of ceramics - wood, plastic or metal please. 😂
In my opinion the small chrome bowl is a bit too small for bowlather. More suitable for absorbing soap into the brush. I like my Captains Choice HD copper bowl for years.
In my opinion not a good tutorial. Especially on the close ups the lather always looked airy, thin. Just start with almost no water in the brush, load until you get a pasty consistency and then add water. Doesn't take much longer and the lather will be better. I'm not paying 23 bucks for a artisan soap to get some airy mess that I could get with a cheap Proraso cream
A soap you can't lather? Cheap hotel soap. I was out of state taking a hazmat class for work. I needed to shave off my goatee for the class itself because you need to get a good seal on your SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus). Once at the hotel, I realized forgot my proraso and bath soap at home, and the stores were closed (it was a small town with no walmart, just a dollar general). Worst lather ever and worst shave of my life. It didn't want to lather well. Once it finally lathered, it only lasted 30 seconds ds before I had to do relather. Lest see you do better, Matt. Forgot to mention that I didn't have a shave brush either. Maybe it would have been better with a brush, but I doubt that it would have been that much better.
The chrome lather bowls are way too narrow and have zero texture. There are other unbreakable options that are far better and not much more money. Timeless and ShaveBowl are far better options. None of these lathers looked particularly good.
About the little chrome bowl, yes too small; too narrow. About how his lathers looked, no way to imagine how they look inferior. They look satisfactory no problem.
Its not that the demo showed how bad the bowls are, though some aren't that great. Mostly what it showed is that Matt hardly ever bowl shaves. With all due respect I think he ought to get in a lot more practice before trying to coach others how to make a decent lather. Either that or else just stick with face lathering. I'll give him an A for effort. At least he tried.
Obviously better choices for lather bowls are possible. One need not try to purchase a "bowl" specifically designed and intended to be marketed as a shaving lathering bowl. (Almost) None of mine were.
@@10floz30minutes I agree. Based on the options in this video and how bad they are, no one should be buying these to build lather. Not to mention how expensive some of them are.
I'm a full time bowl latherer and a scooper. Tobin Fetters and Matthew Lawrence on here convinced me of the advantages of scooping versus tub lathering (especially the hygienic advantages) and I couldn't agree more with them. Plus, building a lather in a bowl is just a cool process once you can get the "soap-to-water ratio" correct. Anyways, I use a custom resin bowl from Ca Yuen Workshop (Etsy) and a Captain's Choice Copper Lather Bowl for my lathering, along with a syringe for accurate water dispersal. No breakable ceramic bowls in my shave den! 😁😁😁
Absolutely my same routine. I have the Cayuen and the Pereira bowls, but my best bowl is the Hendrix Stainless unpolished bowl.
I have to admit I haven't tried tried the cold water shave that you profess, but summer is coming to the northeast, and I think it's time to give it a go. I learned to lather in a bowl, and now use a wonderful scuttle that keeps my lather warm, and it feels so good when I apply it to my face on a cold winter morning. I have an Old Spice mug like the one you just used, and I only use it for decoration...never liked that clanking! Love your videos!
Great video Matt. I love to bowl lather because I feel I have more control of the consistency and water content of the lather. When scooping out the soap or cream, I just use a plastic spoon like the ones you would use at a picnic. Also, I use a cheap collapsible pet bowl with the bumps on the bottom. I does not harm my brushes and I get a great lather in about 1 minute. Making a great lather also depends on your water. We are lucky to have a water softener which make lathering easier. Love the how to videos. Keep them coming. Have a great week. 👍
I myself have a custom-made ceramic bowl made for me by an artist in Virginia. I special ordered it about 15 years ago and it is truly a favorite. I also have a bowl purchased from a lady in Nova Scotia and it is beautiful. I really need to learn how to use it better, though. Your demonstration of the scuttle brought back memories of my paternal grandfather. He and my grandmother were sharecroppers and they lived in a quite old house that did not have hot water. They had running cold water, but for many years, there was no water heater. So they boiled water on their stove. I don't know if he used a scuttle. I have never really seen his razor. I often wonder how my grandfather shaved. He must have had something like a scuttle. He did have a large bowl to hold warm-to-really-hot water for shaving. He did not allow grandchildren or any others to watch him shave. He was good at it though. He was also a World War II veteran who had seen combat, so I guess he did plenty of shaving in Army camps where living conditions were not very good to really bad.
Thank you Matt for delivering an insightful and engaging exploration of the art of crafting the perfect lather in this highly anticipated second installment of the shaving series
Lol thx 🙏
Should do a comparison on double safety razor.
Thanks, Matt for the demo of all these different style bowls. I finally found a bowl I like to lather with. I am using the HC&C stainless steel straight-walled bowl. I can whip up a thick luxurious lather in it without much clanking. The walls are not too high. I have found that I can use a 1/8 teaspoon of soap. and it really is enough for a 3 pass shave.
Same "recipe" here.
Im am a new DE shaver. I am experimenting with soaps. I need my lather wet and creasy, like oil to make my DE smooth and sliding to avoid irritation. I now use a little jar, put in some soap and water and shake it till i have a foamy substanse. I use pre shave proraso as basis. This works good and good results and instant use when make my shake the night before.
I enjoy this channel 👍
Good stuff!
Great. Demo video Matt very helpful for new and seasoned shavers.
Yep, it's called "hydration threshold", the point at which water to soap ratio is balanced. It's hard to do on the face without making a mess but with practice it can be done. I do both, bowl and face, why miss out on all the fun😉 Thanks Matt
Great ultimate lather guide! Well done Matt!!
Ive been wanting to win one of those shirts for years. I definitely prefer bowl lather. Some of my soaps have gotten softer after lathering right out of the puck. Always enjoy your vida Matt. Have a blessed day my friend.
Always informative and entertaining, Thanks Matt
Glad you enjoyed it
Nicely done!
Good vid. But for the white apothecary mug with the knob, best way to hold is hold mug in palm of hand while hooking your thumb over top of the knob. Nice and secure.
Good tip!
Very interesting and informative!!
Glad you enjoyed it
Had great results with the timeless shave bowl smush about a dime size of soap and use a wet brush. Appreciate all your videos
Thanks for sharing!
I also can create a poor watery lather if I'm determined to. Whether it is in a bowl, scuttle, shaving mug or even attempting a face lather.
However, I make certain my shaving brush is not holding as much water as in your demonstrations.
Good for you; and you can also find a more accurate ratio of soap to water that way.
Great channel Matt! I'd been using a mini crock "as seen on TV" for a shaving bowl. It's shallow & wide. And it has a Big handle! Normally it's intended for Blooming onions & single serve dishes. But I recently started using a scuttle. I love it! I prefer cold shaves, but still want warm lather.
That's a great idea!
Thanks Matt!
Morning Matt,I face lather most of the time, but once in a while I
use a bowl, between the both, i prefer face lather.
Awesome video, thanks Matt 🙏
My unbreakable shaving bowl is from Pereira and it's a great tool.
Best regards!
I used a small stainless steel mixing bowl that fits in my hand when I first started. The collection has grown but it's still in rotation.
Thnx Matt! Thnx for covering most on choices we shaver’s appreciate using. Missed -1 the one most of us have gotten some & don’t remember of, the daughter, granddaughter, wife or mother in- law. Someone took a pottery class & whalla yep a real artisan pottery lather bowl. You’re dam right we’ll use it cause we were gifted it. 😉X- large thnx Fred H.
I think you’re great. Keep up the videos. 😊
Thank you for the video..
(Hope your left wrist is fine)
Very entertaining video.
Great video Sir more options for shaving. Take care.
Great video Matt.
Suggesting the dog chew bowl as well.
I must have a lifetime supply of shaving creams purchased from you. Nonetheless, I really enjoy these shaving videos. Now, with only a mild beard, I do not go to the effort of 'whipping up' a massive lather as you do. A mild, slippery lather does the job for me. These are really 'fun' videos Matt & I enjoy them. Thank You! Dave
Glad you like them!
I am a bowl lathering “expert”. I have experimented with many combinations of bowls, soaps, and water. First the bowl. My go to bowl is the PEREIRA Shave Bowl. It is a lather machine. It is deep, wide, and has an excellent pattern on the bottom. It is made of 50% plastic and 50% mineral.
I use 1/32 tsp of soap (aka a “SMIDGEN”). I scrape out the soap from the measuring spoon with a small pen knife. I add 1 1/4 tsp of DISTILLED WATER. Even though I have soft water, distilled water makes the lather “pop”. I agitate to soap/water mixture vigorously for 75 seconds.
This “recipe” works for a variety of high end soaps; it makes enough for a 3-pass shave. It likely won’t work for triple milled soaps which are very hard. I am speaking of triple milled soaps like Martin de Candre or Saponificio Varesino.
Soaps makers have sent me death threats because I use so little of their soap. 😂
To recap: 1/32 tsp soap to 1 1/4 tsp of DISTILLED WATER.
Try it; you’ll be glad you did.
I MUST MUST MUST BUY SOME DISTILLED WATER and to try this!
Go for it.
If you think 1/32 tsp of soap is too little, double it and use 1/16 tsp (aka a “PINCH”); just double the amount of water.
@@robertross8565 Simply brilliant suggestion!!
That's not making a lather. That's a science project!
Nice job Matt! I am a bowl latherer, and either put in a puck and leave it there or smush in a small amount of soap and go to town with that. It depends on what soap I am using. I prefer the bowl with the knob on the side, and I wrap my hand around the side of the bowl with the knob between my thumb and the side of my palm.
One question to you - do you find it easier to create a creamy lather with a badger brush than with a boar brush? I prefer a boar brush with its backbone, but find that my badger brushes make a creamier lather.
Yes badger is better
Great video. I al ost always bowl lather 👍🏻😊
Definitely needed. Can always lather on my face but never in a bowl.
Epic miss man, where is my scuttle? that's a traditional scuttle!
Nice bowl-lathering tutorial. I learned that the secret to a good lather (face or bowl) is water.
Congrats - you're the winner of the Weekly T-Shirt give-away! Please contact us at help@razoremporium.com with your address and size and we will get it shipped out right away! Thanks everyone! Stay tuned next week for another giveaway! - Razor Emporium Team
@@RazorEmporium Wow!!! Thanks so much.
Is bowl lathering the best option for leg shavers?
Showing a variety of "bowls" to use is good. May some people find a difference between a bowl and a vessel that has the dimensions of a drinking mug?
A good video
You missed out using the Razor Emporium shave bowl.
I actually use a ceramic bowl from Amazon that has tons of ridgers at the bottom. Lathers quickly
Nice. Have you tried to lather William Marvy, Williams Mug, or Colgate?
Maybe once each. Sounds like a great video idea!
Matt, I know you made the Razor Archive Series for DE Razors but would you be willing to do a Archive series on Gem Razors?
I don't own them nor do I know much about them :(
@@RazorEmporium Oh. Well I appreciate your response nonetheless. I have a G-bar and was curious about Gem/Ever Ready Model history.
Im a face lather my self. If I use a bowl I usually just load the brush from it. I would like to see you lather a non tallow geo f trumpers shave soap and shave with it.
Matt, did you discontinue the King R. Emporium shave soap and aftershave? I went on the website and don't see it anymore. It's my all time favorite scent.
No. Waiting on PAA order to come in.
@@RazorEmporium OK. Good news. Thanks
I'll have to re-watch and listen to what you do here, but I've had great results spreading just a pea-sized amount of soap (including Mitchell's Wool Fat and triple milled soaps) in the bottom of a cheap, plastic, barely textured salsa bowl, then working the dry surface of soap with a barely damp 26mm (or more) synthetic brush until it forms a paste on the brush. At this point (and this is key) I lean the knot of the brush on the edge of the salsa bowl and get all of the proto-lather out of the knot to re-work it (instead of leaving it stuck in the knot) and add small amounts of water and repeat this a few more times until lather is created that will easily last 4-5 passes. I have an idea for a 'better' shaving bowl (which would most likely be stolen immediately), but I think having a larger synthetic knot is more of a key, since more bristles better agitate soap to make a great lather - even in a cheap plastic salsa bowl! Now, if only someone (RazoRock?) would make a cheap, well-proportioned Rubberset 400-style brush with a 30mm synthetic knot...
I have been doing what you described for more than a year now.
Dreamscape scuttle from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements
Does the amount of water in the brush matter if you use a natural bristle brush or a synthetic bristle brush?
Yes
@@RazorEmporium OK, how?
I use a big hemlok wood bowl from Goodfellas Smile. Grab a small "dollop" of soap, push it firmly into the ridges, add a tiny tiny little bit of water as needed, and lather for a good solid couple of minutes. Great results, and over time you learn to use JUST enough soap for like a two-pass shave, you really don't need much. Can even scrape out any soap that doesn't lather up and put it back. I'm a clumsy one so I'm not fond of ceramics - wood, plastic or metal please. 😂
In my opinion the small chrome bowl is a bit too small for bowlather. More suitable for absorbing soap into the brush. I like my Captains Choice HD copper bowl for years.
Was going to say the same thing. Might as well try making a good lather on a coffee saucer!
Say Cool Whip again.
Yup
I bought a stone one, believing that more friction would cause more lather quickly, but my hand still gets tired. It almost looks like a mortar
Want to learn to lather, practice is the secret.
Water to soap ratio is not science, it’s practice, practice, practice.
It is science if you make it so. Not really necessary to make the measurements but a few of us do.
Oh my! the many ways this video went wrong
You took all that stuff from the shop? There goes the profit!
In my opinion not a good tutorial. Especially on the close ups the lather always looked airy, thin. Just start with almost no water in the brush, load until you get a pasty consistency and then add water. Doesn't take much longer and the lather will be better.
I'm not paying 23 bucks for a artisan soap to get some airy mess that I could get with a cheap Proraso cream
Thanks for sharing!
A soap you can't lather? Cheap hotel soap.
I was out of state taking a hazmat class for work. I needed to shave off my goatee for the class itself because you need to get a good seal on your SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus). Once at the hotel, I realized forgot my proraso and bath soap at home, and the stores were closed (it was a small town with no walmart, just a dollar general). Worst lather ever and worst shave of my life. It didn't want to lather well. Once it finally lathered, it only lasted 30 seconds ds before I had to do relather.
Lest see you do better, Matt.
Forgot to mention that I didn't have a shave brush either. Maybe it would have been better with a brush, but I doubt that it would have been that much better.
Challenge accepted 😁
The chrome lather bowls are way too narrow and have zero texture. There are other unbreakable options that are far better and not much more money. Timeless and ShaveBowl are far better options. None of these lathers looked particularly good.
I hear you. But keep in mind I haven't bowl lathered in more than a decade :)
About the little chrome bowl, yes too small; too narrow. About how his lathers looked, no way to imagine how they look inferior. They look satisfactory no problem.
@@10floz30minutes The lathers in this video objectively looked bad. Too thin and airy on most of them.
This demo just showed how bad these shaving bowls are.
Its not that the demo showed how bad the bowls are, though some aren't that great. Mostly what it showed is that Matt hardly ever bowl shaves. With all due respect I think he ought to get in a lot more practice before trying to coach others how to make a decent lather. Either that or else just stick with face lathering. I'll give him an A for effort. At least he tried.
Obviously better choices for lather bowls are possible. One need not try to purchase a "bowl" specifically designed and intended to be marketed as a shaving lathering bowl. (Almost) None of mine were.
@@10floz30minutes I agree. Based on the options in this video and how bad they are, no one should be buying these to build lather. Not to mention how expensive some of them are.