Anyone use a scuttle?

Canuck

Canuck

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Hitchin, Herts
I have a Wade scuttle that I picked up from the Bay a while back for 99p, it's a big old brute, quite agricultural. It has an old vintage Bentley on it. Cool.
Initially I only bought it because it was cheap, and maybe because it might look interesting on the shaving shelf.

After 6 weeks or so of ownership I'm actually getting tempted to use the damn thing. So what do you do with them exactly? I'm guessing you have to put a small soap in the top dish, hot water in the bottom, put your brush in the spout to soak, and eventually face lather with the warm brush and soap? I'm a bowl latherer normally so excuse the ignorance... I'm gathering that these things were from a time where hot water wasn't on tap, hence the water reservoir?

Does anyone still use one? A search shows that Fido wrote about a modern one a while back, but as for current members he's the only one I saw.
 
I have one that I use in my rotation, similar to yours I guess, it's a wade with a picture of The Victory on it.
I pressed a stick of Arko into it.
I fill it with hot water and soak one of my smaller brushes in it while I shower etc, I then shake out the brush load from the soap for 30 sec or so and then face lather :shave
To be honest it's probably a bit of an un necessary faff but I like using it :geek:
 
I have a Wade scuttle, mine has a Burrell showman's engine on it. I inherited off my grandfather.

I have to be honest, I'm not really sure how to use it. I think your supposed to put a tablet of soap in the top, but what I don't know if you are supposed to leave it in there or not. The other thing I don't understand is why there are holes in the top, won't some of the soap solution fall through before it lathers up?

Questions questions!
 
^^ Yeah, this was something I wondered about... if you keep the dish empty and just lather in it, you lose soap through the holes. If you press soap into the dish, you block the holes.

Is there any point to them holes?

:dunno:
 
I think the holes were just there to allow any excess water to drain back into the scuttle. As you say the design of those scuttles dates from when hot water was not necessarily on tap. I think they are more decorative now than functional. There are more modern designs which are much more suited to keeping lather warm. I used one for a while but then took up face lathering and didn't really use it after that. It can be seen in this thread. You can also get brush scuttles that are designed to keep the lather retained in the brush warm if you face lather.
 
I reckon that's it Canuck. I nearly bought one a while back in a charity shop, but it was a bit cracked so I restrained myself. I also thought the top is a bit shallow and so you might have to hold the bar of soap still whilst using....although I guesss after a while it would get stuck on there.....but that would clog the holes.
But then I don't think previous generations were as ambitious in their expectations.......hence my own father (now about 79 - we've both lost track), is happily working his way through a bowl of my initial efforts at shaving soap that got a serious drubbing on here, and thinks it's jolly good too. Admittedly, he only ever used bar soap before. :roll:
 
I have one, but this one is weird, has a very small space for a puck, just enough run to hold the puck and I mean just. But what I don't understand is the rest of it, it has a hole for water to be put in but so small it would do nothing, so maybe It's for moving water to a bowl for when people didn't have taps inside, I don't know, but I haven't used it.
 
But then I don't think previous generations were as ambitious in their expectations
Click to expand...

I think that's a good point and the more I think about it, these things really don't strike me as an efficient aide to shaving, although they probably were the business in 1910. It may well stay as a curiosity in the bathroom... I gather they're worth next to nothing and I probably got a very minor bargain. Think the going rate is just a few quid.

Great story about your Dad. :)
 
Just try to imagine a world where there were no (domestic) bathrooms as such - working men would wash/shave in the kitchen and others in their dressing room.
Hot water was carried up from the kitchen to fill a tin bath which then had to be emptied after use - usually by buckets carried downstairs again or more frequently just out of the window!
Shaving was done in front of a shaving stand, containing a removable bowl and a mirror.
Hot water was placed in the scuttle and the brush soaked and lather made and shaving began, the razor being wiped on a shaving towel after each stroke placed usually over the left shoulder for that purpose.
It was only after the shave was complete that the bowl in the shaving stand was filled with hot water to provide a rinse.
It it is only when these circumstances are understood - i.e. shaving in a plumbing-free environment does it become evident that these scuttles made perfect sense!
I gather that some of the more daring young gentlemen actually shaved themselves!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkM6L615Wfo[/youtube]
 
Sir Prize, when I was in Tibet, I had a wash stand exactly as you describe, it was all swirly painted metal with an upright back that held the mirror, and a painted metal bowl. I would love to have taken it home - but alas, luggage allowance had to be considered. I already had to pay extra for the mat. :D
As for scuttles; when I was growing up and we only had hot water on tap on Saturday night, my father used just a mug of hot water for shaving. A whole bowl would have been wanton extravagence. :lol:
 
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