Review: Giles Shaving Co Scuttle

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Disclaimer: I received this scuttle in order to use and provide a honest review.

Well as a bit of a backstory I know @Roscotanna from a non shaving related forum. Non shaving forum I hear you gasp. He was selling some scuttles there and I directed him to here and elsewhere, which he had found prior to me stating, I think. Anyways, being a full time face latherer, he kindly offered the smaller scuttle, which is designed for face latherers.

Having owned a Steve Woodhead, which was lovely but as I moved towards face lathering, the scuttle became redundant and sold reluctantly. So the idea of a smaller scuttle really appealed to me, as there is nothing better than warm lather on a cold morning.

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The scuttle arrived really well packaged and in a branded box, which is a nice touch, which I would not have expected. The scuttle in question is of Jade colour, which is beautiful. It is really well made, has a good weight to it, which gives a real quality feel. The bottom is textured, for extra grip on those slippery tiles and is stamped.

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I was looking for imperfections, which you normally get on hand made pieces, which is to be expected and adds the the beauty and character, in my view. There is one little imperfection on the handle, which I wouldn't normally pick at but for the purpose of the review, a photo is supplied. Other than that, I'd say it's spot on. At the bottom of the scuttle the Jade is almost saturated and gradually gets lighter towards the opening, which gives great contrast. Inside the scuttle is contoured or ridged, if you like, which I guess is to help hold the lather and stabilise the brush.

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Some approximate measurements:
Height 75mm
Inner 80mm
Outer 90mm
Spout 15mm x 20mm
Base 60mm

I've used the scuttle a handful of times, using an Omega boar brush and Finest brush. But I used the same soap, Wickams Le Bleu. This is to add consistency.

As with my SW scuttle, I filled the entirety of the inside and mug, with hot water. I didn't bother using boiling water from the kettle as I find it drys out the lather too much. Water from the tap is hot enough IMHO.

With first use I lathered up as normal, loading the brush and going to town on my face. Then placed the brush, fully lathered into the scuttle. I carried on shaving and when it was time for the second layer of lather, I slapped the brush onto my face. During the 2 minutes shaving the first pass, I'd forgotten that the brush was placed in the scuttle. To my surprise the lather was lovely and warm. I was dubious to how warm the lather would be, having not lathered up within the scuttle itself, but it was surprisingly warm. It remained warm for the duration of the shave.

The scuttle had been used with success each time. Only one time was the shave not so successful, but this is down to me not getting enough water into the soap. This made the lather a little dry and didnt seem to heat up as much as before, which was due to most of the lather sitting within the knot.

Although the boar worked fine, using the bulbed shape knot seemed to increase the temperature of the lather slightly. I've put this down to a bigger surface area for contact between the knot and the bottom of the bowl. The brush is a 24mm finest, so a larger knot would work perfectly also. Im not sure what the boar is, maybe 20mm, or there about.


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Most of the time I'd say that I shave, from start to finish, in under 10 mins. The lather remained warm through each shave, so I timed how long the lather actually stayed warm. On average it stayed warm for about 8 and a half minutes. It felt a little warm still but not a great deal. Which I'd say is impressive, considering it doesnt hold a huge amount of water, at approximately 60/70ml of fluid. The larger scuttles most likely will heat up more and remain at a higher temperature for a longer duration, but this is purely speculation but seems logical.

To conclude the review I'd say I'm very happy with how it looks ascetically and how it performs, which I think it does it very well. It's made to a very high standard, to which I'd put it up there with my SW scuttle and mug. I'd definitely invest in other products in the future. As I'm liking the look of those brush holders.

Although I prefer the compact size, due to the limited storage within my house and don't really have the need for a larger model. Some people may want a slightly larger scuttle, in order to increase the water volume and temperature. Most days that I've used the scuttle, the ambient temperature has been quite high, due to the recent heat wave, to which the lather was warm enough for myself but I imagine some may want bigger temp increase. Just throwing it out there really. Can't wait to use this during the winter months, not that I'm wishing for cold weather already.
 
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