I have been using a mug for a number of years but it is ugly and stays in the cabinet. Plus the soap dries out between shaves. Picked up this item as an upgrade and it is close to perfect. Good size. The soft Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream stays soft between saves. Lid is tight. Looks nice on the cabinet. Only downside is that the material is pretty thin. Doesn't have any heft to it. Cost would obviously be higher for a heavier piece but that is the only thing stopping a 5 star rating for me. Recommended!

Easy to melt soap to take the shape of the bowl (I am currently using this soap: Lavender Shaving Soap Made with All Natural Ingredients Creates Rich Lather for a Smooth Shave. Includes Shea Butter to Protect & Moisturize your Skin. 3.8 oz Shave Soap Refill Puck. Looks very attractive next to a razor stand (Perfecto Deluxe Chrome Razor and Brush Stand - The Best Safety Razor Stand. This Will Prolong The Life Of Your Shaving Brush. with a good Merkur razor (Merkur Long Handled Safety Razor (MK 23C))

Very nice and convenient shaving bowl. I use it daily, I fill it with hot water and let my brush soak in it for a few minutes while I complete my pre- shave routine of applying a hot towel and shaving oil or poraso pre shave before actually beginning my shave. I take my blade out of the razor after each shave and attach them to one of several magnets I have on the inside of my medicine cabinet door. I have been using Feather and Astro blades. If I am in a bit of a hurry , I use the Astro because you have to be extra careful with the Feather. This is especially important to me because I am on blood thinning medication after a couple of heart attacks. If I nick myself it can get messy. After shaving I rinse out and dry the razors, and bowls, remove the blade and attach it to the magnet. I use a vertical orientation to indicate that I have used the blade. I have other blades waiting for use and have them orientated in a horizontal position on its own magnet. The Schone holds the heat of the hot water well. It along with my stainless 5 inch shave-nation foaming bowl have been my best purchases to date. Next on the list is a Parker 99 butterfly razor.

I had read and heard great things about this shaving bowl, and having recently gotten into wet shaving, I wanted something nicer than a random kitchen bowl to lather up my soap in. When I received this bowl, it looked just as nice as I had anticipated; however, it was not fated to ever hold soap or lather because I made the stupid error of thinking I could take the lid and put it onto the top of the bowl where it looked like a lid should go.

Once this was done there was no going back. The lid became inextricably wedged in the place where I put it, and lubricant, force, prying, cursing, and prayer would do naught to move it. If the purpose of this bowl is not so much to hold soap but to seal away things such that they might never be retrieved, it would do its job admirably, and I would recommend it strongly to people who needed to create an impenetrable tomb for their deceased hamster or who were plagued by very tiny demons they wished to banish to a material vessel. I, however, am a simple person who wanted to put my shaving soap somewhere, and as I assume that this is what most people buying a shaving bowl want to do, I can recommend this to nobody.

Nice bowl. Lid fits tightly. Stainless steel, no rust anywhere so the stainless quality is good. Holds a 3.5oz soap easily. I heat the soap x 15 sec in the micro and press it into the bowl. A dab of hot water, whisk with my brush and I have a bowl of lather. I expect this to last a lifetime.

Updated: Still 5 stars but I should improve my assessment of this bowl. I use a coffee cup warmer. Looking at it, I wondered..... yep, that works with this bowl. It works well with a ceramic shaving mug I have as well. I use boiling water, not out of the tap. I do not measure it, just eyeball the amount but it is about a strong tablespoon full. A few minutes whisk with my brush and hot lather. I place this on my coffee mug warmer and I have a hot lather shave as long as I want.

Still no rust or discolorations. I've found that most shaving soaps fit this bowl. If one is a little large I use the microwave for about 15 seconds and the soap presses into the bowl easily. The sides are not high enough to prevent slop, at least for me, but this is not a lot.

The only downside to using this bowl is it gets hot. There is no insulation or double wall. You heat the soap and the bowl becomes hot as well. When I hold this to whisk lather it is hot. I've learned to stabilize it on the counter top by holding it near the top.

I'm still very satisfied with this bowl. I especially like the tight fitting lid. My soaps do not dry out, crack or become gooey as I pour out excess water.