Scuttle

From ShaveWiki

A scuttle is a piece of equipment developed in the 19th century before running hot water was as abundant as it is today. The scuttle is an item which can hold hot water both for wetting and warming the shaving brush, but also to keep a shaving soap warm. It has two main parts, the upper part is a small bowl just large enough to hold a cake of shaving soap and below that is a reservoir that holds hot water.

These days the word scuttle usually refers to the so-called "Moss Scuttle" (named after its inventor, Chris Moss), which is not primarily developed to conserve hot water, but to keep lather and brush warm. It consists of an inner bowl-like reservoir where lather and brush are placed, and an outer reservoir (with just a small opening to fill it) which holds hot water. The heat from the water keeps the lather warm for the duration of the shave. Sara Bonnyman and Schwarzweisskeramik are two manufacturers of this type of scuttles.