Arsenal Grooming "John Doe" shave soap - Mühle R106 safety razor - prototype brush handle

Today's shave: A new soap from Arsenal Grooming, the Mühle R106 DE, and a prototype brush handle I have been helping to test.
** Kit **
Arsenal Grooming "John Doe" shave soap
Prototype handle with a Mühle synthetic knot
Mühle R106 safety razor
Nope, not the Myrsol "Formula C", that's all gone! Sudsy Soapery "Lemon Rose Chypre" aftershave splash
** Intro / Outro **
Intro: "Spygame" by Parov Stelar
Outro: "Booty Swing" by Parov Stelar

[@davidcrowe3486]

Good shave, Michael. I appreciate that you include observations from shaving all week with the products and not just one day of use.

[@mfreedberg]

I think I do better with the week long reviews, I can just get a much better view of the products and how they work. First impressions -- often not right (at least for me)!

[@MauroDiLernia]

Great shaving Michael! A big hug from Italy

[@nelsonduarte2355]

Big hug from France, Mauro 😃 Great shave with Proraso Azur Lime, this morning ! 👍

[@mfreedberg]

Same to you, a big hug from North Carolina, and thanks for doing the premiere, it's a great KZbin feature we should all use more!

[@KirksDrumRoom]

The Muhle R106 was my introduction to wet shaving, four years ago. Thanks for the reminder of it. I'll be pulling it out tonight for my shave tonight.

[@mfreedberg]

It's a great razor, just watch out for the corners!!

[@KirksDrumRoom]

Yeah, those corners can cause more damage than the blade. Ahahaa! 😆

[@jacobsladder6715]

I have the John Doe.. I'm not a huge fan.. lather seems to be very very light. I used with a omega silvertip badger brush. It seems to produce lather to a certain point, other soaps I own just burst with thick lather that is rich... it's ok slickness is just enough to be alright nothing to say WOW! it does get the job done for a good shave Mr. Michael I agree with your assessment of the soap..

[@phillipshaves7584]

GREAT looking lather.... This looks amazing...

[@mfreedberg]

Give them a try, you may really love the soap! Good scent options as well!

[@jensebu78]

Nice shave Michael! The soap packaging looks so cool! Love it!! Maybe they power up the base some day. Wish u a great week! Jens

[@mfreedberg]

I have every confidence that they will continue to pump up the base, and the visual design they have picked is really working well for them. Have a great week as well!

[@brianb.2894]

Hi Michael. A unique idea that adaptive brush handle. Soap really generated a lot of lather. Good job. Thank you.👍

[@mfreedberg]

Lot of lather, but missing that extra edge of deeper slickness. No doubt there will be a v2 of this soap, and I will be happy to give it a try!

[@bradleycred99]

Very cool prototype! I love the idea of knot flexibility with one handle.

[@mfreedberg]

Me too, this handle works really well, and now I need to see what other vendors might have knots like this and in what styles or materials...

[@bradleycred99]

Michael Freedberg Please keep us posted.

[@patrickpettyjr.3134]

My favorite razor! Yeah!

[@mfreedberg]

I love that every razor out there has its clan of supporters!!

[@aleksandarivancevic1207]

Great video! I’m a new subscriber and the first thing I’ve noticed from your videos is your extensive knowledge of different languages! And your great reviews. I’m not sure the extent of your Serbo-Croatian but Велики поздрав!

[@mfreedberg]

My Serbo-Croatian is WEAK, but I will make an honest attempt to get it right. I have some soaps from Serbia in the queue, you can let me know how I did! Thanks for watching, plenty more reviews coming up!

[@aleksandarivancevic1207]

Michael Freedberg I will definitely be watching!! Great channel you have here.

[@knightmare1015]

Very good shave Michael. It's always good for a new soap maker to show up. The more the merrier for us wet shavers. I've got my final razors chosen which are Leaf which uses half DE blades, The Marvel which you used last week and the Gillette Skin Guard.

[@mfreedberg]

It's a testament to the Marvel that it is one of the three razors you are using, given the design of the other two! I see you have also been corking your Feathers, glad to see that is helping smooth out your shaves!

[@knightmare1015]

@@mfreedberg thanks. Yes corking them has been a huge help for sure. They also tend to pass a hanging hair test after corking them when they didn't before.

[@happyslap2588]

Thanks for the review. I think i happend to buy that razor just by chance.

[@marcocerqueglini4441]

very nice shaving Michael,good day!!!

[@mfreedberg]

Same to you, thanks for watching!!

[@omarrodriguez6902]

nice bowl lathering my friend,almost perfect.lol

[@mfreedberg]

Well, it's a kind of starting bowl lathering, it's a "productive brush loading event".

[@terrym1065]

Sapone holding, loading bowl🙄 Lol, nice one Michael💈 Neroli for me is PAA Planet 9, fantastic in the CK-6 formula👌 The brush handle with the screw in knot receptacle is not a new idea but one that is perhaps gaining in popularity🤔 The handle shape is nice. The AG soap looked good, although a bit airy on screen, hence the dryness in the post? Another good video and review👍 Enjoy!

[@mfreedberg]

It's a bowl that does ALL KINDS OF THINGS! I really like the idea of the replaceable knots if you find a handle you love. This one works really well for me, and I hope other vendors will offer knots with a thread option. We'll see, maybe it will not end up being a "thing", but let's "knot" count it out yet.

[@joelrose8514]

Are these handles available to the public now? This is such a great idea!!

[@allaboutclassicshaving9668]

Nice video, thanks! Greetings from Germany ;-)

[@mfreedberg]

Thanks for watching, and greetings from North Carolina!!

[@mikeh9701]

Hi Michael- Great shave and product reviews; thank you! Thanks, as well, for the wonderful Live Instagram interview with Heather at Zingari. It was very informative and nicely engaging, for sure! I hope you have a great week ahead and best regards, as always, Michael!

[@mfreedberg]

ah, so somebody did watch that :-) I really enjoyed that, and I hope people did not feel like those *two hours* were a waste!

[@blade4vor905]

Nice shave and review, Michael! As I posted to Ruds review of this new artisan soap, I think I'm spoiled by the superfatted artisan soaps I've become accustomed to using. There's nothing wrong with good soap with a simple ingredient list. But, I'm concerned about how it will survive in a niche market where artisans are pushing the envelope of shaving soap performance. So, I just can't let it go: you have 2 diff John Doe soaps from Arsenal Grooming that have diff scents? 😋 (sorry, couldn't resist) Cheers! -Rob

[@mfreedberg]

did I screw that up? ARGH, well, I tried... Hard to see how new vendors make it in today's market without an extra edge because the competition is *so good*. I too feel spoiled by all these super fatty, milk-based soaps, and it's important to keep in mind that this soap may well work perfectly for many wetshavers.

[@snipedog45]

Hey Michael, loving the videos, I’m currently growing my beard and just shaving lines and shortening the neck area. Have you ever considered growing either a mustache or goatee while shaving the rest?

[@mfreedberg]

"growing my beard and just shaving lines and shortening the neck area" - you MONSTER! I once shaved off my beard and left the mustache, and it was, uh, NOT GOOD. I have had a mustache before, for Movember, and it had to go. Check that out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6TNeWyCfqxmeJY

[@borbetomagus]

Nice products and shave (hope that brush sees some success). Have you ever considered making your own aftershave for that empty Myrsol bottle? I saw one aftershave recipe that includes Everclear (pure grain alcohol), Witch Hazel (without alcohol), Glycerin, Jojoba Oil, plus essential oils. I hope to try this or a similar recipe (including ground up menthol crystals and/or aspirin to the concoction). A clear aftershave in that empty Myrsol bottle might look pretty classy, though I bet you'd rather refill it from a 1 liter bottle of Myrsol Formula C. Gifts & Care has it (for around $21 plus S&H), but no longer ship aftershaves to the US. I thought Maggard's had 1 liter bottles in store, but you'll probably have to contact them since it's not on their site.

[@mfreedberg]

Wait, there is a 1 liter bottle of Formula C? And G&C no longer ship to the US? ARGH! I have some menthol drops, I was going to add them to some other aftershave samples, but I could make my own. As for the bottle, I recycled it in part because the lid had cracked unfortunately. I am going to buy more, though, not to worry!

[@koosk41]

Nice! As you say, with the incredible amount of soaps out there, what is considered 'good' enough, can be swamped with those exceptional soaps. With that in mind, what's your favourite Neroli scented soap?

[@mfreedberg]

In the old days, the Tcheon Fung Sing "Bergamotto Neroli" was way up there!!

[@koosk41]

@@mfreedberg Thank-you Michael.

[@mobilepsycho]

I think Muhle describes the handle as 'high grade resin'.

[@edwardmiles6513]

Kudos on the pronunciation of Mühle! It's the first shaving vid I've ever seen in which "Mühle" sounds kinda German. (Ausgezeichnet.) Also, Razorock makes razors with a similar (very similar) shaving head; any thoughts on how the performance of this Mühle compares to a comporable Razorock?

[@mfreedberg]

I meant to say it with an exaggerated German accent, and forgot!! I used to speak German fluently, and I still speak it pretty well (I think), so Mühle is not hard to say. As for the RazoRock version, no, not sure I have ever used their clone of this head. Which one is it?

[@edwardmiles6513]

It looks a lot like the Razorock Mission.

[@T-R.e.x]

This lather seems impressive, but soap is not, right? Would you trade your Siero for this one?

[@mfreedberg]

No, I would not, but that's just me!

[@googlesu]

Will you review the Reuzel shave cream?

[@mfreedberg]

I don't know, my plans for future reviews are generally "immature" at best :-)

[@MrUlski]

You never write what blade you used - perhaps blades are not a big part of the experience for you. I got the EJ synthetic silver tip fibre which is very similar to the knot you used, it works well for me.

[@mfreedberg]

I should add that to the KZbin write-up, I just always forget! Call me Sunday and remind me...

[@petrub27]

have a look at a movie called ''the autopsy of jane doe'' Open up Your Heart And Let The Sun Shine in.... Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@mfreedberg]

Uh, do I really want to watch this? I will have a look, and we'll see if I come back with a "thanks", or a "thanks for nothing" :-)

[@petrub27]

@@mfreedberg let me know