Virgilio Valobra—and the Slant
Virgilio Valobra shaving soap comes as a bar of soft, white soap about the consistency of Silly Putty. I smooshed mine into this little jar, and age has darkened the soap somewhat—but the lather is still a very fine, bitter-almond-scented abundance, worked up easily with the Omega Lucretia Borgia artificial badger brush. Three passes of the Hoffritz Slant Bar with a much-used Swedish Gillette blade smoothed my face, and a splash of Stetson Sierra aftershave set me up for the day.
I need to use that Virgilio Valobra soap more often.
Boy that soap looks horrible.
jed@aol.com
16 May 2011 at 2:39 pm
Why is it so discolored is it moldy. Be careful putting this on your face I would not.
jed@aol.com
16 May 2011 at 2:43 pm
If you look at soap, you’ll find in general it’s not particularly attractive—that’s not its job. For shaving soap, the job is to generate lots of good lather, and Virgilio Valobra does a wonderful job.
No, it’s not moldy at all. It’s simply turned that color.
I’m always careful in applying lather, but thanks for your concern. This is a great soap, but probably not the soap for you.
LeisureGuy
16 May 2011 at 2:52 pm
This is, without question, my favorite brush handle.
I like the look of it, growing up as an immigrant from a European country, it looks like my mother’s choice for living room furniture (red crushed velvet on gold filigree wood). I love the solid heft of it as well, it lends itself well for superior lathering.
A LeisureGuy exclusive:
Be on the lookout for big news regarding this handle!
PS
that’s exactly what my Valobra looks like as well
Zach
17 May 2011 at 6:50 am
What blade have you found that replaces the Swedish Gillette Platinums? I just bought my first slant (39C) and want to get the Swedish Gillette blades but can’t find them.. What else do you recommend or can I still get the Swedes somewhere?
Thanks!
Charles
Charles
17 May 2011 at 11:17 pm
Blades are iffy in the sense that a blade that one guy finds superb another will consign to the dustbin as dull trash. You really have to do your own exploration. That said, some blades that work well for me include: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (from St. Petersburg), Astra Superior Platinum and Astra Keramik, Wilkinson Sword, Bolzano Inox, and Treet Durasharp. You can post a “Want to Buy” (WTB) in the Buy/Sell/Trade section of some of the shaving forums to see if anyone wants to part with any Swedish Gillettes, but they’re now rare. I was able to buy a 300-blade stash when they were available, and I’m afraid that when those are gone, that will be it.
LeisureGuy
18 May 2011 at 5:25 am