Al H said:
the name
overheads
the quality of the workmanship
rip off britain (insert country)
the custome service afterwards
any of the above
simpson knots are i believe hand knotted by the company that costs money and brushmakers like neep, and shavemac make more individual handles which cost
that said i have 4 brushes, two i believe to be tgn knots and two a bit pricier, i can notice the quality in the two pricier ones but my two tgn knots perform just as well
Some simple
facts:
1.
2 band knots became popular only relatively recently. They became popular particularly with those who prefer face lathering, and there were a lot of posts on the forums extolling the virtues of a 2 band knot. Some people considered it to be "hype" at the time.
2.
The reason that those face latherers liked the 2 band (Manhurian) is that they preferred a stiffer backbone. And yes, for the same loft, they do have a stiffer backbone.
3.
The reason for the stiffer backbone is that the individual hairs are about 1.5 times the thickness of an equivalent silvertip hair. The badgers that the hair comes from live in a colder climate and with more rain.
4.
The end result of the forum messages making 2 band sound exotic, desirable and rare led to a situation where *some* brush manufacturers considered that they could charge more for a brush made with 2 Band hair (which incidentially *is* the same as Manchurian.)
5.
99.5% of all badger hair for shaving brushes comes from China.
It is possible to buy it as bundles of hair, or ready pre-set into a resin base plug,
6.
The hair and knot suppliers in China sometimes call it "Manchurian" and sometimes call it "2 band". Sometimes they use both descriptions. It is the same hair.
7.
There may be slight variations in hair quality from the same manufacturer/supplier in China in different batches. (That happens with Silvertip too). Some suppliers make better knots than others.
8.
Here's the interesting point:
The price of 2 Band knots (or loose hair) from the suppliers in China is actually *less* than the price of good quality silvertip. For the same size knot from the same manufacturer the 2 band costs £1.75 cheaper than the silvertip. (As of prices this year. Yes, I buy both).
It is my personal opinion that there is no good reason why brushes with 2 Band badger should be more expensive than with decent good quality Silvertip Badger, given the same handle shape.
Rod