August Acquisitions

I

Ian.mal

Forum GOD!
Working in Walton On Thames today and thought i'll check out the local chemist and picked up a Tabac shave stick for £6 and refill for £3.60 and when i got home a nice parcel from Signature Soap containing Hibernia + Britannia and a nice size sample (70g) of Valentia
 
D

Deleted member 1881

Guest
Optometrist said:
Randy, Manchurian is also 2-Band badger hair, but it specifically relates to hair from badgers that live high in the mountains of Manchuria. Because of colder conditions, the hair has thicker shafts which in turn provide more backbone.
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Impressive! I didn't know..
Thanks David!
 
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Wayne

Wayne

Forum Sod
Optometrist said:
Randy, Manchurian is also 2-Band badger hair, but it specifically relates to hair from badgers that live high in the mountains of Manchuria. Because of colder conditions, the hair has thicker shafts which in turn provide more backbone.
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Or it may not be and may be just a name added to the hair to justify the high cost of the knots.. :D I don't think anyone has proved it either way, though I may be wrong and happy to be educated. What's the difference between 2 band Silvertip, HMW & Manchurian? Does anyone really know? One thing is certain they are lovely looking brushes and way way out of my price bracket these days. True luxury items for the shaving connoisseur with deep pockets.
 
Dr Watson

Dr Watson

James
Wayne said:
Or it may not be and may be just a name added to the hair to justify the high cost of the knots.. :D I don't think anyone has proved it either way, though I may be wrong and happy to be educated. What's the difference between 2 band Silvertip, HMW & Manchurian? Does anyone really know? One thing is certain they are lovely looking brushes and way way out of my price bracket these days. True luxury items.
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This is what Gary Young (Alexander Simpson's Great Nephew) had to say on the matter:

"As for Manchurian/High Mountain White, these are my thoughts on that...

High Mountain White & Manchurian.
Sometimes called other names as well- Genuine White, Upland White, etc. These are generally limited edition brushes with magical powers and inflated price tags. In actuality, these are mostly two band brushes with different colouration than the other brushes that particular manufacturer sells. Marketing and hype are these brush's main features. How the knot is formed and the density of the hair mostly determine the face feel of a badger knot, not the coloring of the hair.

A "true" High Mountain White or Manchurian badger brush will be made from a small section of hairs on the neck of the European Badger (Meles Meles). However many brushes marketed as "High Mountain brushes" come from the pelt of a hog badger, rather than the more common European badger. Hog badger hairs are about 1.5 times thicker than European badger hairs, giving them a bit more backbone. Does it make a difference in the quality? Nope. It shouldn't make a difference in price either, as the knots are sourced from China, and the cost is about the same as their silvertip counterparts. True High Mountain White hair is more expensive, due to the small area of pelt it can be collected from.

The Origin of the "Manchurian" name.

When Charles Roberts first offered these brushes, that were made exclusively for Enchante (as they were, at the time, one of the highest volume Simpson retail outlets in N. America ) they were labeled 'Extra Super'. However, Charles was trumpeting that this was extra special rare badger bristle that came out of the colder climate of Manchuria. On the old forums some of us started to refer to them as 'Manchurians' and CR quickly took the nudge and told David Carter he wanted subsequent specimens to be actually labeled that way; 'Manchurian badger'."
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Wayne

Wayne

Forum Sod
Yeah as I suspected marketting blurb. Regardless they are still fine brushes and like all luxury items, if you can afford them then why not.
 
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