American Badger

[Wade Patton]

I understand that in practically every US state except those East of the Mississippi and South of the Ohio, there are real live badgers.

But now that i'm hunting knots for restoration/making a few brushes, I have yet to find any place to buy knots of American Badger hair. I'll gladly pay more.

TIA for any help finding a supply of such. I'm the sort of DIY'er who'll start with a pelt* if necessary. Those I can find.

I'm just relearning to shave after 30 years of doing it. acquired 6 razors and 8 different blades in a week for less than 50 bucks. loving the results, but need to work on my brush collection, been using a brush for 20 years.

again, thanks-i'm not trying to stir up anything nor be disrespectful of those who make a living importing china brushes and china badgers. i simply prefer a more direct connection.

wp

*I have coyote and whitetail pelts in the freezer, no problem collecting anything my area has a hunting/trapping season on. Groundhog? Fox? Otter? Turkey beard?

 

[Alum of Potash]

Welcome to B&B, you have posed an interesting question. I don't have any answers for you, other than that as with everything else, it is probably cheaper to do it in China. I did just read the Wikipedia article on American badgers though, where they are listed as a species of least concern, with regard to how endangered they are. Apparently, their main cause of death (apart from natural causes, I hope) is by automobiles running them over.

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

You could try it, but knot-tying is quite a skill (see http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/267264-Badger-Knot-competition-FREE-KNOT for some background). The accepted wisdom is that USA badger hair is unsuitable. Traditional badger brushes are made from Meles (Meles meles or M. leucurus). Badgers in the USA are Taxidea taxus. So they are not just a different species: they are from a different genus too.

Horse hair makes good brushes, and should be relatively easy to obtain. Maybe that would be a better place to start?

 

[Wade Patton]

Got horses too. It's a shame that no one can make a living making knots here. Thanks for the info on species. Yes i've seen paintbrush and other brush making videos. But like a lot of things... I don't have to do it everyday, So my time, once again, is not a cost issue.

Thanks for the quick replies.

So grandpa's 1923 badger brush was of China badger? If so, then I'm much more comfortable with the notion. I really am for folks being able to carry on traditional ways and trade when the roots are 100's of years on (and are less exploited).

 

[mblakele]

Yes, a 1923 badger brush probably would be Chinese or Baltic hair.

Somewhere around here I posted a link to a letter that some USA brush makers wrote to Congress, around that time. They wanted a drop in import duty on foreign bristles, because there were no domestic sources worth mentioning. Of course they also wanted a rise in import duty on foreign finished brushes, to protect their own sales.

 

[Wade Patton]

Yes, a 1923 badger brush probably would be Chinese or Baltic hair.

Somewhere around here I posted a link to a letter that some USA brush makers wrote to Congress, around that time. They wanted a drop in import duty on foreign bristles, because there were no domestic sources worth mentioning. Of course they also wanted a rise in import duty on foreign finished brushes, to protect their own sales.

tariffs and duties are undersold these days...

i'll study up on bristle stacking... I already know that summer hair and winter hair are quite different-this is even reflected in the leathers made from wild critters.

maybe i mix beaver and bucktail...

 

[Alum of Potash]

Horse-hair brushes are great. I'd be interested in a USA-made horse-hair brush.

 

[the_edski]

Could try and find a dead one on the side of the road...

 

[inspiringK]

*I have coyote and whitetail pelts in the freezer, no problem collecting anything my area has a hunting/trapping season on. Groundhog? Fox? Otter? Turkey beard?

Fox you say.........

I am going to go out on a limb and say that fox will make a mighty usable shaving brush. Deer, no, otter, no, turkey, no, groundhog, no, coyote, maybe? Fox, probably.

 

[Wade Patton]

i'll see what critters i can collect this fall/winter.

trade pelts are always available, but that takes away part of the challenge and outdoorsiness of it.

yes i _have_ skinned road-kill before. 'twas mink. trust me, if badger roamed these hills, i'd have one already.

and perhaps a blend of naturally-obtained hairs will yield a workable result. getting cart way out in front here.

oh my, i just realized i have an old chem-tanned pelt in the back room...i may be "shaving" again today. anything has to beat the boar-bristle i have.

 

[MeanGene]

i'll see what critters i can collect this fall/winter.

I'm very interested to see if you're able to come up with anything.

 

[brother cavefish]

BADGER VARIES, because weather causes changes in fur, cold vs hot, northern china is very cold most of the year, if one want s a US badger it would be wise to find out where, northern USA vs lets say Arizona , the coldness increase density and strength

 

[Wade Patton]

yes, furs vary by region/climate, time of year, and health of the animal. grading pelts is like grading timber:

much more complicated than you ever thunk-once you get "into" it.

 

[FL shaver]

Muskrat?

 

[Wade Patton]

Muskrat?

now we're talkin'. forgot all about that one. plenty of beaver in some areas of this state...

maybe fur-consumer economics of the bygone era limited availability of furs suited for other garments. a lot of things can be done on the micro-scale that were/aren't feasible for BigCo Inc.

"beaver shaving brush" might open up a whole new market.

 

[Arved]

I'm not familiar with the fur, but locally (Northeast Florida) Grey Squirrel and Racoon are as much a vermin species as Badger in China. Racoon coats used to be popular in the "roaring twenties." The bushy tail is about all that makes a squirrel cute, and differentiates it frpm a common rat.

 

[Wade Patton]

there's no shortage of furs to assemble, that's for sure. and i'm just the yahoo to do it. mole fur is the smoothest silkiest stuff on the planet, but they're beeotch to skin and it takes 500 to make a vest.

as all things, i prefer to start local.

 

[fast14riot]

Hmmm, you guys got me thinking...I have several skins curing in the freezer at home, not even tanned yet. Hoary marmot, yellow belly marmot, I have a stote pelt (hair is pretty short, even on the tail), and I might be able to dig up a fox pelt somewhere. I used to be pretty good at tying my own flies for fishing, so I am familiar with th troubles or tying hair, I may just give this a shot. I also have a close friend with several horses, should I use mane or tail hair? I figure mane would be nicer (and less likely to be exposed to used horse food).

Well I have a stack of hunting tags for this year, and the area I'm going to hunt has all kinds of varied wildlife. We'll see what steps into my FOV.


-Xander

 

[Wade Patton]

Hmmm, you guys got me thinking...I have several skins curing in the freezer at home, not even tanned yet. Hoary marmot, yellow belly marmot, I have a stote pelt (hair is pretty short, even on the tail), and I might be able to dig up a fox pelt somewhere. I used to be pretty good at tying my own flies for fishing, so I am familiar with th troubles or tying hair, I may just give this a shot. I also have a close friend with several horses, should I use mane or tail hair? I figure mane would be nicer (and less likely to be exposed to used horse food).

Well I have a stack of hunting tags for this year, and the area I'm going to hunt has all kinds of varied wildlife. We'll see what steps into my FOV.


-Xander

cools, maybe we'll bust a new mkt.

no idea on which end of the mule...going to be washed anyway. Mom has paint horses, so i can get any color.

holler _PM_ me if you find good info on prepping/stacking/binding as we must.