Very interesting and informative, but how does one distinguish between a hand-tied knot and a generic Chinese plug after the knot has been mounted in a handle?
By the way, Plisson has a licence from the French government to trap and harvest wild badgers in France, as they are considered a pest there, so at least some of their brushes are of European badger and the company publicly affirms it, proud of it even. I cannot confirm as to the other European majors, such as Thäter, who were, until recently at least, known to be sourcing some of their badger in Europe.
+1! Most badger today is from China. However, Plisson’s line includes European White and Grey as well as Russian badger brushes (and they are priced accordingly).