I just noticed this grade of hair, but what is it exactly? I have Simpson two band and three band hair brushes. How does Manchurian compare?
What is Manchurian Badger hair?
- Thread starter petr
- Start date
A marketing gimmick...
It's definitely a different type of hair then anything else that Simpson offers, should it cost as much as it does? I have no idea, I can tell you I bought a Classic 1 in Manchurian because I wanted to try it out and the Classic was about the most affordable way to do so. Currently Simpson has numerous "Special Edition" Manchurian brushes in stock but for now I will stick with my Classic and see how it dooes for me. What I can tell you from my brief experience with the current line of Manchurian hair is it seems to be similar to a TGN finest grade of hair but the brush I have is packed way more densely than any of my TGN's (and I have a lot of them). Notice I said similar, not the same, the Manchurian has a lot of backbone, very soft tips and produces a tremendous amount of lather, at first my little Classic was quite the lather hog but after about ten more lathers (both hand and face) it has started to turn into a pretty decent little brush. I will say that I have to work harder at producing good lather with the Manchurian as compared to my Duke 2 in best or any of my 22mm TGN finest fans, but they be because I am used to these brushes and not yet the manchurian.
Needless to say I am sure there is some marketing strategy here as Manchurian was a term used by Simpson years back, frankly I don't care what they call it if it preforms well and makes me happy that's all I care about! One thing is for certain, it is not another kind of Simpson hair in disguise, this "modern" Manchurian grade of hair is definitely different from anything else they have used recently in their brushes. Is it worth the premium? That is always up to the new owner, pull the trigger on one and see...
Needless to say I am sure there is some marketing strategy here as Manchurian was a term used by Simpson years back, frankly I don't care what they call it if it preforms well and makes me happy that's all I care about! One thing is for certain, it is not another kind of Simpson hair in disguise, this "modern" Manchurian grade of hair is definitely different from anything else they have used recently in their brushes. Is it worth the premium? That is always up to the new owner, pull the trigger on one and see...
This might be erroneous but Manchuria is a region in north west China. I'm going to assume the hair is sourced there. Other than that I got nothing, I have not tired the brushes.
Some day, SOMEONE in China will realize the profit potential of establishing grading and labeling standards for badger hair and this nonsense will end.
I saw a $30 eBay special advertising that it was Manchurian hair the other day. As far as I knew prior to that, it was just a name Simpson gave their most expensive hair. I'm no expert on it, but doesn't Simpson use it to label both 3 band and 2 band brushes? I'm not sure what the distinctions are in their eyes, but on a consumer end it apparently means that the brush costs more. Really wish they'd explain it beyond the same usual vague nonsense (the way Semogue does with the SOC bristle grade) about it being the ultra mega super elite awesome grade. Tell us WHY IT IS DIFFERENT... IN SPECIFICS.
ANYWHOOOOOO. The brushes do seem to have a bit more attention paid to the knot shape and such... just from the ones I've seen. So it may be worth the premium to some people even if the hair were no different.
I saw a $30 eBay special advertising that it was Manchurian hair the other day. As far as I knew prior to that, it was just a name Simpson gave their most expensive hair. I'm no expert on it, but doesn't Simpson use it to label both 3 band and 2 band brushes? I'm not sure what the distinctions are in their eyes, but on a consumer end it apparently means that the brush costs more. Really wish they'd explain it beyond the same usual vague nonsense (the way Semogue does with the SOC bristle grade) about it being the ultra mega super elite awesome grade. Tell us WHY IT IS DIFFERENT... IN SPECIFICS.
ANYWHOOOOOO. The brushes do seem to have a bit more attention paid to the knot shape and such... just from the ones I've seen. So it may be worth the premium to some people even if the hair were no different.
Sometimes my minds eye visualizes this when Ian tells us how he feels...
"Don't make me
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I did a comparison of the Manchurian hair that Simpsons sourced in this thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/277248-M7-Manchurian-Badger-First-Impressions
Here is my first post from that thread:
When I ordered this brush, beginish (Bob) ask me to give my candid assessment of whether Manchurian was as good as legend says it is.
I did have high hopes for it, that I posted about at that time......
....So when the Beauty arrived and I used it for the first time.... and it seemed to have that magic degree of scrubbiness. I thought I just might be letting my high hopes for it color my judgement.
The next time I used it, I did a side by side comparison with the Emperor 3 Two Banded. It won the brush off. The Emperor was still too scrubby for my taste and the Manchurian took it just to the edge of too much, but landed instead at just right.
The next outing was a side by side comparison with a Rooney 1/2 Finest. It won again. For me the legendary Finest is still too scrubby for my taste.
Now in a classic case of YMMV (your mileage may vary), my husbands favorite brushes are the Simpson 2 Banded and the Rooney Finest. He used the Manchurian today (his second use of it) and told me, "If it was any softer, it would be too soft. Instead, it's just right there with just enough scrub."
After comparing our impressions we both agree it is a great all around brush. It has good backbone and density, produces and releases lather easily, and walks the tightrope of scrinchiness for two people with very different preferences in brushes. It looks like we found our unicorn and a welcome addition to our stable of brushes.
The Manchurian Badger might best be described as a hybrid of Simpson's Two Banded and Three Banded Super. It's bloom is more like the Three Banded, while it's face feel more resembles the Two Banded.
It's interesting to note that the knot on the Manchurian Badger does indeed look like a crossbreed of the brushes on either side in this picture below.
M7 GYLE finest Silvertip, M7 Manchurian, Emperor 3 Two Banded
* On a side note - When I received my brush, the good people at Simpsons included a complimentary full size tub of Sicilian Lime shaving cream. I would be remiss if I didn't say "Wow! What a wonderfully fresh lime scent it has. It smells like a good Key Lime pie taste.
To add to that, I will say that it is still my favorite ​of the hair grades I have tried. I currently own four brushes that have "Manchurian" knots in them. Whether the Manchurian hair will be the same if Simpsons is able to source more, I can't say as all of my brushes came from the same batch of hair that Simpsons originally acquired.
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Just don't play solitaire near it.
I have one brush a Tulip 3. It's an excellent brush, hair does seem different than their two bands but almost the same as a M&F brush with a similar size knot. I do think it's a marketing gimmick and that the brushes are over priced but we all seem to be buying them so I guess it's working.i did read an explanation some time ago about where the term "Manchurian" originated but can't recall what it was.
I don't get angry, Loric. I just find that being subtle is typically missed on the internet. Sometimes I wonder if it's deliberate or if subtleties in language are just that difficult for some to gather from the written word. So I tend to simplify my language as much as possible when communicating on forums. That lends to a brusque attribute to what I say and makes the occasional humorous capslock application seem appropriate.
If anything I find what are viewed as attempts to mislead or at least keep us in the dark as irritating. And while I can appreciate the concept of trade secret, I tend to suspect things like the mysterious badger grades manufacturers use are most often kept vague more because it's a choice between "We made it up", and "It's special because it's from the badgers hindquarters" than because they're afraid of letting their competitors onto their source who is obviously a secret mysterious monk who hand plucks every hair from the tip of the badgers nose only on the first Saturday in March with a half foot of snow on the ground and partial sun giving way to flurries in the afternoon.
If anything I find what are viewed as attempts to mislead or at least keep us in the dark as irritating. And while I can appreciate the concept of trade secret, I tend to suspect things like the mysterious badger grades manufacturers use are most often kept vague more because it's a choice between "We made it up", and "It's special because it's from the badgers hindquarters" than because they're afraid of letting their competitors onto their source who is obviously a secret mysterious monk who hand plucks every hair from the tip of the badgers nose only on the first Saturday in March with a half foot of snow on the ground and partial sun giving way to flurries in the afternoon.
That's good because anger is part of the path to the Dark Side. Although that might be a good thing because the Dark Side has free cookies.
You might not be angry, but its more fun to think that you are. And I appreciate every bit of it you do.
In that case, I'll swim on over to VulfixCorp and beat some answers out of them.
...
Or you know, send a nicely worded email suggesting they be a bit more forthcoming.
edit: Scratch that, I want a cookie!
...
Or you know, send a nicely worded email suggesting they be a bit more forthcoming.
edit: Scratch that, I want a cookie!
LOL!!!
Yet another reason I enjoy reading what you two have to say; always informative and even more entertaining!!!
Regards,
Justin
Yet another reason I enjoy reading what you two have to say; always informative and even more entertaining!!!
Regards,
Justin
This is a lightly edited quote from Mark (from another site) and a picture of the hair he received back in Jan. of this year.
At the end of the day it is all still badger hair. Whatever a brush maker calls it, it is just an attempt to quantify the quality of the hair used.
It's a word Simpsons can put in front of Badger to make people think they need to pay more to have it. Such as High Mountain or other words that have been added to Badger hair over the years, such as Super, Silvertip, Finest, and so on.
In a year or so, there will be another name to put on, probably Himalayan, Tibetan, Communist, or some other such name.
In a year or so, there will be another name to put on, probably Himalayan, Tibetan, Communist, or some other such name.
Yeah, I suppose the best way to look at it is that one is Grade A, another Grade B. They just don't want to imply that anything is less than Grade A. But they still want you to know that one is more precious than the other.
Screw it, I'm a boar man now. Where's my Semogue. Ahh good old Bristle. Nothing fancy here just plain old ordinary... Wait, which is better again, Extra or Premium?
Screw it, I'm a boar man now. Where's my Semogue. Ahh good old Bristle. Nothing fancy here just plain old ordinary... Wait, which is better again, Extra or Premium?
Curious to know if the Manchurian "haters" feel the same way about other companies and their "exclusive" hair types (i.e. Plisson etc) or is this just a disdain for Simpson?
Basically it means "made in China". In reality it means the best selected bristle usually from the ruffle of the badger. Comparable with Rooney Finest and Plisson HMW. Not everyone likes brushes with some "bite" and prefer more flexible bristles. Most of the top grades take some serious work to fully break them in. I have a nice Rooney Alibaba in finest (from a very small batch that was made) and after a year or so of regular use it's just starting to give that magic quality that makes it worth the high price. Simpson used the Manchurian tag some years ago for brushes marketed by Enchante and they were rare and expensive. I have one of the old Chubbies and like it a lot. Simpson brought the name back recently for their rare top grade of super super - good for them. As long as they maintain the selectivity for this grade it will have the value that the Rooney finest had when it was available.
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