Two band badger hair

My New Forest 2201 two band badger brush seems to have prompted quite a discussion on shaving forums.

Two band hair is simply that. It has a black band and a white band. It comes from long badger hair. So it is possible to have only two bands showing above the top of the handle.

There are two types of long badger hair - Long Finest Silvertip which is picked from the back of a rare breed of a long haired species of badger, only found in remote high mountain areas. It is the most expensive hair used to make badger brushes.

There is also Long Best Badger hair. This is the finer longer hair from the best badger grade, about half of which is wasted in the making of the brush head.This is very much like the Long Finest Silvertip but more widely available so lower in price, equivalent to the cost of standard silvertip.

As I explain in my New Forest Brushes Blog. The 2201 is made from Long Best Badger hair, and since only two bands appear above the level of the brush handle it is rightly described as two band.

The New Forest Superior Badger hair quality matches that of a standard silvertip. That's why one of my next brushes will be a Finest Silvertip - which is redressed and regraded silvertip.

I hope all this makes sense.