Actually it's not. Every once in a bit, some of us can be jerks. I'm
speaking from experience (too much experience and I'm one of us). My
response was to the jerk that didn't eat badger in his country because of
the cyanide that was probably used in traps (really was 'how can you use
hair from an animal or something like that?'. My response was a stupid
response to a stupid response. My apologies. Please don't judge others by
my comments.
I don't really know what badger knots are, but I expect they are clumps of
badger hair that can be glued or mounted somehow into a handle. I have two
shaving brushes and several paint brushes of badger. Wish my people saved
some for me. I haven't seen a badger for a large number of years. In my
kid
days, I popped a few and got a decent price for the hides. Kept a bunch of
claws, but lost or gave them away. Don't need the money (for food)
anymore,
so don't shoot badgers.
Regards,
.Hank

Thanks Hank!

I've gotten a number of replies in private stating the same thing.

A "knot" or plug is a stack of hair glued together at the base (usually with
epoxy) forming a plug, ready to be inserted into a handle. Handles can be
turned from any number of things, including exotic wood, acrylic and bone.
There appears to be a lot of folks interested in this traditional way of
shaving. Believe it or not, there are newsgroups dedicated to the subject.
Badger hair (especially Silver Tip) makes the ultimate brush.

In a way, I deserve the wake up. I never thought of the Badger Hair as
"fur". I've used natural materials (animal hair, feathers, etc) for tying
flies without much thought as well. Do they kill the badger? Probably so.
I sure wouldn't want to give one a haircut. The plugs come from China.
Blankity Blanks imports them in quantity and marks them up for sale in the
US. I'll do more research to find the origins.

Pete