Avoiding confusion: Hand-tied should be Artisan-tied

Something that I think confuses a lot of people in this hobby is the term “hand-tied”. The fact of the matter is 99% of knots are hand tied regardless of their country of origin (in fact the only place i’ve seen automation for the tying of a knot is in Germany).

Obviously there should be a distinction between knots hand-tied in a factory vs. bespoke small batch creations from talented artisans.
That’s why I’m suggesting going forward it should be referred to as Artisan-Tied knots. The value of Artisan-Tied knots is having someone take extra time & care into creating an item specifically for you.

But other knots are still hand-tied, the actual process is similar/same.

Thoughts? Am I overthinking this? Does anyone actually care? Anyways…carry on

I would think artisan tied is fair since all knots, as you mentioned, are tied by someone at some point.

you offer a better description. Artisan tied it shall be known!

Lets kick it up a notch:

"ARTISANALLY CURATED AND HANDTIED" ?

I can’t think of a better wording than the OP’s, and it is a distinction that matters. There is a meaningful difference between a person who turns handles and glues a pre-made knot in, versus a person who turns handles, selects hairs to a particular quality standard, and packs and situates the knot in order to achieve their desired characteristics and feel.

I do detest the word ‘artisan’ though, and I cringe each time I type it. It either sounds pretentious (like ‘artisan’ bakers who make bread for people who do not find regular bread to be expensive enough in case they have guests), or it makes me think of hippies selling rudimentary handmade tat at craft fairs or on Etsy. Technically the workers who hand tie knots in factories in China are also artisans, according to the definition of the word. I think none of the brushmakers we are talking about refer to themselves as artisans, but we probably lack a better word for us to refer to them, and we probably all understand what we mean by it. When I can, I call them ‘premium shaving brush-makers who tie their own knots’ but that’s usually too long to type.

Long and pedantic way of saying “I agree”. Sorry.

Ok, how about “Small Batch Tied Knots”?  This would distinguish it from the large scale knot tying.

I’m guessing this is the only conversation happening in the whole world about terms used to identify the assembly of a shaving brush knot. I don’t know whether to feel important, entitled, or just weird. Sure am having fun though! Moriarty, your definition of artisan made me giggle.

I’m guessing this is the only conversation happening in the whole world about terms used to identify the assembly of a shaving brush knot.  I don’t know whether to feel important, entitled, or just weird.  Sure am having fun though!  Moriarty, your definition of artisan made me giggle.

There’s probably a lot we discuss in here that must never, ever be seen by normal people - at least not people who know us. Like when we get really angry arguing whether one brush maker’s plastic handle looks a bit like another brush maker’s plastic handle, even though it’s just a plastic handle and nobody died as a result. Very little of this is normal.

This is why I go incognito here.

If the word artisan cannot be applied to bakers, I don't know what to say.
Even though I eschew gluten in all forms, there was a time when I munched
my way through half my city's bakers....ranging from the puerile to the
merely artisanal—all the way up to the divinely ambrosial.

If shave brush makers can have their spot in the limelight, why not our
beloved dough shufflers?

apshaveco Thanks for posting this. I couldn't agree more. I think there is some serious confusion in the Wetshaving Community about the term "Hand-tied".

As you accurately stated, all these knots from the big producers in China (where the badgers come from) are individually weighed, tied up and trimmed... by all hand. Then the base is neatly glued to keep it all together. The people that do this all day, every day are pros.

It would be very refreshing to universally see the term more accurately titled/described.

-Paul