The Simpsons vid of knot making in an earlier post does show staff trimming the knots in the final stage just before gluing and assembly with the handle. The trimming was done on the butt/glue plug end of the knot and not a time consuming reshaping of the knot tips.

Never have seen a vid or photos of a Chinese badger knot being made in one of their factories. Seeing a vid of that would really help clear up a few things.

Bob