I always pre-soak my boars in cold water whilst showering. Then I remove the cold water and get enough hot water in the sink to cover 3/4 of the knot. Result = knot soft and warm Now to the "eating" part, I found that when switching from one brush to another I always struggle at first. Why? because I got used with the previous brush I was using. Yes, they're all brushes, but they're all different. Each one of them requires more or less water/soap/pressure/soaking time/swirling/painting etc etc. The "some brushes" usually accused of eating lather are Semogues. I found this too with my 620 and SOC whilst transitioning from either one of my Omegas or one of my synthetics. But then, I adjust the "working" method et voilà, it works like a charm. With my Semogue I apply a lot less pressure when doing circular motion than with my Omega or synthetics. The knot is quite short and applying more pressure would release all the lather resulting in an excess of soap for the 1st pass and not enough for the 2nd. Another method is to leave a tad more water in the knot and take a little bit more time working the soap, or if using creams, adding a little bit more than usual. That does the trick for me. Hope the above make some sense.