Boar brushes are indeed like that before they are broken in, which takes “a while” depending on the brush.

I couldn’t really tell you why they’re like that, but your experience is to be expected!

You really can’t soak a boar for too long. The hairs are hollow, so soaking lets them suck up enough water to get saturated and soft. You can, however, soak it too deep. I’ve heard from others that if you submerge the whole knot, maybe even a little bit of the handle, the knot can swell and crack the handle.

There are some people who swear by scooping, but I think it’s mostly because they might want to sell the soap later and don’t want to exclude buyers who are creeped out by “lathered” soaps. I think it’s a bit ridiculous, because if someone is buying used soap they probably don’t care at all about that, and it’s a lot of extra work to scoop. Load it like you hate it, I say!