What's the best way to work stiff bristle materials?

Stiff bristle materials are superb products that can enhance your rig mechanics and hooking capabilities. Being very stiff they can be awkward to work with and do take some getting used to. I find the best way to work with them is to follow some simple steps…

Firstly take off more than you need; When some anglers go to tie a Chod Rig or any other rig with stiff bristle materials they don’t cut off enough to work with resulting in losing grip on the materials and ‘boing’ the whole knot’s unravelling like a spring under their nose. Very frustrating. By cutting off more than you need you can trap the material under your other fingers if necessary to give you a little tension to construct the knot.

Another point of great importance is to wet the knot and pull/tease it down very slowly. Take your time and make sure the knot beds down evenly. Simple but very often overlooked. One of my friends uses a hook-tying clamp (trout fishing) for his stiff rigs. This allows him to work with two hands more freely and maybe a great way to start off until you get some more experience with the stiffness?