Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
If I had used USA Hard Maple (a wood I have come to use quite a bit over the past 4 or 5 years) in place of West Australian Jarrah, would it make the results more intelligible to you? (In fact for the end grain I think you did not use Jarrah.)

Intelligible is not the correct word. I don' t have any problem understanding your reports. Unlike some others, they are adequately documented.

Relevant is the meaning I want to convey. The closer the experimental conditions are to actual use the more relevant the data might be...all carefully chosen words. I do not question the relevance of the results to the wood used, nor conclusions for the experimental conditions investigated.

There are at least 4 important metal attributes- hardness, at least two kinds of abrasion resistance and toughness. I don't know whether a hard silica containing wood like you used for the end grain study challenges these variables equivalent to wood I typically use. So to be forthcoming, when you report on a tool evaluation, or technique, using one of these atypical furniture woods I have some reservation about the conclusion's relevance to what I do, again carefully chosen words. A reservation means you got my attention, but, I need more data to reach a conclusion.

Is all Hard Maple the same? Essentially yes for planing studies. White oak, no. We have sold thousands of bdft of each, usually power planed, so I have considerable experience how each behaves. Hardness can be judged by the sound of the load on the motor. Oak has soft and hard portions, the ratio depending on growth rate. Hence, growth rate has a huge effect the resulting hardness of the wood. I have seen white oak so soft it works like poplar. One can drive finishing nails in it without pre-drilling. And I have seen it so hard that tempered flooring nails bend when driving.