To be fair, the terms are ambiguous.? You're using "strong" more or less as a synonym for "yield strength", but I think it's more common to use it as a vague and ill-defined term to describe a combination of more specific properties.? On the other hand, "stiff" does have a more precise meaning in materials and mechanics.?
Thinking more about bandsaws, it occurs to me that perhaps the optimal stiffness is part art, not just bean counting.? Probably too stiff is bad -- you want some flex to absorb shocks, etc.?
As a tangent, my Dad gave me The New Science of Strong Materials when I was about 10.? I still have it decades later and pick it up now and then.? Great book:
