After reading a very long thread, here are my thoughts.
I go for the idea of adding perforated steel behind the eye slots for protection.
I understand using wooden wasters for harness fencing, I am an advocate for using both wood and stel in armored combat.
When using steel blunts in harness fencing I also would say that technique must be emphasized more than power usage, translation: if you are going to hid hard, be careful so as to not cause an accident.