Plateau or Heart Wood -- Which Smokes Better?

On another forum, recently, there was a discussion about the difference between briar used today and briar from the 70s and earlier. One of the points made was that since makers cared less about grain back then, good pipes were more likely to be made from heart wood, from the center of the burl. While its grain is very fine and tight, heart wood is not often strikingly beautiful like the outer plateau cuts.
I'm wondering if anyone knows whether the tighter grained heart wood smokes any different from a pipe made from straight grain plateau briar, however beautiful. Are we missing out on some great smoking pipes by favoring straight grain?

mso489, it was actually pipe maker and Forums member, Sasquatch, who made this point. It had never occurred to me either, before he brought it up.
As far as I know (and Dave Neeb, above, would know better than I), almost all of the burl is still used, but most high-grade makers are looking for straight grain and use blocks cut from the outer edge (i.e., plateau briar). Dunhill, for example, almost never has straight grain pipes, and I think they use ebauchon blocks as often as plateau.
http://www.briarsweatandtears.com/index.php/previous-pipes

If what is proposed is accurate then did the lesser brands get the Plateau?

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Maybe I should have said that good pipes were equally likely to be made from heart wood as from plateau. Although, maybe "more likely" would be accurate, depending on the size of the burl. Of course, I'm someone who has never even held a burl or block of briar in his hands, so this is all very abstract and academic from my standpoint.
I can't even begin to speculate on the issue of sand blasts, but it's an interesting question. It is well known, however (or at least it is conventional wisdom), that the old, craggy Dunhill Shells were made from different (softer) briar than were the other finishes. I don't know if any consideration was given at all as to where in the burl the blocks came from.
Again, as far as I'm aware, most manufacturers just didn't worry too much about grain. So, blocks from the outer rim of the burl were used, but were they cut as "plateau blocks," i.e., the sort likely to yield straight grain and/or ring blasts? That's probably another question altogether.
EDIT: OK, I checked the other thread in question and Sasquatch said that "the vast majority" of pipes made c. 50 years ago were from the heart wood rather than the more exciting plateau section of the burl. He also referred to the part of the burl with nice grain as "sap wood." Is there a logical reason for that? I don't know! But if it's sappier and less dense, will it give as good a smoke?

would you Pm me a link to the forum you referred to?

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Done.

peter70, that's very interesting. Barbi's theory makes good intuitive sense in any case.