Fretboard Shootout

As I was thinking about making a new, fancier, fretboard for the baritone ukulele I found six hardwood candidates. Unable to decide I cleaned them all up. That meant re-saw a slice, joint one face and plane them parallel. Once sized I’m looking for a few characteristics that make the pretty wood good for fretboards. Since it’s a fretboard it needs to hold frets. I’ll cut a slot that’s .5 mm wide and 2 mm deep. The tang of the fret is pressed into the slot and the wood must be firm enough to hold the fret wire without chipping. I also want the wood to smooth nicely take a finish.