Names and faces to bikes

it's only slippery and impractical when it's really wet (as I found out the hard way commuting back home in the torrent).

I solved this by simply using my cycling glove, but generally it's not slippery, actually i find that the Nitto AA heat treated drop bar felt softer for some reason, is it just me?

Clutching slippery bars will make your hands and forearms a lot more tired a lot more quickly. Plus in really wet weather they are really slippery, even with gloves, as you note. Putting tape on the bars means that you can have a secure grip without clutching so hard.

You tend to notice the difference over any real distance, or during hard sprints.

As for the one hardened metal bar feeling softer to the touch than another - erm, no. It's in your head.