Creampuff
We are pretty much in agreement. Except I don't herd goats. Nor do I own a cattle prod. We do have electric fences for my wife's horses, but the main thing I've learned about them is that I'm chicken and prefer to use a fence testing device and not the farmers wet grass method of checking the fence.
Max Nerheim is not a goat herder. He knows what he's talking about, and he's proved that, consistent with the laws of physics, you don't need anywhere near 25,000 volts to get a spark out of a good spark plug.
Bosch, your Pico reference (fig 1.1, point A) and other references are all consistent that you need about 12 kV for a spark. Bosch note that most ignition systems however deliver up to 30 kV.
The spark needs a point to launch from. The better automotive plugs (eg NGK, Bosch) have the centre electrode ground flat and a sharp edge side electrode to promote the spark. I think Champion are better now, but they used to cut the centre electrode with shears. They were truly dreadful plugs. I have never understood why massive electrode plugs are made with electrodes shaped as they are because they do not really have an edge that creates a focal point for spark initiation.
Fine wire plugs, on the other hand do this. And the whole point of using unobtainablium for the wire is so they don't wear and don't need maintenance (ie regapping).
This post from the Vansairforce kind of deals with Jaba's conundrum
Not knowing any better I "sand" blasted mine and have noticed no difference - but I'm considering not doing it again after reading this thread. However, I adjusted the gap and the very brittle platinum electrode broke on one of my $76 (as I recall) plugs. I used the fine wire adjusting tool from ACS to bend the side electrode. I called the company and the tech support specialist said never try to change the gap on them. He said you can get away with one slight adjustment in one direction if they are out of spec but the second tweak back will often break the electrode it as it did in my case.
It seems that the companies who make gapping tools for fine wire plugs don't advocate using them!