I really enjoy the way you described all that--to me iron looks and sounds strong as word, not that it's a strong word in usage, but just that there is a strength behind it, metaphorically.

And I feel that, unfortunately, most people (at least native English speakers, as those're who I've dealt the most with) tend to view "odd" as somewhat bad, as it's a deviation from the norm (and we all know THAT is bad /eyeroll). I personally don't think odd is always or even usually bad--I've spent most of my life reconditioning myself (and trying to convince others) that odd or weird isn't bad, but something to find out more about, or to celebrate, even. Alas, perhaps it's the limitations of English colloquialisms, but when something is amiss or wrong it's casual to say it's "odd". Thus a negative connotation.

But! That all said, I love hearing input about words and such from people who are a different native speaker than myself--you bring excellent perspective and thoughts to the table. :D