I think a significant factor has been overlooked - the diameter of the piece you're turning. If you're using a skew, straight edged or curved edge, to make planing cuts, long point UP, you're normally cutting/ shearing with the middle third of the cutting edge and TANGENT to the spinning wood, the bevel riding on the wood. The distance between the wood at the long point and and the long point as well as the distance between the wood at the heel corner and the heel corner is a function of BOTH the length of the cutting edge of the skew AND the diameter of the piece you're working on.
ASCII illustrations aren't the best but may make the point.
If you look at Examples 3 & 4 you see that on the larger diameter piece, the long point on the wider skew is farther from the oncoming wood than is the case with long point of the narrower skew . You'd have to move the long point of the WIDER skew FARTHER to have it contact the oncoming wood than you would with the NARROWER skew.
Example 1. Narrow skew, long point up, small diameter piece, piece rotationg counter clockwise in this view / /+---+ // \ + +
Example 2. Wide skew, long point up, large small piece piece rotationg counter clockwise in this view / / /+---+ // \ / + +
Example 3. Narrow skew, long point up, large diamter piece piece rotationg counter clockwise in this view / / +----------+ // \ / + \
Example 4. Wider skew, long point up, large diamter piece piece rotationg counter clockwise in this view
/ / / +----------+ / / \ / / + \ Now if the piece is square intially and you're using a skew to rough it to round - then a wider skew is definitely the way to go IMHO.
Sure wish we could attach pictures to messages.
charlie b