> Actually, while I do prefer the longer flat of the Veritas handles, it
> was the my research that discovered that I was not alone in this, and
> that this was (1) due to the way the plane was pushed (rather than
> held), and (2) that this method was shared by a great many
> distinguished woodworkers. In other words, the handle shape is
> associated with ergonomics of pushing rather than the shape of one's
> hand.

The ergonomics involved in using a plane are far more complex than the
mere shape of the tote.  Your whole body is involved, along with the
height of your bench (if you are using one).  The handle alone really
doesn't tell the whole story.

It's fine that "a great many distinguished woodworkers" agree here.
But compare this to the thousands of woodworkers whose daily work
experience was the basis of the design used by Stanley and just about
every other plane maker of the 19th Century.  I'm going to need a lot
of convincing to believe the experience of distinguished woodworkers
trumps the experience of thousands of men who worked for a living by
their tools over a period of 200 years.

>> ".... But its a mistake to think that forward force is transmitted to 
>> the Stanley handle only in the lower part of the handle, or that the 
>> main effect of the apparently greater lean forward is to throw 
>> pressure downward."

It is indeed a mistake.  First of all, you don't want downward pressure 
on the
back of the plane until the tote is over the wood being worked.  But the 
fact
that forward force is transmitted to the Stanley (and just about any 
other 19th
Century plane) is clearly proved by the classic breaks found in plane 
totes.  It is
inarguable that these breaks are the result of forward force applied to 
the top of
the tote.

> What is relevant, in the context of plane ergonomics, is how she uses
> it. It seems to me that her backhand pushes on the heel on the
> horizontal, while the front hand (on the horn) does not grasp it for
> grip or forward thrust, but stabilises her hand and then pushes down
> on the toe.

At the beginning of a cut, one does use the horn to pull the plane 
forward
as well as pressing the plane down (a function of the bottom edge of the 
hand).
At the end of the stroke when the front of the plane is off the wood, 
there's
still a pull function as well as a stabilizing function.  It's not 
really a
lot different from a knob, except that a right handed horn cannot be 
easily
used by a left handed carpenter.

Mike in Sacto