Steve
Call me cynical, but - - -
Tool manufactures know that wood turners (or for that matter, anyone engaged in any kind of craft activity that uses tools) tend to be tool junkies who find it very hard to resist shiney new gadgets. I'm just as bad about that as any other turner. Very few new tools can do anything different from what conventional/traditional tools have been used for. Instead, those amazing new tools that appear in pretty pictures in advertisements are, at best, slight improvement that might be a bit more convenient or save a little time, or at worst, gambits to get you to buy a shiny new tool so that the manufacturer/seller can make money.
When I first started turning, I understood that the right way to use a scraping tool is to have it approach the piece slightly below center, and with the tool handle raised slightly above center. That is, the scraping is the process of dragging an edge against the turning piece. And the material from which the tool is made is irrelevant - carbide tools are also scrapers. By contrast, cutting tools like gouges and chisels, are best used by approaching the turning piece above center with the handle held in a lower position - so that the edge of the tool slices into the turning material.
And remember that there was a time when all turning tools were scrapers - gouges and chisels as we know them today are relatively new developments.
Along came 'negative rake' tools. The only real difference is that they are designed to have the front edge of the tool slightly lower than the trailing edge, so that if the tool is held in a perfectly horizontal position relative to the turning material, the cutting edge is pointed slightly downward so that it can scrape - it is being dragged against the surface of the spinning piece. I've seen the argument that 'negative rake' tools are better because the included angle is 'better'- I'm sorry - that's BS. You can have any angle you want on HSS tools - it's all in how you choose to sharpen the tool.