Originally posted by Krispy
That makes sense but the reason I was wondering is that I rarely see friends no hand it on their road bikes but I have actually seen folks no hand it on mtbs, although they were on a smooth level section of singletrack when it occured it still wasn't pavement.
It could be that I'm not used to riding my mtb on pavement. It was actually one of only a few times I've ridden it on the road. However, I am still questioning it's stability.
What will I gain by replacing the headset? I hear folks talking about this all the time but nobody has ever given me a decent explantion of what they are gaining by doing this. Is it for the purpose of less friction or less play?
My road bike probably has spoiled me. 
I don't expect my knobbies to feel smooth but the overall feel of the bike just doesnt' feel stable to me after riding my road bike.
Thanks
If your headset is sloppy it won't hold the fork in place as well. My last headset was 'sloppy' feeling and wobbled when I took my hands off. My current headset doesn't do this in the slightlest.
I do understand what you are saying. I hop on my old bike and everything feels off. I feel totally unsafe hopping on that bike. I never bothered to explore ways to fix it but I know for me I just don't like the geometry. I prefer and feel confident on a slack bike while this is too xc oriented...just feels wrong to me.
I do currently take my hands off anywhere on my mtb to rest my shoulders and arms with no worries now but on my old bike I would get a speed wobble at 5km/hr