I would think that sharp lobes would give more coil saturation time and less point arcing. The down side would be greater stress on the point arm and spring and a more pounding effect on the contacts. Personally I don't want a distributor to move around at all, even if by design, and I want to be able to walk in any parts store and buy over the counter parts at a reasonable price. That pretty much puts the HEI at the head of the class. The fact that I drive my old cars/trucks on very long trips and have numerous metal working machines most likely influences my line of thought. Picture of my 37 Buick straight 8 with machined down Olds HEI and cut down Chevy distributor shaft. Works perfect.
http://s32.photobucket.com/user/coilover/media/Dar%20Dog%20HEI%20003_2.jpg.html
