I use the Blanchard blades and they are fully sharp down the edges, which is consistent with the french style. They are easily dulled though. I just run them back and forth on the straight part of the edge a bit on a medium and then fine stone, and strop the edges as well. You don't want to dull too much of the point, but if you feel the hole is still too large, you can dull up the shoulder as well. I do this after getting the four sides all gleaming. I also find that the Blanchard points are too acute for my taste. Rounding them off a bit seems to help with maintaining the point sharpness.