Recently I acquired some Blaisdell-made Ben Franklin 500s in a No. 3 grade, medium hard. This pencil is one of those quality yellow pencils of yesteryear. No such thing, anymore, if I even need to tell you. In the green stamping of the number 3, it’s near kin to the Dixon Ticonderoga. I have another blog post that features the Ben Franklin 500 made by Berol.The Blaisdell Ben Franklin 500 is the predecessor to the Berol.
The paint job is excellent on the Blaisdell Ben Franklins. One of the things that surprises me about pencil paint jobs is how it maintains its luster over numerous decades. So long as they’re in a box, an old pencil will look as good , if not better, than a contemporary pencil. Better because they don’t make them like they used to.
The Blaisdell Ben Franklin sharpens well, writes nicely — clearly there was a tradition of quality that carried on from company to company. The newer Berol made pencil is actually a nicer pencil, though, which surprises me. Going strictly on the trusty principle of “everything was better in the past”, I struggled to understand why the newer pencils were beating out the older ones. I guess, some things do improve with time.
The paint job on the Berol-made pencil is superior. The layers of paint are thicker (probably with more coats), glossier, and smoother. The die pressing of some lettering onto the Berol is actually covered over by a later coat of paint. Another feature: the ferule is not attached through what’s called prick punching –the dozen or so little punctures that grip the eraser and wood as on the Blaisdell. I’ve always regarded this technique as a cost-saving call. On the Berol, the ferule is clamped (squeezed) onto the shaft so there’s no punctures to detract from the trademark white band design. The edges of the Berol’s body are smoother, too; rounder, more semi-hex as opposed to hex, which make for a more comfortable long-term writing experience. A pencil is a simple tool and every decision, subtle as it may be, is meaningful.
Oh well, this has turned into a further appreciation of the Berol Ben Franklin. I couldn’t help it. Berol and Blaisdell, both, were good pencil manufacturers. Berol edged out Blaisdell with improvements to an already good pencil.
Perfect Pencil 