These are some metal lead holders (2mm) which was before the Criterium era.
While I was deep in the hunt for lost Criteriums, I found some even older lead holders, one of them was Baignol & Farjon. They were popular in the 1950s & 1960s, then being grouped with Blanzy-Conté-Gilbert in mars 1979,
and soon after acquired by BIC.
Like those ancient lead holders of the same era, they are metal, super sturdy, and have some special “aura”. Pretty cool to use. The grip is an interesting aspect, on the edge of the hexagonal barrel, instead of on vertex like the Criterium. They’re built like tanks, and after all those years, the paint still stay shiny, much better than any Caran D’Ache I’ve known.
These Baignol et Farjon n°234 were the long version, while there was also n°235 which is shorter. The Criteriums 2603/2613 and 2403/2413 adopted this same approach years later.
