Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-12-15
MAKING STEEL PENS.
The Process of Manufacturing steel Pens
--Opposition to the Goose.

The steel pen is a modern invention,
not fifty years having elapsed since it
was introduced, and, like many other
innovations, it met with much opposi-
ton and had number OF rivals. OF
these the quill pen was the most formid-
able, and to this day the quilts OF geese
are used by som6 old stagers. Pens of
silver and of gold, the latter especially,
have been great favorites with those
who admire much fexibility in a pen,
and the handy self-feeders, as the stylo-
graphic, have plenty of users. But,
after all, the steel pen is the most gener-
ally used, and, unlike most inventions,
the method of its manufacture has not
been essentially changed or improved.
The steel from which pens are made
is the finest crucible cast steel rolled
into sheets IL 900 of an inch thick.
From this the blanks are cut by means
of punch and die in presses worked by
hand or foot, the operators being girls.
The side Sits in the pen, the central oval
or semi-circular hole, the corrugations
or embossings, the curved or sem-cir-
cular form to the originally fiat blank,
and the stamp of the pen or the
maker, are all formed and produced by
similar means-the screw hand press
or the lever foot press-by the use of
punches and dies, each pen being ham
died separately.
These corrugations and Sits and cen
trail cuts are not merely fanciful orna-
Inents, but are intended to adapt the
pen to the user. Some want resisting
pen, very stiff and allowing consider
able pressure without opening the nibs
wide enough to make heavy mark !;
others yielding pen that requires but
touch to open the nibs. Then there
are many degrees of these qualities re-
quired, as well as differences in sizes !;
so that single establishment makes no
less than forty-six styles of steel pens.
OF course, cast steel of such extreme
tenuity becomes hardened by these
successive DRESSINGS and punchings, and
must be annealed. This is done by
placing the blanks or unfinished pens,
in a cast-iron box, which is then covered
by larger box, leaving a space all
around of half an inch or more, which
is filed with ashes or fine charcoal.
The whole is then subjected to glow
ing red heat for about two hours, and
allowed to cool. When annealed these
blanks may be rolled up by the fingers
just like SO many bits of tea lead, which
they much resemble i'm softness.
In heating for hardening the same
method is used-packing in double
boxes six or eight inches square-and
when the pens are red hot, they are
poured into tank of animal OIL When
taken out from this bath they must be
handled carefully, as they are not only
stiff and brittle, but crumbly; they can
be squeezed to minute fragments be-
tween thumb and finger. They are then
placed within cone-shaped sheet-iron
receptacle open at the large end and
mounted on spindle, and are rotated
over glowing fire until thew turn to a
full or ''low" blue. They are then
chilled in oil, and when cool are ratified
in saw-dust until they are quite clean
and bright. The next process is the
grinding of the nibs on minute wheels
of fine emery and of corundum, and
lastly comes the essential process that
completes the pen and makes it pen
the Sitting of the nibs. This is done
by pair of shears acting the same as
the presses and punches. This splits
the steel from point to central hole
without removing particle of material.
The pens are then lacquered, straw or
brown, blued or blacked, or left bright,
as the style demands, and packed for
the market.