Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-01-03
MILLIONS OF PENS.
The Process by Which the Little Steoa
Writing Implements are Made.


The Process by Which the Little steea
Writing Implements are Made.
About million gross of steel pens
are worn out every year in the United
States. What becomes of tkeme
Thirty years ago most of the steel pens
used in this, country were imported.
Now comparatively few are imported,
and there are several factories in the
country in which they are made in large
quantities. One factory is in Connec-
ticut, another is in Pennsylvania, and
a large one is in Camden. At present
the importation of foreign pens il
mainly confined to high-priced articles
1t was at first doubted that steel pens
could be made in this country, but it
was soon learned that the REQUESTS
skilled labor could be obtained for
wages, and the success of the
pioneers led one manufacturer after
another into the business, until now
the field is pretty well supplied. Most
of the work on these little instruments
is done with the aid of very nice ma
chinery worked by women and girls
The steel used is imported because it
is believed that the quality is more x1i-
form than American steel. This uni
formity of quality is necessary be-
cause of the very delicate temperng
required in the manufacture of pens.
That mysterious quality of steel whsoh
gives different grades Of elasticity and
brittleness to different colors of steel is
quality that requires expert manipu-
lation on the part of the workman who
does the tempering. He must know
the nature of the material with which
he works, and with that knowledge
must exercise celebrity and skin that
seizes upon the proper instant to fasten
the steel at heat which insures the
requisite quality.
First the steel isrolledinto big sheets.
This is cut into strips about three.
inches wide. These strips are annealed;
that is, they are heated to red heat
and permitted to cool very gradually,
SO that the brit.leness is all removed
and the steel is soft enough to be easily
worked. Then the strips are agan
rolled to the required thickness, or,
rather, thinness, for the average steea
pen is not thicker than a sheet of thin
letter paper. Next the blank pen is
cut out of the flat strip. On this the
name of the maker or Of the brand is
stamped. The last is a very important
| factor. There are numbers that have
come to be valuable property to
manufacturers. Many clerks say they
can not work to advantage unless they
have particular styles of pens. The
result is that by passing the word from
created for afavorite style. Each steel
pen has therefore to be stamped with
sufficient reading matter to identify it
thoroughly. The stamping is done
with very nicely cut sharp dies that cut
deep and clean so that the reading mat
ter will not be obliterated by the finish
ing process. Next the pen is moulded
in form which combines gracefulness
with strength. The rounding enables
the pen to hold the requisite ink, and
to distribute it more gradually than.
could be done with fiat blade.
The little hole which is cut at the
end of the slit serves to regulate the
| elasticity, and also facilitates the rum
ming of the ink. Then comes the pro-
| cess of hardening and tempering. ME
steel is heated to cherry red, and then
plunged suddenly into some cool sub
stance. This at once changes the
| quality of the metal from that of a soft
lead-like substance to brittle, springy
one. Then the temper of the steel
must be drawn, for without this pro-
cess it would be too brittle. The draw
ing consists of heating the pen until it
reaches certain color. The quality
of the temper varies according to
| the color to which the steel is per-
mitted to run. 1t is the quick eye for
color and the quick hand to fasten it
that constitutes the skill of the tem-
perer of steel. When the steel is heated
for tempering it is bright The first
| color that appears is a straw color.
This changes rapidly to blue. The
elasticity of the metal varies with the
color, and is fastened at any point by
instant plunging in cold water.
| The processes of sitting, polishing,
pointing and finishing the pens are
operations requiring dexterity. but by
| long practice the workmen and work
women become very expert. There
have been few changes of late years,
and the process of manufacture is
much the same that it was twenty
years ago, and the prices are rather
uniform, ranging from seventy-flye
cents to four dollars gross, accord
ing to the quality of the finish. The
boxes sold almost universally contain
gross.
Fancies come and go in the styles of
pens as in other fashions. One Ameri-
can maker alone turns out about three
hundred and fifty patterns. Some are
very odd, such as the stub pens, the
draughtman's pen, which makes two
| parallel lines at once, the mammoth