The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-07-21
MAKING OF GOLD.PENS,

Washington Sta To an American is
due the credit for having made the
fountain IN, the useful article 1t has,
come to be, for without the gold pen.
point, which cannot corrode, the foun-
tain pen would be useless.
The manufacture of gold pens wasl
commenced in the United States in 1881
by a matchmaker of Detroit, Mich. At
tempts had been made in England to-
make gold pens prior to that time, buh
they met with little success. Alloyed
gold is too soft to make a durable point.
and this circumstance made 1t neces-
sary to protect the pen points with dia-
monds or rubies uhtil John Isaac Hawk
ms. a citizen of the, United States, but
residing in England while the expert
ments In the manufacturing Of gold
pens were in progress, there, accident
ally discovered hat. the native alloy
Of Iridium and osmium ore. II Of the
hardest and most refractory OF all
metallic alloys. could be used for pro-
tectlng the points to much. better ad-
vantage and more cheaply,. Hawkins
rights were purchased by a. clergyman
Of Detroit, Mich. who induced the
matchmaker above mentioned. to manu-
facture gold pens. The first pens made
by him were very poor substitutes Tor
the quill, then in use. In. 1S4D his plant
was taken to New York, where the
business was enlarged. Quite an i'm
p~rovement was added to the plant by
the machines for. the making and tenn
pering of the, pens, invented by John
Reudell, one Of the employees, OF the eS-
tablishment. This establishment soon
produced d gold pen so perfect thai 1t
combined the elasticity of the quill with
the permanency OF the metal. About
1850 it was discovered. that by imbed-
ding the iridium points in the gold in
stead of soldering then. on, the cor
| rosiye- influence of the ink on the two
metals, the solder and the gold, was
avoided AND a frmer hold In the pen
was given to the points.
The gold pen has been brought to its
present degree Of perfection by the
American. manufacturer. and the IN
dustrY from its inception has been
characterized by the use OF American
methods. For the production Of the
gold pen a high degree Of skill is nee
essary,. and. only experts are employed
in. the differelt plants.
The gold used in the making OF the
pens Is obtained from the United
States assay office. 1t is then melted
and alleged about sixteen carats fine
and rolled Into a long. narrow ribbon
from which pen blanks or fiat plates
In the shape of a pen. but considerably
thicker than the finished pen. are cut
by means Of a lever press or die and
punch, The blunt nib Of the blank Is
notched or recessed at the end to re-
ceive the iridium that forms the ex-
ceedingly hard point which all good
gold gems possess. The iridiurn. is
coated with a cream of borax grounds in
water, and laid In the notch formed
in the end Of the blank. 1t is, then
secured by a process of sweating,
which Is nothing more or less than
melting the gold Of which the pen Is
formed so that 1t uniteS solidly with
the iridium. The blank is then passed
between rollers Of peculiar form to give
a gradually diminishing thickness from
the point backward. The rolls have a
small cavity in which the extreme end
of the iridium-pointed nib is placed.
to prevent injury to the iridium. After
rolling the nib Of every pen is stiffened
and rendered spongy by hammering.
This is the most important process in
the manufacture Of the pen, as the
elasticity Of the pen depends entirely
upon this operation. The pen is then
trimmed by a press similar to that
blanks or by automatic machinery.
When the blank has been trimmed the
n0ire of the manufacturer and the
number of the pen are stamped on i,
by means of a screw press. The pen
Is given its convex surface also by
means Oh Il screw press, lne Dlalk De
ing pressed between a cOncaTe die be-
meath and a convex one above. Quite
a little force is necessary to bring the
pen to the required cOnveXity, and
when this operation is completed two
jaws approach the blank n press II
up on the opposite edges, thus giving
the pen its final shape.
The mex step is to cut the iridium
into two points by holding it on the
edge of a very thin copper disk, which
is charged with fine emery and oil anG
%revolves at a high speed. The nib Is
then slit by a machine, and the silt
cleared by means of asflne circular saw
After Sitting the nibs are brought to-
gether by hammering. and the pen bur
nished on the inside in a concave forn
and on the outside in a convex form
This Is necessary to give the pen q uni
form surface n greater elasticity
These nibs are then set by the finger.
alone. after which operation the pen Ii
ground by a lathe with a thin steel disl
and a copper cylinder, both charged
with fine emery and Oil. The slit is ther
ground by a thin disk and the sides O
the nibs and the points are grount
upon the copper cylinder. After tn
grinding is one the pen is polished
upon buff wheels, which completes tn
process Of manufacture. Before tn,
pen Is placed upon the market, how
ever. 1t is given a thorough inspection
to see that it possesses the proper elias
ITCHY. ineness and weight, the passe,
to an inspector whe tests it an,
weighs it.
The New Word Graft"