The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1905-11-28
ORIGIN OF GOLD PENS
TtE FIRST ONES WERE MADE IN eng
tAND AND WE'RE FAILURES.

feet Pen HcsuItcd.
for having made the fountain pen the
useful article IT has come TO be-. for
without the gold pen point which can
not cor"odc, the fountain pen would be-
useless.
The manufacture Of gold pens was
commenced IN the United States IN 1888
10y matchmaker Of Detroit. Aticmpt.
had been made in England To make
gold pc!N prior TO that time. but they
met with little success Alloycd gold
is too SOFT TO make durable point, and
this circumstance made il necessary
10 protect the pen points with diu
mouds or rubies unti John Isaac lIaw
Sins, citizen of the United states. but
residing In England while the expert
ments Ia the manufacturing of gold
pens were Ia progress there, accidental
ly discovered that the native alloy of
iridium and osmum ore, one Of the
hardest aud most refractory OF all me
tallIc alloys, could bc used for protect.
ing The points 10 much better ndyan.
tage AM more chcnply
clergyman Of Detroit, who induced the
watchn.nkor above mentioned To manu-.
facture gold pens. The first pens mndc
by him were poor substitutes for the
quill then In use. In 1910 his plant
was taken To New York, where the
business was enlarged
Quite al improvement was added To
the plant by the machines for the max
Ing ana tcmpcrng of the pens. invent.
cd 10y JOlm Rcndcll one of the cm.
plOyccs of the establishment This cs.
tablshmcn' soon produced gold pen
50 perfect that II combined the elias.
ticIty of tho quill with the pcrmancncy
of,-lls- mCtaL About 1850 II was dis.
covered that 6-yt'-fr1hcdlMg the iridium
points Ia tho gold instead of surt ring
thCm .u llig corrosive influence of tlir
iuk ou lhc Two metals. the solder and
the gold. was avoided and Gmrr
hold iu thD peu was given tO tuy points.
The gold pen hH- been brought to its
present dngrr, of perfection 10y the
Amcrlcm manufactures. and the in.
dustry from Its inception has been
characterized by the use of American
methods. For the production of the
gold pen higL degree of skill Is ncccs.
sHry, ana only experts are employed
in the different plants.
The gold used In tho making of the
pens is obtained from the United
States assay Office. II Is then melted
aud alloycd about sixteen carats fine
and rolled into long. narrow ribbon.
from which pen blanks or Hat plates
in the shape Of a pen but considerably
thicker than the finished pen, are cut
by means of lever press or die and
punch, The blunt nib Of the blank Is
notched or recessed at the end to re-.
Ceivc the iridium that forms the cX.
cccding.y hard point which all good
pens possess.
The iridium Ia coated with cream
Of hOruX ground In water aud laid I'm
the notch formed in the end OF the
blank. II is then secured 10y process
Of sweating, which is nothing more or
less than melting the gold of which the
pen Is formed 50 that IL untcs sOlilly
with the iridiuu. The blank is then
passed between rollers of peculiar
form TO give II gradually diminishing
thickness from the point backward.
The rolls have small cavity In which
the extreme end of the iridium pointed
nib is placed to prevent injury 70 the
iridium. After rolling the nib Of every
pen is stfleued and rendered spongy
10y hammCring
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 10y press similar TO that
which is used FOR cutting out the
blanks or by automatic machinery.
When the blank has been trimmed the
name of the manufacturer ana the
number Of the pen are stamped on II
by means OF Il screw press
The pen is given its convex surface
also 10y means of e screw press, the
blank being pressed between II cOucaye
die beneath and convex one above.
Quite little force Is necessary 10
bring the pen 10 the required convex.
ity and when this operation is com
plctcd two jaws approach the blank
aud press II up on opposite edges thus
giving the pen its final shape
The next step is TO cut the iridium
into two points by holding il ON the
edge Of a thin copper disk which is
charged with fine emery ANA OH and
rcvolyes at a high speed The nib Is
then slit by a machine ana the slit
cleared 10y means of fine circular
saw. After Sitting, the uibs are
brought together by hammcriug, ana
the pen Is FURNISHED on the inside by
concave form and on the outside 10y
convex form This is necessary to give
the pen IA uniform surface and greater
elasticity.
These nibs are then set by the fingers
nlone, after which operation the pen is
ground by a lathe with thin steel
disk and a copper cylinder, both charg
ed with fine emery aud oil. The slit
Is then ground 10y fine disk, and the