Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-11-18

Few of the minor industries of the
United States possess more interesting
features than that Of supplying the ma
ton with it's pens and pencils. 1t is
estimated that it takes nearly 10000 gross
Of pencils and as many more pens to sup
ply the demands of American writer's.
Even the constantly growing popularity
OF the typewriter has not seriously check
ed the demand for pens. modern pen
factory is in reality a number of facto-
ries in one. There must be a shop
for making the delicate and accurate
machinery, as there are too few pen fac
tories to justify the manufacture of the
machines as am independent business
The pen shop itself is filled with ma
chinery and girls, most of the operations
being performed by the latter.
Only the best material is used in the
making of the modern steel pen. It is
cut into shape as wide as the length
of two pens. After being carefully an
nealed, 1t is put through a cold steel
roller where it is rolled down to a thick
ness which must not vary the thousandth
part of an inch, for even that much
variation would make a difference in the
fiexbility of the pens. The average man.
ufacturer seeks to have his customers
continue the use of given kind OF
pen throughout many years, and there
fore aims to have every pen turned out
exactly alike in flexibility and writing
qualities to the ones previously sold.
After each strip has been properly
rolled it is put through a punching ma
chine operated by a girl. Here the
blanks are cut out from which the pens
are to be made. These blanks are next
stamped with the desired inscription by
a heavy-hitting stamper, also operated
by a girl. Formerly there was danger
of fingers being mashed by these stamp
ers, but the machine-makers have now
equipped them with a 'fnger-pusher,
which pushes the girls hand away as
the stamping hammer descends.
The next process is that of cutting
the little eyes which hold the ink. Then
each pen is examined, softened by an
other annealing process, pressed into
shape by specially constructed machines,
hardened, and then tempered. They are
next placed into hollow cylinder with
sand and rapidly revolved, thus being
secured to the necessary brightness. The
next process is to grind the points, after
which the pens are pressed through a
shearing machine which cuts the slit
from the central slot to the point. Great
accuracy is required in this operation
as it is absolutely necessary that tn
slit should be in the exact middle of the
point. The points are then carefully
rounded and the pens are passed to ex-
pert girls who place them on white
stone to see that they are OF the exact
proportions as the models.
Before the pens are finally turned into
the stock room, samples are taken at
random and placed in specially construct
ed machines, which automatically test
their elasticity and non-scratching quail
tiles Lest there should at any time be
a change In the qualities Of the pens,
complete stock of standards is maintain
ed, and each pen turned out must pos
sess identically the same qualities as
these standards. 1t requires some 20 OPP
erations to manufacture q steel pen from
a strip of metal The prI-u'pal factories
of the world are located in TNgland. al
though the industry is growing rapidly in
the United States and Germany.
In the manufacture of gold pens, bars
of the finest gold are used with iridium
the hardest of metals. Iridium comes In
heavy glass ounce bottles ana Is worth
81. 500 a pound, being produced mainly In
the Ural mountain region. The gold bars
are first rolled into strips and put into
the punching machines. The blanks from
which the pens are made are given a
little recess at the end of the point. The
operator takes a tiny speck Of iridium
from his bottle, places 1t on fine brush
which has been dipped IN liquid borax,
and puts 1t on the point of the pen. He
must use a jewelers. magnifying glass
to enable him to place the iridium exact
" right. He next holds the pen to a
blow-pine fire and melts the gold of the
point sufficiently to weld the iridium into
It. Just as a jeweler might set dia-
mond in a gold mounting. This operation
is a very delicate one, since the slight
excess of exposure to the heat would
ruin the whole pen. The pen is next
sent to a copper lathe and polished, af-
ter which it is put through the rolls
which give it shape After this it goes
to an expert with an anvil, who ham
mers the nib in order to produce in it
the desired elasticity. 1t is said that
the average loss in pen-making by grind
ing and other processes, is 10 per cent
of the gold, about half of which is re-
covered in sweepings. The dust of a big
pen factory is worth thousands Of dol
lars year.