PENS, STEEL 533 



press, and who, by means of a bed and a punch corresponding, speedily cuts out the 

 blank. The next stage is, piercing the hole which terminates the slit, and removing 

 any superfluous steel likely to interfere with the elasticity of the pen ; at this stage 

 they are annealed in quantities in a muffle, after which, by means of a small stamp, 

 the maker's name is impressed upon them. Up to this stage the future pen is a flat 

 piece of steel : it is then transferred to another class of workers, who, by means of the 

 pi-ess, make it concave, if a nib ; and form the barrel, if a barrel-pen. Hardening is 

 the next process : to effect this, a number of pens are placed in a small iron box and 

 introduced into a muffle ; after they become of a uniform deep red, they are plunged 

 into oil ; the oil adhering is removed by agitation in circular tin barrels. The process 

 of tempering succeeds ; and, finally, the whole are placed in a revolving cylinder with 

 sand, pounded crucible, or other cutting substances, which finally brightens them to 

 the natural colour of the material. The nib is ground with great rapidity by a girl, 

 who picks it up, places it in a pair of suitable plyers, and finishes it with a single 

 touch on a small emery-wheel. The pen is now in a condition to receive the slit, 

 and this is also done by means of a press. A chisel or wedge with a flat side is fixed 

 to the bed of the press ; the descending screw has a corresponding chisel cutter, which 

 passes down with the minutest accuracy ; the slit is made ; and the pen is com- 

 pleted. The last stage is colouring brown or blue ; this is done by introducing the 

 new pens into a revolving metal cylinder, under which is a charcoal stove, and 

 watching narrowly when the desired tint is arrived at. The brilliancy is imparted 

 by means of lac dissolved in naphtha ; the pens are immersed in this, and dried by 

 heat. Then follow the counting and selecting. Women are mostly employed in the 

 manufacture, with skilled workmen to repair and set the tools. In this manufactory 

 there are employed more than 500 hands, of which four-fifths are women. The 

 manufactory has been established upwards of 50 years, and has been the means of 

 introducing many improvements in the manufacture. 



Since steel necessarily corrodes by the constant action of the acids in the ink, it has 

 been thought that they would be protected by coating them with gold or silver; and 

 this has been effected by the electrotype process. In most cases, however, the thin 

 film of gold is rapidly removed, and the protection therefore afforded is small. The 

 manipulatory details in the manufacture of gold and silver pens are so nearly similar 

 to those above described, that it is thought unnecessary to repeat them. The best 

 gold pens are tipped with a native alloy, which is a compound of osmium and 

 iridium. See OSMIRIDITJM. 



The importance of this manufacture will be best shown by Mr. Samuel Timmins's 

 account of it in ' The Kesources, Products, and Industrial History of Birmingham ' : 



' The number of actual makers of steel pens is 12. The number of men employed, 

 360 ; the number of women and girls, 2,050. The amount of horse-power employed 

 may be estimated at 330, including, say, 50 employed in out-work rolling. The 

 number of pens made weekly, 98,000 gross. The quantity of steel used weekly, 9 to 

 10 tons. The value of pens per gross, l^d. to Is. ; and of barrel-pens, from Id, to 

 12s. per gross; some of the larger pens being very much higher, according to their 

 size and finish. 



'The increase of men and boys from 300 to 360, of women and girls from 1,550 to 

 2,050, of horse-power from 228 to 330, of steel used from 6J- to 10 tons, of pens made 

 from 65,000 to 98,000 weekly, will sufficiently indicate the rapid development of the 

 trade during the past sixteen years. These returns of the number of persons em- 

 ployed, amounting to 2,400 persons, do not include the large number employed in 

 making the paper boxes and other accessories of the trade ; and doubtless more than 

 2,000 persons are more or less directly connected with the steel-pen trade in Birming- 

 ham alone. 



' One point relating to the cost of pens is very remarkable the wonderfully low 

 rate at which they are now produced. Thirty years ago, pens were sold, wholesale, 

 at 5s. a gross, and now they are sold as low as \\d. and \'\d. per gross! "When it is 

 remembered that each gross requires 144 pieces of steel to go through at least twelve 

 processes, the fact that 144 pens can be sold for \\d. is a singular example of the 

 results attainable by the division of labour and mechanical skill. 



' Although most of the steel used for pens is produced in Sheffield, all the subse- 

 quent processes are carried on in Birmingham, which is now the head-quarters of the 

 steel-pen trade. Two new factories had been established in France in 1849, in conse- 

 quence of the high duties on English pens ; and these factories (now six or seven) 

 produce about 50,000 gross of pens per week, against 16,000 or 18,000 gross made in 

 1849. In Germany there are two factories, producing, however, very few pens. In 

 America the high war-tariff has caused the establishment of four factories ; and these, 

 aided by skilled workmen from England, are producing about 10,000 gross of pena 

 per week. 



