MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
styles and trade-marks—which necessitated a com¬ 
petition in the market at the prices at. which En¬ 
glish pens were offered; presenting no new feature 
to the consumers, they could not attract the notice 
of the people or engage the interests of the mer¬ 
chants. To sail clear of this rock the efforts of 
this Company were directed. Adopt- 
ing the principle that variety is not a 
necessity with the consumer—but, on 
the contrary, uniformity in excellence IfOTniM ' jl|!l 
and designation would more certainly I T| 
meet the great public desire—it inati- 
tnted thorough experiments with all IwjH' 
known Htyles of steel pens, and made jj 
several entirely new shapes, with the fc’wi'i i ; 
view to ascertain what shape would 
prodaoe the most natural and general- 1 .affii jji D 
ly agreeable action. With this view, « 
and after folly six months devoted to |f| 
experiments, they perfected a pen of If, M 'iff 1 
anrivalled Bhape and excellence — to =!■ J ' lif 
protect which from infringement they ' 
adopted as a trade-mark a medallion 
head of Washington; this is secared 
by letters patent, and is stamped on 
every pen. Thns fully comprehending the under¬ 
lying principles of this important branch of man¬ 
ufactures, and boldly striking out a new path in 
accordance with them, this Company has firmly 
planted this new interest on American soil. 
In onr perambulations a short time since we 
visited this establishment. Finding the manufac¬ 
ture much more extensive and intricate than we 
had supposed, while at the same time it was ex¬ 
ceedingly interesting, we determined to present 
our readers with a pictorial description. 
There are about twenty separate operations, sev¬ 
eral of which are distinct trades, in the mannfac 
tore of a steel pen; each of these departments 
requires a master workman at its head. We will 
endeavor to follow the process as pnrsned at the 
establishment of the Washington Medallion Pen 
Company. The pens progress through the factory 
in “ lots” of about one hundred gross. Each “ lot” 
is accompanied by a ticket, on which is recorded 
all the operations and other remarks during their 
progress. Thus when a lot is finished, although it 
has been from twenty to thirty days in the course 
of manufacture, the date each process was per¬ 
formed, the names of the operatives in each trade, 
together with the weight of the lot, are recorded. 
As we proceed, the great value of this system will 
be made apparent. 
The steel is received at the factory in J 
sheets; alter being cut in strips of the i ,1 iU 
desired dimensions, it is immersed in 
“pickle,” a weak solution of acid, to re¬ 
move scales and dirt It is now subject 
to the rolling process, which is accom- 
pliahed, by being passed between chill- tWt,'. 
ed rollers until it acquires the requisite 
thinness. Thus an ugly black plate of PwJLe T 
steel is transformed into delicate me- r 5* 
tallic ribbons, beautifully bright and 
supple, so as to move about* on the 
hands like nothing we can think of but 
twining snakes. 
These ribbons of steel are taken toSSfSri 
one of the long rooms in the upper ^"***£31 
story. These rooms are filled with f 
drops and presses; before each machine -s= 
a female operative is seated. As In all fiE— 
steel pen factories, there is an abund- 
ance of light; and warmth, ventilation 
and cleanliness are fully attended to. 
The work is admirably fitted for females, as it is 
light and wholesome, and requires that delicate 
manipulation and attention for which the sex is 
remarkable. 
The machines for cutting oat, piercing, raising 
and slitting, are small presses in which the power 
is derived front the screw and lever; the manner 
of operating them will be understood by observing 
the illustrations. In cutting out, the punch is af¬ 
fixed to the end of the screw: the die, with an 
opening in which the punch fits with the greatest 
nicety, is on the bed immediately beneath the 
punch. A ribbon of steel is adjusted on the die, 
the punch brought down by a smart pull at the 
lever, and the blank, or bit of steel suitable for a 
pen, falls into a receptacle underneath. This ma¬ 
nipulation requires oare to avoid waste, as also at¬ 
tention in observing that the die and punch re¬ 
main in perfect order. Notwithstanding these 
precautions, a akillfal operator has been known to 
cat out 300 gross—that is 43,200 blanks—in a sin¬ 
gle day. 
After being weighed in lots of about one hun¬ 
dred gross, the blanks are taken to the piercing 
presses. This operation is performed in precisely 
engraving. The blanks, mingled with carbon,are 
placed in Iron boxes, which are pnt into the mnfile 
and subjected to a uniform red heat for twenty-four 
hours, when they are taken out and allowed to cool 
—thus the annealing is perfectly accomplished. 
The next operation is stamping; this is done 
HOW STEEL PENS ARE MADE. 
VISIT TO THE MANUFACTORY OF THE WASHINGTON 
MEDALLION PEN COMPANY. 
The Pen and the Press have together recorded 
the events and experiences of many centuries, and 
to their joint agency wo are mainly indebted for 
the’blesBings of civilization. However.it is not 
onr present intention to discuss the effects pro¬ 
duced by these great moral engines, but briefly to 
trace the history of one of them—the Pen—and, 
by comparison, show the superiority of the mate¬ 
rials used, as well as the rapidity and perfection 
of their construction, at the present time, in con¬ 
trast with previous ages. 
As long as people wrote upon tables covered 
with wax, they were obliged to nse a style or bod* 
kin made of bone, metal or Borne other hard sab" 
Btanoe; bnt when they began to write with colored 
liquids, they employed a reed; after which quills 
and feathers came in fashion, these finally giving 
way to metals—steel, not only from its adaptabili¬ 
ty, bnt from its cheapness, being the great special¬ 
ity for this purpose. 
The earliest pens, such as were used for writing 
on papyrus with a fluid ink, appear to have been 
made of reeds. In our translations of the Old and 
New Testaments, the word pen refers either to an 
iron style, used with waxed tablets, or to a reed— 
quills not having been introduced earlier than the 
fifth oentnry. It iB uncertain what particular kind 
of reed was used for making pens, bnt It is de- 
scribed as a small, hard, round cane, about the size 
of a large swan’s quill. The snpply of these reeds 
was obtained from Egypt, Cairo, in Asia Mi nor, and 
Armenia. Chardin and Toumefort describe a 
kind of reeds nsed for pens in Persia. These 
reeds are collected near the shores of the Persian 
Gulf, whence they are sent to various parts of the 
East. After being cat, they are deposited for Borne 
months under a dunghill, when they assume a 
mixed black and yellow color, acquire a fine polish 
and a considerable degree of hardness, and the 
internal pith dries np into a membrane which is 
easily detached. Reed pens are still in nse, and 
they salt the Arabic character better than quill or 
metal pens. The Arab, in writing, places the pa¬ 
per upon his knee, or upon the palm of his left 
band, or upon a dozen or more pieces of paper at¬ 
tached together at the four corners, and resem¬ 
bling a thin book, which he rests on his knee.— 
The ink used is very thick and gummy. 
Although the qnills used for pens are chiefly 
from the goose, those from the swan and crow are 
much esteemed; and, besides these, the ostrich, 
turkey and other birds occasionally contribute to 
the supply. Moat of the goose qnills manufactured 
are from the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and 
Poland. Before the general introduction of metal¬ 
lic pens, as many as twenty-seven million quills 
had boon receired in Great Britain, from St. Pe¬ 
tersburg!), in a single year. Some idea of the 
number of geese reqnirod to keep up Buck a sup¬ 
ply may bo judged of from the fact *hat each wing 
produces about five good quills, and that by care¬ 
ful management a goose may allord twenty qnills 
during a year. A s they come from the bird, qaills 
are covered with a membrane, and are tongh and 
soft, so that they will not make a clean slit; they 
are also opaque, and the vascular membrane ad¬ 
heres strongly to the interior surface of the barrel. 
SCOURING. 
by drop-presses. The device or stamp is affixed to 
the bottom of the hammer; the blank is placed on 
a bed of soft Bteel. The hammer is worked by the 
foot, thus leaving the hands free to place and re¬ 
move the blanks. There are two stampings—the 
first the portrait of Washington ; the second, the 
trade-mark, “Washington Medallion Pen; patent¬ 
ed 1853.” 
The raising or shaping process comes next in or¬ 
der. This is done on presses similar to those nsed 
in cutting out. The die has the shape of the pen 
sunk into it, and the punch is a fac simiie in re¬ 
lievo. Thifl operation shapes the pen as seen when 
in nse. When it is completed they are again taken 
to the muffle for hardening. This is effected by 
plunging them in bulk, after having been subjected 
to a proper degree of heat, into an oil bath. After 
draining they are immersed in a chemical solu¬ 
tion to remove the oil, scales and dirt, and then 
pat in revolviag cans, filled with saw dust, for the 
purpose of cleaning the steel perfectly—which 
doue, they are ready for tempering. 
The tempering is a process requiring great skill 
•and expeiience, as it is a nice point to determine 
by the color, the exact moment the desired elas¬ 
ticity is attained. The apparatus nsed for this 
purpose is an iron cylinder or barrel, which is re- 
Tnx MUFFLE. 
lane, London, disposed of over 6,000,000 quill pens 
per annum. It was also quite common at that time 
to cut the barrels of qaills into several pens, each 
being affixed to handles when used, as is now done 
with metallic pens. 
From the softening of the quill pen by the ink, 
and the wear of the points by friction, frequent 
mending was required, or very bad writing was 
the result. The first attempts to render pens more 
durable consisted in arming the nibs with metallic 
points. Pens were also constructed of horn, tor¬ 
toise and other Bhells, and also of glass—the nibs 
in some cases being formed of precious atones.— 
Probably this last operation was first practiced 
some forty years since. The horn and shell pens, 
after being cat in shape, were softened in warm 
water, when small pieces of diamond, ruby, etc., 
were imbedded into the points by pressure. Thin 
pieces of gold or other metal have also 
been attached to the tortoise shell. The 
modern gold pen baa its points tipped 
with rbodiam. iridium or osmium — al¬ 
though in some cases rubies and other 
jewels are employed. Pens have also 
beeD made of palladium, gold and silver 
alloy, silver, and other precious metals; ;f«!^ , 
being pointed as above, and as the ink j|' 
cannot act upon them, they are almost J )]_ 
indestructible by ordinary usage. They, pr 
however, are very costly, easily liable to (I y 
injury from accident, and in many cases J M ji, 
are entirely deficient of the elasticity and V 
freedom required to give ease in writ- 
ing. All these difficulties are readily 
overcome by the use of a weli-constrnct- | ^ 
ed Bteel pen. From the nature of the K I 1 — 
metal, when properly tempered, the ten- jj vf 
sibility is regulated by tho will of the ope- - rag t 
rater; it discharges the liquid promptly, =* 
and in every respect is undoubtedly the 
most desirable material adapted to the /ii 
purpose. In an economical point of view, Av 
the effect is also most striking. A jewel- 
pointed gold pen costs more than 500 
steel pens. Allowing each of the latter ^ 
to continue in use for ODe week — we 
often use one a whole month—it will take 
about ten years to consume them. It 
is, undoubtedly, utterly impossible to find the in¬ 
dividual that ever nsed a single pen of any kind, 
one-third of that time. 
The first notice that we find of steel pens for 
writing is in 1803, when a Mr. Wise, of London, 
constructed barrel-pens of that metal, mounted in 
a bone case for carrying in the pocket. These 
pens were expensive, and not very successful; they 
however served a good purpose, by opening the 
way fur abetter article. About the year 1S22, Mr. 
Gillott, of Birmingham. England, who had long 
experimented the manufacture of steel pens, be¬ 
came so successful in their production, that he at 
once determined on making them an article of 
commerce. The time was most propitious; a de¬ 
mand was readily created, and from that moment 
the manufacture became an important accessory 
to the useful arts. Birmingham iB the great work¬ 
shop for steel pens; many firms are now engaged 
in the business, and from the adaptation of ma¬ 
chinery the products have not only been gteatly 
perfected, bat their cost has been reduced in the 
ratio of u gross aow to a single pen formerly. It 
is stated that during the year 1855 over 500,000,- 
000 steel pens were made in Birmingham, and that 
300 tuns of metal was required for their construc¬ 
tion. 
fact of their almost universal adoption being al¬ 
ready apparent, the cupidity of certain parties 
was excited, and they resolved to present steel 
pens of hore manufacture for the public favor.— 
The first effort was by a company in Massachusetts, 
who perfected some fair specimens for that early 
day; but, owing to inexperience and the absence 
of proper tools, tool makers, and a knowledge of 
slitting, tempering and finishing, their products 
lacked uniformity of quality; thns the enterprise 
failed. Soon after, two or three of the principal 
dealers in stationery in New York experimented in 
steel pen manufacture. We remember one of them 
who commenced operations in Brooklyn, and who, 
after expending some $15,000, followed In the 
wake of the Eastern company. Another erected 
his works in New Jersey, and for some months 
battled manfully for success; finally he “ felt” he 
STAMPING. 
mast follow his illustrious predecessors. The late 
C. C. Wright, long known as a prominent engraver 
and die-sinker, made a most streunous effort to 
permanently establish this manufacture. Thrtugh 
his influence, aided by J. C. Barnett, since well 
known as the treasurer of Burton’s Theater, a 
company was formed, and a capital amounting to 
$200,000 expended. A large factory was erected 
on Fifth street, in New York, the most approved 
machinery and fixtures procured, operations com¬ 
menced, and ten or twelve varieties of pens pro¬ 
duced, many of them of excellent quality, yet, 
notwithstanding the impetus with which the affair 
was started, it met with no better success than 
those before mentioned. We learn of no attempts 
to resuscitate the business until 1S52, when some 
Birmingham men, who claimed to bo experts, in¬ 
duced certain capitalists in New Jersey to “try 
their money” in the operation. Ope after the 
other, two or three companies expended large 
amounts, each with no better pecuniary resalts 
than had been before arrived at. 
Probably these latter failures were caused more 
by the mode of business management than imper¬ 
fections in the manufacture. Instead of giving 
their products originality, the parties aimed only 
to duplicate the shapes and trade marks of the 
English pens. As in railroad iron and 
many other products, the foreign capi. 
talista were bound to undersell and drive 
the others out of the trade. Having a 
great advantage iu the price of labor, 
^ thia end was readily accomplished; and 
g—ip when the market was again clear of itn- 
A | pediments, they would bring forward an 
inferior article at a much increased price 
and thns make good their losses. This 
mode of operating has Anally been “play- 
ijrafijM ed out.” During the last two years not 
'Ifflk 0U *Y tlie acmd excellence been pro- 
N r. \ duoed in the manufacture of Atretican 
V JpT P ena , b Qt their decided superiority 
>a rapidly checking importations, thus 
distributing amoug onr own people over 
>ou6 million dollars per annum that form- 
erly went abroad. 
a This national triumph has been accom 
plished by a number of able and spirited 
™lf|f individuals, who associated themselves 
H)lkj!|' together, according to the Geuerat Mauu- 
|(Jl|lf factoring Law of New York, under the 
title of “The Washington MedalliouPen 
Company.” They commenced operations 
by erecting a substantial factory on Thirty 
seventh st. between Seventh and Eighth 
avenues, New York. After securing “com¬ 
petent artisans,” they, at an early day 
discovered the rock ou which all their prede¬ 
cessors were wrecked — adherence to English 
CUTTING OUT THE “BLANKS.” 
These defects are got rid of and the quills prepar¬ 
ed for market by the operations ol tho quill-dress¬ 
ing, or quiU-dutching. They are first assorted, 
according to the length and thickness of the barrel, 
into primes, seconds and pinions. They are then 
clarified by tho romoval of the membraneous skin, 
for which purpose they are plunged for a short 
time into hot sand, tho heat causing the outer skin 
to crack and peel off —its removal being facilitated 
by scraping with a sharp instrument. At the same 
time tho internal membrane becomes shrivelled 
up, and falls down toward the point of the quill.— 
The effect of the heat Is also to consume or dry 
up the oily matter of the quill, and thus to render 
tho barrel transparent. This process, which is 
often repeated muny times, iB called dutching, 
probably from the circumstance of its first having 
been adopted in Holland. Tho heat requires reg¬ 
ulation, or tho barrel would bo injured; but the 
effect of the process is to give to the barrels the 
color of fine, thin horn, or an impure white. In 
some cases a uniform yellow hue is produced by 
dipping them in diluted nitric acid; this process 
also hardens them. Qaills may also be hardened 
by Bteeping for a few minutes in alum-water, at a 
boiling temporature. The qnills having been 
dressed and finished, a portion of the barb is 
stripped off, so as to occupy less room in packing, 
when they are counted in bundles, packed, and are 
ready for the merchant. Besides the above, there 
are several other methods of manufacturing or 
dressiug qnills. 
While quill pens were in vogue, the occupation 
of a pen-cutter, or maker, was one of considerable 
importance; not one in live of those who used 
pens could make one; and scarcely a quarter of a 
century haB elapsed since a certain house, in Shoe- 
GKINDING, 
of a band of steei, the operative has to place into 
the tools the small “ blank,” of the dimensions of 
a pen. This process perforates the pen at the tup 
of the slit. 
Until this last mentioned process the steel has 
retaiaed some portion of its elasticity, which u 
now becomes necessary to remove, as in several of 
the following operations it must be entirely devoid 
of temper, and as pliable as lead. To accomplish 
this the blanks are taken to the muffle room. The 
muffles are large circular ovens, as depicted by the 
pen requires two grinding, one longitudinal and 
the other crosswise, that the nits may not lose 
'.heir due elasticity. 
Slitting is the next operation: it is done with 
presses, the same as those used for raising, etc.— 
The slit is made by means of a chisel or wedge, 
with a flu side fixed to the bed of the press, the 
descendiu g screw of whicn Las also a chisel or cut¬ 
ter, which very accurately corresponds with the 
former. 
[Concluded on last page-] 
tn V -i 
A _II_II,- 
PI 
H 
M 
l \ ' 
\ 1 
Uu 
