Part 3

N^o. 9. TEMPERING.

N^o. 10. SCOURING.

N^o. 11. GRINDING.

N^o. 12. SLITTING.

N^o. 13. No. 1. COLLEGE PEN No. 5. SCHOOL PEN. (FINISHED PENS.) COLORING AND VARNISHING.

The pictures herewith printed are by the courtesy of the Spencerian Pen Company

Raw Material.--The sheet steel is cut into strips of a convenient length and width, and then rolled cold to the exact gauge necessary, according to the pen to be manufactured.

Cutting the Blank.--This is a mechanical operation, and is effected with the aid of a screw press, in which a pair of tools corresponding with the shape of the pen has been fixed. On pulling a lever the screw descends, driving the punch into the bed, which cuts a blank with a scissors-like action, from the strip of steel.

Marking the Name.--This is done by means of a punch fixed in the hammer of a stamp, worked by the foot. The blanks are rapidly introduced between guides fixed on the bed of the stamp, and as soon as the hammer has fallen the blank is thrown out and a new one introduced.

Piercing.--The tools for this operation are of a delicate character. The blanks are fed by hand, as above explained, and the hole punched by a screw press. This is a most important process; the pierce hole and slide slits determine the elasticity and regulate the flow of the ink on the pen.

Annealing or Softening.--The blanks are still moderately hard and before raising, it is necessary to soften them by heating to a dull red, and allowing them to gradually cool.

Raising.--The operator places one of the soft blanks on a die to which guides are affixed to keep it in position; then by moving the handle of the press, the screw descends, forcing a die which rounds the blank into the form of a pen.

Hardening.--The pen is now too soft, and is hardened by heating and the immersing in oil while hot, after which it is thoroughly cleansed from all grease.

Tempering.--The pens are now hard but very brittle, and in order to correct this defect they are placed in an iron cylinder, and kept revolving over a gas or charcoal fire until they acquire a proper temper.

Scouring.--After soaking in diluted sulphuric acid, the pens are placed in iron cylinders containing fine stone and water, or fine sand, and revolved for several hours. When taken from these cylinders they are bright and smooth.

Grinding.--This is a process performed by hand on a “bob,” or wooden wheel covered with leather and dressed with emory, revolving at high speed. A light touch on the emory wheel grinds off the surface between the pierce hole and the point, to obtain proper action and to assist the flow of ink.

Slitting.--This is a hand process performed with a press, the cutters being as sharp as razors. The pen is placed in position by means of guides, and must be cut with utmost precision from the pierce hole to the point, the point must be divided exactly in the middle, the least variation making the pen defective.

Coloring and Varnishing.--The pens having been polished to a bright silver color are placed in an iron cylinder and kept revolving over a gas or charcoal fire until the tint required is produced. They are then immersed in a bath of shellac varnish, and afterwards dried in an oven.

Examination.--Every steel pen passing through the factory is most carefully examined before being boxed, and should the least fault be found, it is at once rejected.]

Why Does a Pencil Write?

You can use a pencil to write with or to make marks, because the pencil wears off if you are scratching it on a surface that is rough enough to make it do so. Writing, you know, is only a way of making marks in such a manner as to make them mean something. You cannot write with a pencil on a pane of glass, because the glass is so smooth that when you move the pencil over its surface, the pencil will not wear off. To prove to yourself that the tip of the pencil constantly wears off when you write, you have only to recall that when you write with it a pencil keeps getting shorter and shorter. A slate-pencil will wear down short by merely writing with it, but a lead-pencil must be sharpened--that is, you must keep cutting away the wood in order to get at the lead inside.

Why Can’t I Write on Paper With a Slate-pencil?

You cannot do so, because it takes something with a rougher surface than paper to wear off the point of a slate-pencil. A slate is used to write on with slate-pencils, because slate wears off the end of the pencil easily, and also because you can rub out the writing on a slate with water. Lead-pencils are used for writing on paper, but you must have a rough surface on the paper to write on even with a lead-pencil. Some kinds of papers have such a smooth surface that you cannot write on them with a lead-pencil.

How Does a Pen Write?

Writing with a pen, however, is quite different from writing with any kind of pencil, because in writing with ink we do not wear off the end of the pen, but have the ink flow from the pen. For this purpose we must have a surface that will absorb the ink from the pen, and draw the ink down off the pen and make it flow. A slate has no power of absorption and therefore cannot draw the ink. A piece of blotting paper is the best kind of paper for absorbing ink, but it is too much so for writing purposes. For writing with ink we need a comparatively hard surfaced paper that has absorbent qualities, but not too absorbent.

How Does a Blotter Take Up the Ink of a Blot?

It is because the blotter has a very excellent ability to absorb some liquids. The thinner the liquid the more easily the blotter will absorb it. Ink is thin--being mostly water--the blotter is of a loose texture and has a rough surface. This gives the blotter the ability to pick up the ink, just as a sponge would do. A sponge has what is called the power of capillary attraction and so has the blotter.

Where Does Chalk Come From?