I have just returned from my annual business trip to Birmingham and after 14 years I finally made it to the Pen Museum in the Jewelery Quarter of the city.
If you find yourself in the area with a few hours to spare I can highly recommend a visit to this fascinating emporium of treasures. Entrance is free and we were very lucky to be given a guided tour by one of the volunteers.
I even got to make my own dip-pen nib!!!

Google 'Birmingham Pen Museum' for further info and directions.

Thanks this is good info. Looks like I have somewhere else to visit now. Cheers.

Is there a website you can provide?

Try this:

http://www.penroom.co.uk

It also talks about local manufacturer's of yore, including the firm wonderfully named after its founders, John Hinks and George Wells ie 'Hinks and Wells & Co.'


Greg

THe Birmingham Jewellery Quarter is also home to the Yard-o-led company. What finer location could you wish for!

A 1000 sq ft shop filled with inks!

Can you describe the process you followed when you made the dip nib? And how long did it take you? Thanks -CKA

Charles, they had a row of fabulous presses and other hand operated machines. Each machine performed a different part of the nib making process.
Manufacture from beginning to end was no longer than 5 minutes.
The museum had a whole range of fabulous old photographs on the wall depicting a team of women operating these presses; production line style.
Go and see in person, you will not be disappointed.

Less than a mile from where I live and I never knew that.

You are probably that close to Villa Park - nuff sed
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High ;-)

As a result of seeing this thread recently we paid a visit today. It is indeed a very good place to go, and the volunteers were enthusiastic and well informed. Well worth the trip

I have got to go to Birmingham shortly and this looks well worth a visit.

What has this to do with the Pen Museum? I saw this on another post.

John

You might like to edit your post John?

The post it referred to seems to have disappeared

Cheers,
Ruaidhrí

I got the following citation from an ESTERBROOK site--emphasis mine...

Esterbrook Pens was created in 1856 by a Cornish Quaker, Richard Esterbrook. He was a stationer by trade and had seen in Britain the move from hand cut Quill pens to the steel nibs with their consequent advantages. He was also a wise businessman with an eye for opportunity and saw that there was no steel nib manufacturer in the U.S.A., a vast expanding potential market, and he therefore recruited 5 craftsmen from the John Mitchell factory in Newhall Street, Birmingham and set up operations in the town of Camden, New Jersey, U.S.A. (an early example of the Brain Drain ?)

So...my question is...was this piece of pen lore mentioned in the museum tour?

And for the British ADMIN/MOD...This is not a sarcastic cheapshot. I was aware a LONG TIME ago that Esterbrook moved from England to New Jersey to start his ink pen nib business. But I was TOTALLY UNAWARE he siphoned off Birmingham talent to do so. I am not being...what is the British slang phrase...smarmy...