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I recently toured Jefferson's Monticello and I was struck during the tour of the library by the description of some of the challenges that Jefferson faced using quill pens.

This seemed particularly surprising because the library is filled with finely crafted metal tools and technology (clocks, a small metal orrey, drafting tools, etc...).

What prevented the development and adoption of metal dip pens until the early 19th century despite seemingly clear evidence that the technology for their creation existed much earlier?

BONUS: Why, if they did exist, would Jefferson, a renowned technophile, not have taken up their use?

DQdlM
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    Don't you think it's because those metal dip pens need factories, metal, and workers to produce them, but the quill is already there, it naturally grows on geese, you don't need doing anything to make it, just cut the tip? – Yellow Sky Oct 22 '19 at 14:28
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    I don't know but it sounds like if you back that up with some evidence, you might have an answer. – DQdlM Oct 22 '19 at 14:29
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    Why do they still make metal dip pens today when ball points and felt tips exist? Some people just like them. New technology doesn't necessarily invalidate old. – Darrel Hoffman Oct 23 '19 at 16:05
  • Why do pencils and pens still exist today when many people have a computer in their pocket? – Tal Oct 23 '19 at 17:31
  • @Tal well that's a little different. You can't draw on your phone easily, nor can you make free form lists or notes as easily. Paper is just superior to a computer for many tasks. – Brad Oct 23 '19 at 17:56
  • @Tal - why do pockets still exist when Velcro has been around for over 50 years? – Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні Oct 23 '19 at 23:37

1 Answers1

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The metal dip pens existed since the times when Britain was a Roman province. Also, they are known to be used in the Middle ages and Renaissance times. That is, they were used alongside the quill pens. However, those old metal pens were hand-made. It is only after the Industrial Revolution that their mass production became available. John Mitchell pioneered mass production of steel pens in 1822; prior to that the quill pen had been the most common form of writing instrument. The quill is much cheaper than a hand-made metal dip pen. It naturally grows on geese. You don't need to do anything to make it: just cut the tip. Only the mass production made the metal pens cheaper than the quill pens. The quill pen is still the tool of choice for a few calligraphers who noted that quills provide an unmatched sharp stroke as well as greater flexibility than a steel pen.

Lightness Races in Orbit
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Yellow Sky
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    I also wonder if there was some hesitance from people who didn't want to rip their work. – John Dee Oct 22 '19 at 19:17
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    There is a lot of care needed in properly preparing a feather as a pen - it isn't as simple as pluck, cut, and go as it needs to be aged and tempered to get the right stiffness (if you want it for proper use rather than as a curiosity). When properly made a quill writes more smoothly than a metal nib but its cure is important to the consistency and durability. – pluckedkiwi Oct 22 '19 at 20:03
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    @pluckedkiwi - With all due respect to your nickname, I should notice that everyone could properly prepare a feather as a pen at home using just a natural feather and a small knife, although making a metal dip pen needs a fine turner's skill, especially for splitting the tip, not to mention the smith's skill for making its thin body, plus corresponding numerous fine tools, plus a workshop with a furnace. – Yellow Sky Oct 22 '19 at 21:19
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    This is true to many inventions. Many modern tools and gadgets (especially non-electrical ones) were invented much earlier than most people would think, but they were extremely expensive before mass production and mass transportation was able to push the prices down. Now you can go to any hardware store and buy a bucket full of nails, screws or bolts for basically pocket change, but even such simple things were extremely expensive before the industrial revolution, as they had to be made by hand by experienced craftsmen one at a time. – vsz Oct 23 '19 at 06:13
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    @YellowSky I did not mean to imply that it was not something anyone could learn to do, merely that "you don't need to do anything to make it, just cut the tip" is grossly misleading. While you could kind of make a raw feather work, it will not give a good result. Just pluck, cut, and scribble is not a reasonable expectation. Large birds were certainly more available than metal of sufficient high quality, to say nothing of the jeweler's metalworking skills, but quills still took deliberate preparation and a learned technique. – pluckedkiwi Oct 23 '19 at 18:37
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    As pluckedkiwi said, "you don't need to do anything to make it, just cut the tip" is (grossly) inaccurate. "You don't need any special equipment to make it" would be a much better description, but even that isn't strictly true, because you do need special equipment: a very sharp knife. – Martha Oct 23 '19 at 18:47
  • @pluckedkiwi - What I mean is quill doesn't need to be produced, it's a natural product, while steel doesn't grow anywhere, it's got to be extracted from ore, technology, energy source, and special tools are needed just to make the steel itself, and further shaping a piece of steel into a pen needs more skills, more technology, more labor, more energy. – Yellow Sky Oct 23 '19 at 19:24
  • @YellowSky: then you should update your answer to say what you mean: it doesn't require any special supplies or materials, just a skill anyone can learn like various household tasks, time, and a supply of feathers. That's a good point but as others have pointed out, your answer doesn't make it very well. We understand that you know what you meant, and all that, but not everyone reads comments. A major purpose of comments is to suggest improvements to answers for future readers. – Peter Cordes Oct 24 '19 at 06:19
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    @pluckedkiwi (and YellowSky) I've made a few quill pens, and after the first couple they were OK, without anyone present to teach me. Not great but usable. A little more practice, a better selection of feathers, and someone to demonstrate, and it would be easy to make a good one quickly. I could probably make a dip pen, with the right hand tools, but it would take much longer and require a piece of suitable metal. If users didn't make their own, quill pens could easily be a (literal) cottage industry. – Chris H Oct 24 '19 at 11:38