A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. It is usually made of steel, and is formed by drawing out a thin wire, sharpening the tip, and adding a head.

History of the pin

Invention of the modern pin

The Sumerians used pins made of iron or bone to hold fabric together as early as 3000 BC. However, the modern pin industry came about more recently in medieval Europe, when scholars needed a method of fastening documents together that could be removed, unlike the common method of using a ribbon or string. Pins were made by drawing a piece of metal into wire, cutting the wire into lengths, and welding the heads in place. Although four thousand pins could be made every hour, the pins could only be put onto cards at a rate of about fifteen hundred each day.

However, according to the 18th-century economist Adam Smith, if one person did all of the work, only a few pins, perhaps only one, could be made each day. This is a classic example of the benefits of division of labor, which would later lead to the assembly line.

Although several pin machines have been invented, the most successful was created by a physician, John Ireland Howe (no relation to Elias Howe, of sewing machine fame), who had firsthand experience with hand pin-making while working at an almshouse. His first try at an invention was compounding rubber. However, that business failed, so he decided to invent a machine for making pins. Although his first attempts failed, he eventually succeeded at producing 60,000 pins per day, requiring him to invent a machine for placing pins on cards. Now, pins were commonplace. Pins were sold to businesses as "bank pins," which came in lots of one half pound, and on cards as "toilet pins," meant for use by homemakers.

Other types of pins

The t-pin is a more easily grasped type, with a head made by bending the pin back on itself.

The push pin, with a large plastic head, was invented in 1903 by Edwin Moore and quickly became a success. To read more, see Abouit.com: Moore Push-Pin Company.

Walter Hunt invented the safety pin by forming an eight-inch brass pin into a bent pin with a spring and guard. He sold the rights to his invention to pay a debt to a friend, not knowing that he could have made millions of dollars.

Legal history of the pin

In medieval times, during the reign of Henry VIII, a law was passed prohibiting the sale of pins except on certain days. Although meant to alleviate the scarcity of pins, the law made the problem worse and was repealed a few years later. See Brief History of the Pin.

Note: Most of this information came from Chapter 4 of Henry Petroski's book The Evolution of Usefukl Things ISBN 0-679-74039-2.