4.
The next important step in the history of pens was the pen with a steel nib. This was made in Birmingham, England, as early as 1780, but many years passed before it was widely used. Early metal nibs were made with a small spear-shaped piece of thin metal rolled into a barrel shape. The point was tapped carefully with a small hammer to put a crack in it. This slit allowed the point to retain ink and helped to control the ink flow.