One of the most interesting departments of these works is the pen-knife hospital, established for the convenience of the numerous customers of the company who send in through the retail trade old pen-knives to be repaired. From the dilapidated condition of some of the knives undergoing treatment in the hospital, it must be assumed that only sentiment can have induced the owners to ask for them to be repaired, as in many cases the repairs cost more than a new knife. A classic case of repair was that of a five-bladed knife, which was sent in requiring five new blades and a new spring and scales, the only part of it still good being the brass divisions on the inside.
