PIN, in commerce, a little necessary instrument, made of brass wire, chiefly used by women in adjusting their dress.
The perfection of pins consists in the stiffness of the wire and its smoothness, in the heads being well turned, and in the fineness of the points. The London pointing and whitening are in most repute; because the pin-makers in that city, in pointing, use two steel mills; one of which forms the point, and the other takes of all irregularities, and renders it smooth and as it were polished. In whitening, they use block-tin granulated; whereas in other countries they are said to use a mixture of tin, lead, and quicksilver. The consumption of pins is incredible, and there is no commodity sold cheaper. The number of hands employed in this manufacture is very great, each pin passing through the hands of six different workmen, between the drawing of the brass wire and the sticking of the pin in the paper.