I was struck recently by how very fine one of my inhereted sewing
needle is. It must have been made at least 50 years ago and it
measures (by my micrometer) .43mm accross the part that contains the
eye. Allowing say .07mm for the wall thickness of the eye that would
mean the eye measures ca .29mm (ie .011 inch) accross. I additionall
observe that the eye is slightly longer than it is wide, say ca .5 to
.7mm. Does any one know how such needles were made 50 years ago? Gonig
further: The history of fine silk garments must go back senuries! What
is known about the history of fine needle manufacture?

Hello nosin!

A needle made 50 years ago would have first seen light of day around
1953 or so.  Unlike much earlier times, when sewing needles were made
by hand from bits of bone or from iron by the local blacksmith,
needles were manufactured in the '50s through automatic processes
which have remained largely unchanged from their advent in 1850
through the present day.  With the exception of packaging moving from
hand sorting and packaging to machine sorting and packaging in the
early 1900's, the process is virtually the same now as it was a
hundred years ago.

[ Sources:  

How Needles Are/Were Made  
http://www.geocities.com/rosierider/howmade.html 

Needle Making - Illustrated
http://www.timelines.historians.co.uk/lifeofneedle.html ]

According to Kimbery Wulfert, a "Quilt Historian":

" In the 20th century, more than 20 steps were taken to manufacture an
enormous variety of sewing needle, for hands and machines. Needles are
made two at a time, from coils of steel wire. The wire is straightened
and cut to the length of two. Through a grinding process, points are
formed at both ends. Using a grindstone, the needle is turned
repeatedly until the point is fine and even.

[...]

Next, the eyes are stamped into the wire near the middle; two flat
areas are stamped first, with the perfectly sized eyes punched through
by another machine. Another piece of wire is drawn through the holes
(like dental floss after a cleaning) so when the needle wire is cut
apart, two needles remain, hanging from the wire. Their heads are
smoothed and rounded. Their bodies are checked for straightness,
tempered for toughness, and polished for smoothness."

A Quilt Historian Looks at Needles
http://www.historyofquilts.com/needle.html

The Colonial Sewing Needle Company details the needle manufacturing
process step by step here:

Needle Making
http://1st-sewingsuppliesandnotions.com/pages/makeneedles.htm

...which nicely explains the illustrated manufacturing process here,
found on a Japanese website:

The Manufacturing Process - hand needles
http://www.nvccom.co.jp/needle/sewing.html

I've found a number of interesting and detailed articles about the
history of needle making.  Because of their length and copyright
restrictions, I cannot reproduce them here, and small snippets would
not fully explain the history.  I have listed them for you below:

The art of needle making - by Graham Forsdyke
ISMACS News Issue No. 29
http://www.ismacs.net/articles/needle.shtml

Needle Making
Forge Mill Needle Museum, Redditch.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~billburgoyne/needle_making.htm

ForgeMill History of Needle Making
http://www.timelines.historians.co.uk/forgemill.html

HOG BRISTLE NEEDLES
http://home.teleport.com/~tcl/f3.htm

Needle @ Bartleby
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ne/needle.html

Additionaly, some pages have made mention of books which discuss the
history of needle making:

History of Needlework Tools - Sylvia Groves
The Personal Reminiscences of a Needlemaker - Bernard T. Lee

I hope you find this information helpful!

--Missy

Search terms:  [ "manufacturing process" sewing needles ], [ "needle
making" history ]

All aspects of my question have been answered clearly and fully, thanks.