To prevent the breakage of a needle tip, and to improve the yield in manufacture by improving a reinforcement process in a manufacturing process of a pencil point needle to sufficiently reinforce the needle tip.

A large spherical body is formed without any drop of a molten metal by gravity or deviation of a needle from the axis by achieving the reinforcement process where a reduction part is heated to form the spherical body while a needle material is approximately upright, and a needle tip is sufficiently reinforced. A supporting piece to support the needle material in an upright state is provided with a rotatably and perpendicularly suspended disk having a groove in the radial direction in its surface, and an approximately semi-circular pressing plate provided close thereto or in contact therewith so as to cover an approximately upper half of the surface of the disk, the needle material is fitted to the groove, and pressed by the pressing plate and supported thereby, a torch means is located downwardly above the disk movable in the vertical direction, and when the needle material supported by the support jig reaches the highest part by the turn of the disk, the needle tip can be efficiently reinforced by an apparatus to heat the tip of the needle material by the torch means.