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A. Not a problem? B. Big no no? C. Why can't you leave well enough alone? I don't currently have any problem with my 3 Carène, I'm thinking of using an ultrasonic cleaner with more troublesome pens that are hard to disassemble, or I just don't know how to like the Parker 105; but it would be nice to know if it would damage the Carène with its inlaid (and glued?) nib. Same question for Geha Goldschwinge, with the diference that they seem way more fragile than Carènes... But one of them would probably really benefit since even Rapido Eze can't get it to write with the right flow...

I am thinking about getting an ultrasonic cleaner. Any suggestions about best models to consider?

Hi All, A friend just got me an ultrasonic cleaner, I am wondering if it is safe to use on all pen types and materials? I have a very varied collection from vintage to modern pens, is ultrasonic safe for the following: Vintage ebonite pen body and feeds (100 years old)?Ebonite with urushi finish?Vintage cellulose?Precious resin?Other than just water or water and ammonia or soap and water, is there any other solutions? Are there any dangers that should be avoided? Thank you in advance, Pen Padawan

As I said. The toys are here, I'm ready to put a stubborn Parker 75 nib that I need to take apart through the motions, and am not sure how to proceed. The long story's at https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/336753-parker-75-i-think-i-need-to-remove-the-nib-from-the-feed/ The short version is: I have a Parker 75 nib assembly with serious flow problems that I think I need to take apart, but can't (I've done it before, so this part's not new to me). The working theory is that the nib's glued to the feed with India ink and everything pointed to getting Rapidoeze and soak the nib assembly for 7 to 10 days or to use an ultrasonic cleaner. Being the impatient dude I am, and not wanting to miss an opportunity to rationalize an impulsive purchase, I went for the Rapidoeze AND an ultrasonic cleaner ("I know dear, but this thing can make all your jewlery look like new.") They're both here now, but am not sure of whether just put some Rapidoeze on a shot glass, put the assembly in it, and then get that in the ultrasonic cleaner for x minutes (I don't know how long's recommended), or to just soak in Rapidoeze and then the ultrasonic cleaner, or what. I have some work to do and have to spend time with the women, so I can probably keep myself at bay until tomorrow afternoon. Ideas? Instructions? Should I go with my gut? Thanks! Alex

I bought an ultrasonic cleaner yesterday after reading good things about their effective cleaning capabilities. Are there any do's and don'ts regarding its use that I should follow?

Hi knowledgeable ones, I am in need of some help with my just received Montblanc 124 from the 1970's (not the 124 from the 1930's). This is the one with semi-hooded nib. The pen was purchased from a reputable seller in the US, and I have just received it a few days ago. The pen was near mint condition, perhaps only dipped. It looks like this. I inked it up after cycling water through the piston filler a few times, and started writing with it. I felt that the flow of ink was less than I had expected for a music nib, and from my past experience with another semi-hooded MB22. So I decided to put the tip of the section in the ultrasonic cleaner to try and flush out clogged ink if there was any (just up to about half way in the section). My sonic cleaner has a timer to go for 180 seconds, so I held the pen upright and part of the section in the water and buzzed it until the cleaner stopped at 180 seconds. When I took the section out of the water to look at the pen, this is what I found! The grey bit that is underneath the nib and surrounds the ink sucking hole (technical term, I know) has shifted and moved during the buzzing, and now it's facing the wrong way. I thought it came loose with the vibration so tried to pull it out with my fingers but it is pretty stuck. I tried more time in the sonic cleaner to see if it will vibrate itself back to position or something, but no luck. What could I do to get this unstuck and reposition it? I tried pulling the "beak" with rubber mat between my fingers, and using sticky tape a la Lamy Safari nib pulling method, but neither of that worked. I am starting to panic, and I really would appreciate someone to help me get this thing unstuck. Any ideas will be very much appreciated, and I look forward to hearing some input from experienced pen repair people. Please, help me! The pen looks like a dog with a broken jaw with its tongue hanging out! It fills with ink and writes perfectly fine (a lot wetter now) with this thing hanging out but I can't have this pen looking like this.

I finally invested in one of the lesser-priced ultrasonic cleaners offered on Amazon. I have been happily cleaning eyeglasses, pens, and anything else within reach that needs to be cleaned. Since it is stainless inside, I put some Marvicide in there and cleaned a few DE razors. I let them soak for 15 minutes and then ran them through the three minute cycle twice. PEN RELATED QUESTION: is Marvicide or its more popular cousin, Barbicide, safe for fountain pens? It is diluted according to package directions. I thought it better to be safe than sorry. Thanks, -Steve

Hi all, I've been trying to get all the dried-in iron gall ink out of a Parker "51" Aerometric, but it never seems to stop coming out. Background I've been using R&K ‘Salix’ iron-gall ink in the pen for the last eighteen months. I'd only ever used dish soap & tap water to clean it out, as I'd never had flow problems and the pen was in constant use, so the ink was never anything other than ‘fresh’. My mother had to go into hospital for a while this year, and while she was in (and for a short while after she'd been discharged) I was rather preoccupied and so hardly used the pen for about a month. When I came back to it, the pen still wrote ok but the ink had become noticeably darker. Once I'd used it up I decided to clean the pen out with a solution of white vinegar, then dish soap & water, then vinegar soultion again. Although the dish soap fill came out ‘clean’, the second vinegar solution fill dislodged as much old ink as the first. So I decided to keep doing vinegar soaks until no more ink came out. The Process So Far I started out by filling the pen with a solution of white vinegar, and leaving it for a day or so with occasional nib-up to nib-down rotation & longitudinal shaking to try to circulate the solution through the breather tube & sac. I would then prop the pen up on a piece of kitchen paper to enable capillary action to drain/wick the vinegar solution out through the nib. After a few weeks of this, and small amounts of old ink coming out each time, I have increased the concentration of the vinegar soultion, and have been leaving the filled pen on top of a radiator in order to use the heat to increase the speed of reaction. Old ink is still evident on the kitchen paper after each cycle of filling with vinegar solution & wicking through the nib. I can never see any colour in the pen's sac (I had a NOS one fitted to it), but there is still always some depsoited on the kitchen paper after the vinegar solution has wicked through the nib. After a couple of weeks using the radiator & the stronger vinegar solution, I am becoming rather frustrated now, and would really like to expedite the process so that I can get my "51" back into rotation. Being both a ‘restoration virgin’ AND an inveterate klutz, I feel in no way competent to disassemble the front section of the pen without fatally damaging it. So, I am thinking of buying an ultrasonic cleaner to help to get my "51" clean. After reading old threads about best practice with USCs, I am thinking of pushing the pen into a piece of thick cardboard and placing that across the USC's bath so that only the section of the pen to just in front of the clutch ring is suspended in the cleaning solution, but I still have some questions that I'd like to ask: Questions 1) As I am (I think) trying to remove layers of iron salts that have precipitated inside the pen's collector, should I actually be using a solution of white vinegar in the ultrasonic cleaner, rather than ammonia (or whatever is in the detergent that comes with the USC)? 2) Should I fill the pen's sac with the cleaning solution before placing the section inside the USC's bath, or should the sac be dry and ONLY the section that is submerged contain solution? 3) Am I right to think that I should put the pen through a USC cycle, then empty it (squeezing & wicking onto kitchen paper), then another round of USC-then-emptying, then further rounds as necessary? 4) Am I wrong about the identity of the dark blue patches that have been appearing on the kitchen paper after every vinegar soak? Are these bluish-grey patches (that are the same colour as the dye component in R&K ‘Salix’) actually patches of the salt (Silver Acetate?) that results when the sterling silver breather tube of a 1950's aerometric is exposed to vinegar? 5) Is there anything else that I need to know before I go ahead with my plan; do you have any general advice for me (apart from ‘type shorter posts already, you blethering Windbag!‘ )? Or; 6) Should I actually just ‘bite the bullet’, and take my pen's life in my hands by attempting to fully disassemble it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, M.

I noticed these in our local branch the other day. No idea of the quality or durability but it may be useful for some. Here's the info. A search for "ultrasonic cleaner" on FPN gave 118 results. Have a read of some of these posts for some background information on the usefulness of such a device. HTH, Martin PS: in the interests of balance, I also shop at Waitrose.