Is an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner also used for pens or are there specific ones JUST for pens? Also, how long do you put the pens in and in what solution?

The answer is that there are both - ie the inexpensive jewelry ones are ok for pens (pretty good actually), and there are - or used to be ones used for cleaning technical pens (drafting). The latter are quite expensive, and higher power.

The jewelry cleaners have a 3 minute self timer on them which is fine; I have occasionally used it several times in succession for stubborn cases without trouble. If you end up with a high powered cleaner, you must be careful of the length of time it is run as it is possible to damage a pen.

Generally I use a mild soapy solution or plain water. On occasion a water/ammonia solution is helpful (10% ammonia or so), and for serious ink problems, a Koor-I-Noor cleaning solution is recommended.

Gerry

Consumer ultrasonic jewelry cleaners work fine for fountain pens. I use higher-powered versions in the chem lab for breaking up stubborn solids to get them to dissolve. Haier makes a cleverly designed home model that can be purchased from Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Harbor Freight for about $30 or so. This is a 35W unit that is unlikely do damage a pen, and it has a 3 minute timer. You could probably run several cycles at that power if necessary to de-gunk a nib and feed. Cleaning in water or a dilute water-detergent solution should be acceptable for all but the most stubborn cases.

If you are purchasing a jewelry cleaner for cleaning pens, make sure it is ultrasonic--there are cleaners out there that are just low-frequency vibrators, and they are pretty much useless. A real ultrasonic cleaner sounds like a scritchy version of fingernails on a blackboard when it's working.

Cheers.