Most pen dealers seem to use ultra sonic cleaners like the ones sold for cleaning jewellery

But others warn against them.

Anyone with experience - good or bad - out there?

Hi,

Ultra sonic cleaners are good for modern pens but not good for vintage (hard rubber) pens.

Axel

I've used ultra sonic cleaners to unclog pens that I had bought on Ebay. And they work fantastically. I trust them a lot and I use them every month to keep my mont blanc 75th anniversary pen smooth.

So far none of my pens have shown wear, tear, or defections from the ultra sonic cleaner.

Thanks to both. That's reassuring.
I know this shouldn't have been on the MB forum but I'm not yet very skilled at using FPN.

Some people have told me that the black plastic insert of the inlaid nibs of the Sheaffers can be loosened by ultrasonics.

The trouble - until you came back to my query - is that all the advice has come from hearsay. I haven't found anyone who has actually had a pen damaged.

Is it only OLD Hard Rubber pens that are affected?
I have a shiny new Nakaya Decapod. They are based on hard rubber. Dare I put that into my cleaner?
What do you both think?

Solitaire

You might want to check out the Pen Repair forum here on FPN. There are extensive discussions of ultrasonic cleaning of pens and pen parts, including how materials and specific models can be affected.

I routinely use an US cleaner when I change ink colors or when I remove a pen from rotation. I have not noticed any problem yet.

I have been told, and I would beleive it without personally experimenting, that the US can dislodge the triangle/arrow doodad on the Parker 61. I've seen lots of 61s with them missing so I suppose they don't stick all that well.

Of course, any casein based pen should not be subjected to a water soak, let alone an ultrasonic bath.

Andy

I like them, but only for nibs and feeds, I have never used them otherwise... But they work like a champ!

No, never, I wouldn't dare to put that pen into the ultra sonic cleaner.

Axel

Thanks pp I will take your advice.
Solitaire

My understanding is that it's the water that deteriorates hard rubber. The fountain pen repair book warns against soaking hard rubber in water.

Fred

That's correct Fred, and the ultra sonic vibrations boost this destruction.

Axel

Does this apply to ebonite and ebonite-covered-with-lacquer as well? Ruud

It might be helpful to ask these questions to a wider group of people who use ultrasonic cleaners on all ages and brands of pens (avoiding the ones that the cleaners don't work on, or those that would be damaged). You can find these people in Fountain Pen Network's Repair Q&A Forum.

Also, if you use FPN's search function, there are lots of old posts found by searching for "ultrasonic".

Thanks - K
I will try both
I am still getting used to the sophistication of FPN

Yours
Solitaire

Ebonite is just a fancy name for hard rubber. "Vulcanite" is another synonym.

I've heard about damage reported from the cheaper US cleaners. Some of the pictures I've seen had a bad wort formed on the barrel like it was exposed to heat.