Couple quick questions if I might;

I just got a used very good condition black Man 200 on Fleabay for just at $100 shipped

I just hit the outside with some plastic polish and it's like new, however there is definately some
dried ink in the nib section. I think I've read that the Mans have some unusual ink feed "channels"
and I'd like to flush/clean them out GOOD. I don't have an ultrasonic.

Any problems with soaking the whole nib/fill section in a 1:9 ammonia/water solution overnight
then flushing it clear with water? My concern is with the gold plating on the nib and rings.

Secondly, it came sans converter. I have a spare one that works in a Phileas, will that work in
the Man 200?

Thanks in advance,

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Hello Bruce,

I have recently (within the last 4-months) cleaned 2 Waterman Le Man 100 nib/section assemblies and 2 Waterman Opera nib/section assemblies. All of them had dried ink in them and all of the feeds are similar to your Waterman Le Man 200 feed.

I had one problematic nib/feed/section assembly (there are posts of mine somewhere in this forum) and the other were rather straight forward. I did not use any ammonia/water concentrations to clean them; I used only room temperature water.

All I did was use patience. I placed the nib/section assembly into a plastic cup filled with water and let it sit. Once or twice a day, I would take the unit out of the water and, holding the nib side in a lint free paper towel, blow air through from the ink feed side. I would then change the water and put the assembly back into the plastic cup. I did this until I saw no ink on the paper towel.

The nibs that were rather straight forward cleaned out to my satisfaction in about 4-days. The nib that was problematic took 2-months. (This is where the patience comes into play.) All of the nib assemblies now work just fine. Even the problematic nib has perfect ink flow.

I'm relating this to you because of your statement about soaking the nib assembly overnight. That is just not going to work - even with ammonia - in my experience. The one thing I've learned about resurrecting old fountain pens is to apply a ton of patience and minimal force.

Peace,

Phroneo

To add to my friend Phroneo's statements: I have never used ammonia on my pens, only the dishwashing liquid/water solution.

I'm an outlier statistically here. I became desperate after 5 to 6 weeks of trying to gently coax my LeMan 100 nib into functioning properly - and used ammonia to flush it while using a baby nasal aspirator to force ammonia thru the nib. It worked! And the nib is still working properly!
Let me be clear that I was desperate and accepted that I may destroy my nib by using ammonia. Thank goodness no damage is apparent. I would suggest that the final step before skidding the nib across the floor as a cat toy - perhaps ammonia could be used to attempt to solve the problem. (no cats were harmed in this project, and no, I don't suggest a nib would ever make an acceptable cat toy!)

I have not yet heard of a feed that was ruined by a 10% ammonia solution. Were talking about something that is akin to strong Windex glass cleaner here. Also, I agree, with prior post and would not soak. I would start with a drop of Dawn (a rather strong dish detergent) in a cup of water and room temperature. Flush, get the solution in and out of the feed.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has experienced feed damage from a room temperature solution of 10% ammonia and water.

Sorry to go off topic, but that reminds me of a book! Poor kid was force fed ammonia so he would quit stealing lunches at school

My Waterman lore fails me, so I'll speak a possibly pointless caution-- if this is one of the Waterman models with a lacquered metal section, I'd avoid soaking like a it was a tubercular leper. In my incautious days in the '80s, I ruined the finish on a Waterman barrel with a soak in unamended water overnight.

If it's a plastic section, soak away. As long as you rinse well afterwards, all should be well.

Well Friends,

With some of the caution about not soaking a Waterman Le Man 100 or Waterman Le Man 200 (let's be specific here) being mentioned, all I can say is that I have soaked (1) Le Man 200, (2) Le Man 100 and (2) Opera nib-feed-section assemblies for varying lengths of time in room temperature water with absolutely no ill affects. -- None. Zero, that is. Meaning that only good came out of the soaking.

The one Le Man 100 nib-feed-assembly I soaked for more than 2-months. The others were for lesser amounts of time but not less than 5-days on the down side. The only thing that was destroyed was the caked, dried ink inside the catacomb of the ink feed.

I experienced no problems with the finish on the section of these particular pens - even the gold plating remained in tack and unharmed. And it was based on my specific multi-pen experience that I made my initial suggestion.

That being said, there are pens for which soaking overnight is not recommended. Unfortunately, I have destroyed my fair share of them. But with the excellent results I've achieved from my non-destructive cleaning approach for these specific pens, I stand by my recommendation.

I have never use ammonia to clean a pen. That is just my preference. I have, as was so kindly suggested to me, applied just a bit of dish washing soap to the ink-in side of a feed. (With wonderful results.) However, I am exceptionally careful to make certain that I know exactly what the results of a cleaning or a repair procedure is going to be before I make any suggestions to a person.

Water can be a friend or an enemy. In the case of a nib-ink feed-section assembly for a black lacquered Waterman Le Man 100, Waterman Le Man 200, or Waterman Opera, soak it in room temperature water as long as is needed.

Peace,

Phroneo

Phroneo,

Based on your experiences, I did the plan water soak/rinse/blow/refill/repeat on my Man 200 for just a couple days
til the feed appears to flow water nicely. Even lightly blowing some water through after each soak refill it was
amazing how many times a couple hours later would still show some ink leaching out. There must be all kinds of
nooks and crannies up in that nib. Just waiting on my converter to arrive now (pen came minus one), I've alnost
"jumped the gun" and just flushed out a Waterman cartridge and refiled with the ink I plan to use but figured
I'd work on my dimenished quality of patience and wait on the converter.

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Hello Bruce,

That's good news about your Le Man 200 nib. You will find that when you start to use your pen, the new ink will help to dissolve any left over dried old ink (you know, like dissolves like) in the feed. My only additional suggestion would be to soak the nib assembly in water after you've used it for a week or two straight through.

The reason I make this suggestion is because of the fact that the new ink will have begun to dissolved most of the remaining old ink and the water bath with occasional forced air will clean out any remaining old ink. I do this to all of my pens. (Of course, I've got this major problem with OCD -just kidding.) Believe me, you'll be surprised at the difference it makes in the performance of the nib.

Peace,

Phroneo