How to clean Karat 17D3 stylus?

@czarivey 

I blow on it

I highly recommend you do not do that. Peter Lederman of Soundsmith has said blowing on your stylus/cantilever can result in small particles of saliva build-up that attracts dust and can become hardened 'gunk'. They see this all the time when cartridges are sent for repair.

If you need to 'blow' on the stylus, get a handheld blow/bulb that photographers use, as example.

Audioquest make or made a device that provides a tiny circular pad upon which you sit the stylus tip. Then you press a button and the pad vibrates at something like 400-500Hz, to loosen any particles that may be adherent. It's very effective, especially for dust balls that may work themselves up into the body of a cartridge. Over the decades, the device has been marketed under the "Signet" brand and lately under the "Audioquest" brand, and maybe some others. I have seen both brand names on different samples of the identical device. You can probably buy it from Music Direct or some such mail order company.

@bkeske I make sure I get really drunk before I do that. This way I blow alcohol over :)

I really use a typical baby bulb syringe 

I love that cartridge. The only problem is that even with a magnifying glass I can’t see the condition of the stylus. I’m not sure I know what to look for anyway though.