Fine tuning a Franklin Covey Freemont

[Fountain Pen Mike]

Moderators, if this is in the wrong place, please move and accept my apologies, please.
I recently purchased a Franklin Covey Freemont fountain pen from my local Staples. I have only ever used one other fountain pen, for about a week. A Shaeffer Viewpoint, also from Staples. The Viewpoint was a scratchy,stabby little thing, but thanks to SbreBrown's videos on Youtube, i was able to smooth the nib out and open up the tines of the nib slightly, and actually turn it into a pretty nice little writer. The only thing holding it back was a bit of fumbling on my part when putting the nib to paper, keeping the nib positioned properly as I write, etc. the mechanics of FP use, so to say.

I bought the Franklin Covey as a step up a week or so later. And it was, in every way.Out of the box it was better in every way than the Viewpoint. Nice,smooth nib, and wrote really nicely, with only my technique causing some skipping issues.Or so i thought.

But as I continued to write and refine my technique with fountain pens, I began to discover that, even when I was doing everything right, there were skips. Frequent, aggravating skips.

Did some research on the forums, but could not tell if the nib on this pen was removable. Took the chance anyway, and tried. Whaddaya know? Came out fairly easily.The opening it inserts into is shaped so that you must re insert it in a particular way, but it is removeable.

Took the nib and feed and soaked it in soapy water for 20-30 minutes, then rinsed under clean water, and wrapped the feed in absorbant toilet paper to suck out as much moisture as I could, used a small, sharp knife to trace the channel in the feed a couple of times.

I didn't have any brass stock, so i took, of all things, a double edge razor blade(about .010" thick.Rapira Super stainless, if anyone cares) and ran i from the feeder hole to the tips of the tines. On the third pass i could feel less resistance,so I stopped.

Re-inserted the nib and feed, replaced the cartride(Franklin Covey black) and reassembled the pen. No need to smooth the nib, as it is already a pretty smooth writer, IMO.

Worked like a charm! The pen is a bit wetter, which is what I think it needed. Nice, smooth, even ink flow, nice smooth writing. No more skipping. Lovely.

I know there is not much information out there regarding whether or not you can work the nibs on these pens. So I thought I would share that the nibs are removeable, and they do benefit from a bit of tuning.

Thanks. and thank you again, Sbrebrown.

[SteveE]

FPMike, you've learned quite a lot in a short time. I don't know anything about your particular model pen, but I'll bet that it is a modern cartridge/converter pen with a steel nib. That means that the nib and feed were made by one of only a few companies. There have been many threads about flow problems that seem common with modern pens, and you've done just what most of us "old-timers" would have done.

Congratulations on your new-found knowledge, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

[Fountain Pen Mike]

Thanks, SteveE!
The knowledge is there to find because of the generosity of the "old timers". And I love to tinker.