Whee, Krone! Sputter, Cough...

[tkmorrison]

I bought a Krone Vintage Select Fireball at Fahrney's at a deep discount about 20 years ago. I thought it was beautiful, but it seemed like more of a display case pen than a daily writer. As a result I never even inked the poor devil...until this morning. I loaded it with a nice J. Herbin midnight purple and gave it a whirl and man, was I pleasantly surprised. It was buttery smooth, started right up, and didn't skip a beat...until its ink supply was exhausted after just one page. One page in an A5 notebook! Are Krone bladders just that small, or has mine suffered in storage? I've read that Krones have notoriously thin-walled sacs that may be prone to premature failure. I read a previous review on FPN of the Krone Boulder, and it made no mention of ink capacity. Anyone reading who's experienced with the brand? (This one's a button filler, so I'd have to take it apart to view its innards; I've never done that before, and I definitely wouldn't want to make this one my guinea pig!) Thanks for reading!

[Bklyn]

I bought a Krone Vintage Select Fireball at Fahrney's at a deep discount about 20 years ago. I thought it was beautiful, but it seemed like more of a display case pen than a daily writer. As a result I never even inked the poor devil...until this morning. I loaded it with a nice J. Herbin midnight purple and gave it a whirl and man, was I pleasantly surprised. It was buttery smooth, started right up, and didn't skip a beat...until its ink supply was exhausted after just one page. One page in an A5 notebook! Are Krone bladders just that small, or has mine suffered in storage? I've read that Krones have notoriously thin-walled sacs that may be prone to premature failure. I read a previous review on FPN of the Krone Boulder, and it made no mention of ink capacity. Anyone reading who's experienced with the brand? (This one's a button filler, so I'd have to take it apart to view its innards; I've never done that before, and I definitely wouldn't want to make this one my guinea pig!) Thanks for reading!

Hello TK. I know little Bout your question but I did see you here and wanted to say hello!

[tkmorrison]

Hello TK. I know little Bout your question but I did see you here and wanted to say hello!

Thanks for the hello! Back at ya, Bklyn!

[mhguda]

No experience with the make of your pen, and not very much with button fillers, but I do have a few and i noticed that you have to get the hang of filling them... Not sure from your story if you have experience with other button fillers, but I found it very easy to underfill, so to speak. If you take the pen out of the ink before it's had a chance to completely come into the sac, you end up with a partial fill. Maybe that's all that's wrong with your pen? I'd try filling again, leaving it in the ink a little longer after you've released the button. See if it takes up more ink then...

 

And, welcome to the nuthouse FPN

[tkmorrison]

No experience with the make of your pen, and not very much with button fillers, but I do have a few and i noticed that you have to get the hang of filling them... Not sure from your story if you have experience with other button fillers, but I found it very easy to underfill, so to speak. If you take the pen out of the ink before it's had a chance to completely come into the sac, you end up with a partial fill. Maybe that's all that's wrong with your pen? I'd try filling again, leaving it in the ink a little longer after you've released the button. See if it takes up more ink then...

 

And, welcome to the nuthouse FPN

Thanks! I have no previous experience with button fillers. I'll try this patience approach when I get home!

[mhguda]

Let us know if it worked for you. I remember when I bought my first button filler, the seller included a note with instructions how to fill it... that was really helpful, because it's not intuitive. You push the button, release while the nib is immersed in ink, and wait for the ink to slowly fill the sac. After that it's standard so take out, wipe excess ink off, write. If that does not work, the sac may need changing.

[Ghost Plane]

Krone have the same capacity as other pens & awesome writing performance as you've discovered. Once you establish you're filling it properly, if you still have difficulties, don't be afraid to send it in. Krones have lifetime warranties and honor them. I've had roughly 6 week turnarounds in the past.

[tkmorrison]

Krone have the same capacity as other pens & awesome writing performance as you've discovered. Once you establish you're filling it properly, if you still have difficulties, don't be afraid to send it in. Krones have lifetime warranties and honor them. I've had roughly 6 week turnarounds in the past.

Thanks for the intel. That's great to know. I tried to improve my filling technique this morning, then got tied to my keyboard all day and didn't get the chance to put it to the test! I'm going to try to write it to exhaustion over the weekend!

[Ghost Plane]

Dana Piet use to be the rep. Really nice to deal with as I was always doing nib swaps on NOS. Switched computers since then, but the company name is something confusing like the American Needle Company or something close to that when you Google where to send it. Somewhere in the middle of the U.S. Mail it in and get a nicely overhauled pen back. Really LOVE those pens. Just hard to afford these days.

[stacybean]

I have a lovely Boulder with a smooth B gold nib. You are inspiring me to ink her up!

[Barkingpig]

Dana Piet use to be the rep. Really nice to deal with as I was always doing nib swaps on NOS. Switched computers since then, but the company name is something confusing like the American Needle Company or something close to that when you Google where to send it. Somewhere in the middle of the U.S. Mail it in and get a nicely overhauled pen back. Really LOVE those pens. Just hard to afford these days.

Ms. Piet made it possible for me to have a nib exchange as well just last summer (August 2014)

 

The address: Krone Repair

1275 Busch Parkway

Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

She requested I enclose a copy of my email detailing what I desired & which included my address & phone number

 

I did as requested & received my pen back in short order with the desired nib. Probably the easiest such service I have received from any representative.

[tkmorrison]

Thank you so much. I've been working on my fill technique but am still having capacity issues. Maybe there's a gremlin in the works.

 

I have a lovely Boulder with a smooth B gold nib. You are inspiring me to ink her up!

Yes! It's calling out to you through this thread.

[Sasha Royale]

ONE PAGE ?

One page of writing sounds like the amount of ink in a wet, dipped feed. It is possible that little or no ink was taken into the reservoir. You might not have an intact sac. In any case, sac replacement in a "neglected" pen wouldn't hurt. Send it to the shop.

[tkmorrison]

Seems to be sound advice, especially given the service. This pen is so great now; imagine how it will be when it works!

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I am not sure if my Krone Amelia Earhart has a sac or blatter or if it is just a piston fill.

 

I do know that my Krone Molten is one of my Favorite Pens but it is just converter fill.