Krone Geometrik

[KendallJ]

I wanted to review a Krone pen for a while now. I am fond of the Krone brand, and I think that it is not a brand that is mentioned much on the discussion boards. Also I am a marketer by trade and admire the design and subsequent marketing of their pens. I have 2 of these pens, the Geometrik and Boulder, so I thought I'd review one of them and see what sort of discussion it generates.

 

For those of you who have not heard much of Krone, they divide their pen lines into 2 groups. Most are aware of their Limited Editions, which are for some somewhat "over the top" designs. For the user interested in pocket jewelry, Krone has their Fashion pen line. The Geometrik is part of this line. The Fashion line are all bold designs, none similar to any of the others in the line, and all using somewhat eclectic design elements.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/justiniano/DSCN2734.jpg

 

0. Overall Design ****

The Geometrik is big, dressy pen in black resin with alternating bands of marbled acrylic along hte barrel and cap. There are 3 variations on the acrylic colors in the Geomtrik line, named loosely by the color groupings [Wind - green, blue, violet / Fire - red, yellow, orange / Earth - grey, green, brown]. The barrel width tapers from cap to base. This pen is bold and beautiful, and a great piece of pocket jewelry.

 

1. Size / Weight ****

The pen is big, well over 1/2 inch in diameter, and 5 inches capped. The pen is beefy at the section grip, and barrel where held, so those of you who need smaller grips, this pen isn't for you. However the pen is light being entirely resin, and well balance and suited for long periods of writing. The pen is a little top heavy posted, both in weight and proportion so I rarely post it.

 

2. Nib ***

Great two tone nib. I've found the Krone nibs to be toothy, but with variability in terms of width and wetness so it's tough to generalize the nibs. The nib on this Geomtrik was quite wet, so much so that I had to have it swtiched out for an XF, although I normally like a medium / fine line.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/justiniano/DSCN2736.jpg

 

3. Filling Mechanism ***

This is a button filler. Generally fills quite easily. Capacity is not huge, and I find in this pen, that the mechanism is prone to evaporation. Access is quite easy as the section is a single threaded union that both the barrel and cap screw onto. The section will unscrew from the barrel to access the sac and lever bar.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/justiniano/DSCN2735.jpg

 

4. Fit and Finish *****

Here, Krone really excells. This is a very finely fitted pen. The seam for the blind cap is almost impossible to spot even though its on flat black resin, and highly polished to boot. The finish on the resin is beautiful, and the acrylic shows no seems. One of the areas that really bugs me is the threading on the cap. Just a personal peeve, but caps that don't thread on smoothly are bothersome. The Krone cap screws on "like butta". All in all a finely finished pen.

Edited November 26, 2004 by KendallJ

[chad234]

Nice review.

I especially like your pictures. They are very clear and wll composed, the background brings out the colors of the pen.

 

I ahve never used a Krone pen, but their design on some is quite atriking, on others too flambouyant for my tastes.

 

I can appreciate the attention to detail they lavish on their pens though!

[Free Citizen]

Nice review Kendall. But you forgot to mention the price. Where did you buy it and how much?

[KendallJ]

Nice review Kendall. But you forgot to mention the price. Where did you buy it and how much?

Sorry FC. That's a good point. I think I paid about 200$ or so. Mail ordered from Joon.

[Maja]

Great review, Kendall! Nice pictures, too!

Thank you for highlighting a brand that is admittedly neglected on most pen boards.

I admit that I am one of those who are guilty of associating Krone with their flashy LE's only

I do recall that the company has won the "Best Advertising" award in Pen World magazine several times....Too bad my local pen shop doesn't carry Krones;

it would be interesting to try one out. I will have to wait for one of the big pens shows, I guess.

Edited November 27, 2004 by Maja

[KendallJ]

I admit that I am one of those who are guilty of associating Krone with their flashy LE's only

I do recall that the company has won the "Best Advertising" award in Pen World magazine several times

As a marketer what I love about how they've gone about it is their use of segmentation, and such a difference in how they have designed their pen lines.

 

I dont' have access to their marketing plan, but my guess is that they are going after two markets:

 

1. The uber-collector: a guy/gal with a ton of money who wants something no one else has, and needs it to be "over the top". These are rich people mind you.

 

2. The eclectic fashion conscious. Note, I didn't say brand conscious, because MB has them beat with the white snowflake every time. There is nothing standard across any of the fashion line, but they are all very beautiful.

 

The secret of good marketing is not to be everything to everyone, but know who you're particular customer and be exactly what they are looking for.

 

So Krone is not trying to target:

 

a. status seekers - that's MB

b. the everyday joe - That's sheaffer, parker, cross

c. the serious writer - Pelikan, Namiki, etc...

[Maja]

Interesting analysis of Krone's advertising, Kendall.....

From what I can recall of their ads in Pen World, in many of them the pens seemed almost secondary (ie. no close-ups of pens, except for their Ltd. Edition ones, that I can recall )....It seemed like what was being sold was the "glamour" of owning a pretty pen... not necessarily the writing instrument itself....Perhaps I am mistaken.....And the vast majority (all?) of Krone ads that had models in them were attractive, often scantily-clad younger women, which is perfectly fine--the ads were tastefully done---but what about Krone appealing to the segment of the population that finds men attractive?

Edited November 28, 2004 by Maja

[KendallJ]

It seemed like what was being sold was the "glamour" of owning a pretty pen... not necessarily the writing instrument itself....Perhaps I am mistaken.....And the vast majority (all?) of Krone ads that had models in them were attractive, often scantily-clad younger women, which is perfectly fine--the ads were tastefully done---but what about Krone appealing to the segment of the population that finds men attractive?

Well, that is a problem. We certainly know women who collect, but when I look around at pics people post of the pen shows, I see a lot of men. Can't be everything to everybody. But maybe that leaves open a customer segment for someone else. Let's see, who's trying to fill that gap? ladies, who do you think does a partcularly good job of marketing specifically to your gender?

Edited November 28, 2004 by KendallJ

[KCat]

ladies, who do you think does a partcularly good job of marketing specifically to your gender?

 

thus far - none of them. Perhaps the closest would be Montegrappa with their small and "pretty" pens like the Micra and Diva la Penna. While many lines have smaller pens as "purse" pens or checkbook pens, most do not really make an effort, IMO, to really market to women.

 

I grew up in a family of pen addicts - mom, sister, self and even one of my brothers who appreciates them almost exclusively as excellent writing tools. So I always assumed women did most of the pen buying in this country (US) and was surprised to see how much the FP world is made up of men.

[Leslie J.]

Well, the ad for Krone in the Oct/Nov issue of Stylus shows only a naked woman with a Krone FP on her shoulder. Tastefully done of course. :ph34r:

 

I just like the ads that showcase the pens. Women buy for themselves, but they are also often the ones buying the gifts for men. I suppose I like the minimalist ads best, not a lot of words, a neutral background and nice pens.

[Maja]

I just like the ads that showcase the pens. Women buy for themselves, but they are also often the ones buying the gifts for men. I suppose I like the minimalist ads best, not a lot of words, a neutral background and nice pens.

Same here!

I want to see what the pens actually look like up close, without a lot of distraction from unneccessary text or flashy backgrounds......And like KCat said, I can't think of any pen companies that market their wares to women particularly well in print, aside from the examples she cited.....

[chibimie]

I know this is a pretty old thread, but since I have seen almost no mention of Krone pens elsewhere, I thought I would try here. My taste in pens tends to be rather subdued--Pelikans (M250, M425, the inexpensive demonstrators), Sailors, a Vacumatic or two, and some modern pens (oh, and one splurge, a Nakaya piccolo). A few days ago I saw a Krone Vision in a local art supplies store, but it turned out to be a ballpoint pen.

 

Have any of you seen a Krone Vision or know much about them? The top half of the cap is clear, with two tones covering the barrel and the rest of the cap, and they look quite attractive. From your posts I get the impression that true pen lovers don't give these pens much attention, though the Geometrik review suggests that they do or can make high quality FPs.

[Doug C]

All of the Krones that are resin are made by Marlen. I have about 10 Krones and Marlens (about half and half FP's and rollers), and they are all great pens. Especially for Italians, I have had great luck with the way they write (not a stinker in the bunch). One of the issues mentioned in the review is that they tend to be wet writers. My dealer (Santa Fe Pens) suggested that I get an extra fine, and I was very happy with the results. Closer to most companie's fines.

 

Oddly enough, there is a difference between the nibs on the Krones, and the Marlens. The Krones tend to be a little smaller (which I like), but they are fairly stiff. I dont have a Vision, but I do have a Hyperbole, which is a demonstrator. It is a chunky little pen, with a neat 3 dimensional ribbon of purple resin running through it. I did have a problem with the sac leaking (it is a button filler), but Krone was very quick in getting it repaired.

 

All in all, two of my favorite brands.

[Ghost Plane]

I have 5 Krones [NOT the LEs] and I love the fit and nibs as well. 2 of the 5 have needed repair, which was performed fairly promptly by the company. I had a piston leak. The ratio of repairs is the only thing keeping them off my total rave list. I love the unusual color combos and the colors under the silver overlays on 2. I'm a B lover, so wet is good for me.

[Waterman]

Where is Krone from and where can I buy their pens online?

 

Thanks

Brad

[Ghost Plane]

Fountain Pen Hospital is running a sale on 2 models in the Super Savers section on their website right now.

[chibimie]

Fountain Pen Hospital is running a sale on 2 models in the Super Savers section on their website right now.

 

Thanks for the heads up. It's interesting that two of the Boulder collection pens on sale have rather different clips, though in size, shape, and other appointments (except the colors, of course) they share the same material properties. (See the Chinook and Purple Haze colors of the Boulder collection on that website.)

[playpen]

I have many of the Krones and Marlens and they are all, without exception, wonderful pens, as I have stated many times on this forum. FPH does indeed have some Krones on sale but I have noticed that they did raise their sale prices. They have had these particular pens on sale for many, many months now and I would have grabbed another had the prices been reasonable (in my opinion).

[goodguy]

Wow what a nice pen,if it was a piston filler then it would be perfect.

[R.ticle One]

Now there's a Krone I can appreciate the looks of - not too over the top. Nice pen!

 

R.