More Info on Krone

[jkrewalk]

I am curious as to why no one ever seems to mention Krone along with all the other wonderful Italian pens made today. I own 2 Krones and another on the way and I think they are smooth great writers. I hear alot about all the other brands in these forums but little about Krone. In fact they are not even listed a one of the Modern Italian Manufacturers in the pinned postings above! Any thoughts or comments? I am very curious......

Edited March 29, 2008 by jkrewalk

[diplomat]

I am curious as to why no one ever seems to mention Krone along with all the other wonderful Italian pens made today. I own 2 Krones and another on the way and I think they are smooth great writers. I hear alot about all the other brands in these forums but little about Krone. In fact they are not even listed a one of the Modern Italian Manufacturers in the pinned postings above! Any thoughts or comments? I am very curious......

 

jk, I am positive Krone is an American company.

The only link I am aware with Italy is that Krone is a distributor of Marlen for USA and vice versa in Italy where Marlen distributes Krone

 

Best,

 

[Deirdre]

Marlen makes many of the pens for Krone, which is another link.

[QM2]

 

Initially, I felt put off from buying Krones, because at the time there were several discussions here about how superfluous they were and more of decorations than writing instruments, etc. -- similar to the arguments made against Montblanc. But after aquiring several Krones, I actualy find them to be great writers -- really, really great -- and I like many of their pen designs as well. Not the LEs, which I agree can be quite gaudy and over the top (but then again, so are many of Pelikan and Visconti LEs!), but the regular lines of pens. There definitely are Krone discussions here on FPN, bith positive and negative, and at least several members are big fans of the brand. But as diplomat has pointed out, I am 99.9% sure that they are not Italian. Just run search for "Krone" here and you will find many threads.

 

QM2

[girlieg33k]

Is the consensus then that while Krone is in fact an American company, it markets itself as an Italian brand? At B&Ms that I've visited, they are referred to as an Italian brand. I don't own any Krone pens, but I was able to handle a few of them at the last NJ/NY pen show.

Edited March 29, 2008 by girlieg33k

[Deirdre]

I keep mistaking some of the plainer Krones for Marlens, which says something. Marlen doesn't really market themselves in the US, so Krone fills that niche better. Some of my favorites are Marlens, though I admit that they're my favorites because I managed to find 18k-nibbed piston fillers for under $100, and they get high marks for bang for buck.

 

[CharlieB]

I don't yet own any Krones. I notice that they make a lot of piston fillers, and that always interests me. Has anyone had any experiece with these piston fillers? I'm always eager to know how well the mechanism works.

 

I've also seen photos of a Krone sterling silver pen that looks very, very nice. Anyone have one of these?

[jkrewalk]

Wow - This is interesting - Are they from Italy or USA. I did do a google search and no one can say for sure!!! How can a company be so stealth in its country of origin. People should be able to easily find out what country their manufacturing plant is in.

 

I did find an interesting article from Penspotters HERE.

 

Note at the end it says that it is from Italy.

 

I also agree with the article and with these posts so far - I am not into their expensive LE's but I have 3 Krones that re great writers that were all under 200.00. My latest one is a beautiful Red Boulder model that I got at the Philadelphia Pen Show this year on sale for 150.00. Nice Pen

 

 

JK

[Titivillus]

Initially, I felt put off from buying Krones, because at the time there were several discussions here about how superfluous they were and more of decorations than writing instruments, etc. -- similar to the arguments made against Montblanc. But after aquiring several Krones, I actualy find them to be great writers -- really, really great -- and I like many of their pen designs as well. Not the LEs, which I agree can be quite gaudy and over the top (but then again, so are many of Pelikan and Visconti LEs!), but the regular lines of pens. There definitely are Krone discussions here on FPN, bith positive and negative, and at least several members are big fans of the brand. But as diplomat has pointed out, I am 99.9% sure that they are not Italian. Just run search for "Krone" here and you will find many threads.

 

QM2

 

Yes the company is almost split in that they have a general pen line and then the reliquary pen line. The general pens are nice- I've got a button filler metaphor that has a smooth nib.

 

The company might be US but the pens are italian made!

 

Kurt

[chuancao]

I just recently bought a Krone daddy-o for my wife. I actually thought it was German and not italian. The pen is in jade-green and it is a piston filler. To answer one of the posters' questions above - the piston mechanism is smooth. But I did notice that it seems as if they simply stick a thin converter in and made it permanent. I say this because through the rather transparent barrel I can see that the ink holder is rather thin, though quite long. Also the piston inside the barrel also says MARLEN on it.

 

It is a beautiful pen. In terms of writing experience, the first pen skipped and skipped and I noticed that the tines were severely misaligned. Had it exchanged at FPH and there is no misalignment. But it still skips at times. Maybe this was NOS and the oil residue in the feed will take a long time to "flow out." My wife still loves it and says it writes beautifully. She also claims that the skipping has improved dramatically. Time will tell. Hope this helps.

 

PS we got this on closeout at FPH for only 120 bucks - the list price was 370.

[diplomat]

Is the consensus then that while Krone is in fact an American company, it markets itself as an Italian brand?

 

I think this is higly possible. Due to the high reputation that Italian brands do have in US, they are prone to be used as reference in the industry. And thus "copied" from market newcomers*. At the end of the day, isn't this the same field where Monteverde and Taccia are playing?

 

The same happens with other italian products like pasta or coffe (though I don't understand why, since coffe it is not an Italian product at all). When I travel I often see funny "italianized" brands of such goods. And I guess that the same happens with other regional product around the world (fake english tea? or beer names that sound german but they aren't?).

 

Talking about this, one thing surprise me: the Taccia motto. They wrote in their marketing ads (or on the website): "Taccia di stile". Now, "Traccia di stile" do have a sense (something like "marks of style") while "taccia di stile" means nothing; then I wonder: mistake or word game? And if it is a word game, it is recognized as such by american people?

 

* NB: with "market newcomers" I do not mean anything negative. I am not discussing the quality of those brands, that I don't know from direct experience and, as a matter of fact, I read from FPN posters they are good indeed. I just want to say they were created in the 90s, after the Italian brands gained their reputation.

[FrankB]

I have three Krone non-LE pens and two Marlen. I have thought I had five Marlen pens. The pens all have similar sizes and design features, including the nibs. In previous threads here, none of which I can cite at the moment, it was the general understanding that Marlen makes Krone non-LE pens, or at least the majority of them. Based on my own experience with both brands of pen, I am satisfied that I have all Marlen products. I think discussing Krone pens in this forum is appropriate.

 

Whether the company is American or not, I don't know. I almost don't care, as I am more interested in who makes the pens. And, yes, Krone is very coy about their source of manufacture. I think it is an intentional ploy to add mistique to their brand.

Edited April 1, 2008 by FrankB

[alvarez57]

I've read in this forum that is an American co. that commissions (some) its pens to Marlen. I always check Fountain pen Hospital for they [very] frequently put on sale Krone's "Fashion" line, the non-reliquary line. I must say they are very smooth with some spring to it. Good flow of ink and the "piston" is a sealed cartridge.

 

 

This is fine nib, Red Marble from the Moderne collection:

 

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/26661/2200765260101882882S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

And from the same collection, the Martinique in broad nib. I'm happy with them.

 

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/43249/2659609330101882882S600x600Q85.jpg

The Marlen nib:

 

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/39509/2963436220101882882S600x600Q85.jpg

 

The Krone nib:

 

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/38865/2025737100101882882S600x600Q85.jpg

 

Hope this helps. BTW both brands have an in-built cartridge.

 

[vanyieck]

Wow - This is interesting - Are they from Italy or USA. I did do a google search and no one can say for sure!!! How can a company be so stealth in its country of origin. People should be able to easily find out what country their manufacturing plant is in.

 

I did find an interesting article from Penspotters HERE.

 

Note at the end it says that it is from Italy.

 

I also agree with the article and with these posts so far - I am not into their expensive LE's but I have 3 Krones that re great writers that were all under 200.00. My latest one is a beautiful Red Boulder model that I got at the Philadelphia Pen Show this year on sale for 150.00. Nice Pen

 

 

JK

 

 

I am an espoused lover of Krones so I'm excited to read the ongoing discussion. They are in fact an American company that uses manufacturing in Italy. Recently I had work done on a Paradox with went to Cleveland and then on to Italy for repair. From what I understand they do minor repairs in Ohio but the major work is done at their manufacturing center in Italy.

 

By the way, I currently own 5 Krones. They are all fabulous writers and are well used in my rotation.

 

Cheers.

[George Drummond]

Krone is a 100% US company, but they use Italian and German components. The nib is German, presumably Bock, while the pen body is mostly Italian, made by Marlen. I'm not actually sure which pen parts are actually made by Krone.

 

Anyway, I have a Krone Sterling and it's a superb pen. Great, smooth nib, and a nice sterling silver body, with high quality finish. It cost me less than $500 from this forum's favourite pen seller and I consider this a bargain. The pen is very similar to a MB 146 pure sterling in appearance, but heavier and also a cc filler.

[Doug C]

This has been covered before, but Krone is an American company started by Robert Kronenberger (sp?). He owns a company that produces baseball caps (something like American Needle..), was intrigued by the idea of doing something special with FP's (hence the Abraham Lincoln), and contracted with Marlen to produce the pens.

Over the years, almost of all of their pens have been produced by Marlen (a notable exception would be the all metal pens, which I don't care for-I believe they are, or were produced by Bossert and Erhart).

 

I have about 10 or 12 Krone/Marlens, and they are all wonderful. I also have one Marlen with a Krone nib. The local dealer (SF pens) will change them out depending on what he has available so they are friction fit. If you own both brands you will notice a familiar similarity, but the Krones are design in house so they have a slightly different feel.

 

 

[tutelman]

I have found that the non-limited edition Krones are fine writing tools. I own a Krone Moderne and am very pleased with this piston-filled, 18K nib pen.

 

As a satisfied Krone customer, I am always looking for Krone bargains. There is currently an excellent sale at Fountain Pen Hospital. In their Super Specials section there are three different Krone models, all at substantially reduced prices. If UPS tracking is correct, I'll receive my celluloid, piston-filled Krone tomorrow.

 

Happy hunting!

[Ghost Plane]

I have 5 non LE Krones and adore them all. Additionally, their service department and rep keep me coming back.

[DRichards1968]

I am curious as to why no one ever seems to mention Krone along with all the other wonderful Italian pens made today. I own 2 Krones and another on the way and I think they are smooth great writers. I hear alot about all the other brands in these forums but little about Krone. In fact they are not even listed a one of the Modern Italian Manufacturers in the pinned postings above! Any thoughts or comments? I am very curious......

 

 

Krone is American, not Italian. They do have links in Italy, though.

 

I like Krones. I have a 'black tie' and it's both a great looking and a great writing pen.

[Deirdre]

Krone is American, not Italian. They do have links in Italy, though.

As stated up-thread, more than links.

 

They're more an Italian pen company than, say, Underwood (London), which designed the pens in Italy but had them made in France.