What Does Fountain Pen Ink Have To Do With Chocolate?
03/27/2013Such a range of browns! Hard to pick just one but for my spring rotation, it will be Diamine Chocolate Brown with a firm nib and Noodler’s Beaver or Kiowa Pecan with a flex nib. Which one would you choose?
An Inkophile's Blog 
I’d actually choose one that’s not on your list–
J. Herbin Terre de Feu
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That’s one I considered along with Waterman Havana Brown, Levenger Cocoa, JH Lie de The, and a number of other brown inks. This time I was looking for something with a lot of pop in a neutral shade and Chocolate is just right for my mink True Writer. Never put the two together before but the pen and ink are perfect for each other. Terre de Feu is so red but good for a flex nib. Maybe one of the Namiki Falcon pens would be best for it. Which pen do you prefer that ink?
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I have it in a Safari Fine for the time being… I really enjoy the way J.H. inks play with Safari’s… got a sample vial of Lie de The, but haven’t tried it yet. I’m also rather biased, though. I’m not much of a “brown” person unless it’s a drawing pen (in which case I’m going to reach for Diamine Ancient Copper) and I generally love weirdish desaturated colors with high shading for my personal writing. Btw I bought Poussiere de Lune because of your purple post a ways back, and it’s easily my favorite ink that I have a full-size bottle of. It’s great to see the comparison swatches all on the same piece of paper.
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That’s great news about PdL. So glad it worked out for you. Herbin inks reminded me of watercolors when I first discovered them. It was a very happy match for me at the time. It has become hard to find that delicate look as very saturated colors have taken the public’s fancy. Diamine Sepia shades and outlines well from a wide nib should you get an opportunity to try a sample. There are others in inkdom but that one remains a favorite. Perhaps, you would like it, too.
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I’ll keep it in mind, thanks. Have you tried Stipula Sepia? I absolutely love the Musk Green, but haven’t tried any of the others they make. I noticed myself that the ink market tends toward either bright, oversaturated or very conservative darks. Not a lot of middle ground, unfortunately. Although I like the somewhat “watercolor” effect of J.H. inks, what really draws me to them is that they mix weird colors like Rouille de Encre that border on “ew” but somehow come out looking really beautiful.
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Stipula Sepia is included in the comparison and is very similar to De Atramentis Sepiabraun and Diamine Saddle Brown. All three are a bit pink and of medium saturation. Verde Muschiato is much more interesting and I almost included it. When compared to the inks in the comparison, it really looks more green than brown at least in daylight. There is a scan of it from February that shows how it compares to brown. It really is a unique ink.
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Private Reserve Chocolat?
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Hmmm. Not sure if I have PR Chocolat. Have had three bottles of PR develop a sour odor recently that makes me a little leery. Have you experienced that?
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I had a bottle of Chocolat that quickly developed SITB several years ago, but the replacement bottle has been stable. I haven’t bought any PR since then, though (not avoiding, just developed a crush on J Herbin).
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Herbin is definitely crush-worthy. What are your favorites?
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Can’t afford to go wild, but I now have Eclat de Saphir, Rouge Opera, Terre de Feu, Ambre de Birmanie, Larme de Cassis, and Vert Reséda — impressed with all of them.
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beautiful colours! I would choose Diamine Chocolate brown (I am missing here Rustic brown or Ancient copper) and Noodler’s Golden brown, because I like the contrast of these colours. But for spring I would prefer J.Herbin’s Vert olive and Ambre de Birmanie (still don’t have these), together with my current inks – Diamine Eau de Nil, Bilberry, Merlot and J.Herbin’s Poussiere de Lune and Cacao du Bresil. oh… I actually never realize, how many founatin pens I am carrying with me on daily basis :)))
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Pens do tend to multiply.
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I adore Ambre de Birmanie. It’s like writing with honey.
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oh, now I want it even more… 🙂
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That’s a good way to look at it.
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I like Diamine Chocolate very much too – Visconti Sepia is worth a try, if you’ve not used that. I used to draw with it in a Rotring Art Pen, and liked it very much.
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I have three favorite browns: Diamine Saddle Brown, Waterman Havana Brown and Herbin Lie de The 🙂
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You NEED to try Private Reserve Chocolat. 🙂
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The color of PR Chocolat looks very red compared to Diamine Chocolate in comparing online swatches. Is that accurate?
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Diamine Chocolate brown is a lovely, lovely colour. I use it in one of my Parker 51 pens with a M nib….smooth! 😉 I love PR Chocolate too, and J. Herbin´s Cacao du Bresil is nice. I´ve always had a thing for CDA´s Grand Canyon as well…. however, it´s far removed from anything chocolaty.
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I was reminded of this post by the Rhodia Drive blog – “Ink and Chocolate” – http://rhodiadrive.com/2013/04/05/encre-et-chocolat-ink-and-chocolate-art-in-montreal
“ENCRE ET CHOCOLAT is an exhibition of contemporary calligraphic work by Les Calmars of Montreal.” Maybe they have an answer! 🙂
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Tasty!
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