Dip pens caught my fancy recently and J. Herbin’s 1798 inks have been just the thing to add some sparkle to my efforts. The current colors in the series are Cornaline, Amethyste, and Kyanite and they look beautiful alone as well as together. As a longtime fan of Herbin as well as anything silver, I was very happy to see this group of inks introduced.
My Fellowship dip nib has a fountain pen feed that holds a significant load of ink, enough to fill a page, and with a quick swish of water, it’s ready for another color of ink. The pen produced lively passages by switching between the turquoise, coral, and amethyst colors on a per word or line basis.
Next, I tried a small, synthetic watercolor brush to create softly edged doodles, swatches, and swirls without feathering or bleed-through. Not my usual approach, but it did provide a sufficient test of ink characteristics.
Swirling the bottles before each dip kept the shimmery bits in suspension. If they settle in your fountain pen, a gentle motion will redistribute them. Note that they appeared more well-distributed on the page than particles from some of the other sparkly inks I have tried.
The colors are among my favorites and I would be happy to see them in a non-shimmer version, suitable for mundane tasks and business use. These are not super-saturated but deeply colored and very easy to read. It isn’t even necessary to tilt the paper to see the silver glints.
Kyanite du Népal falls in the turquoise range and with its flecks of silver, brings to mind jewelry or a fountain pen with silver-colored trim.
Orange ink can be shy but not Cornaline d’Egypte.
Améthyste de l’Oural is a deep, mid-range purple. The silver flecks stand out well making it the most dramatic ink of the three.
All three inks performed admirably on Clairefontaine paper demonstrating good flow and lubrication. If you like fat pens, the bottles have wide openings to accommodate the larger ones in your collection.
Herbin 1798 Ink would make a lovely holiday gift for the inkophile on your list.
There are lots of reviews and dozens of images at other sites in case you are not yet convinced to add a bottle to your collection. However, be forewarned. Resistance is futile.
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