José Naranja makes beautiful journals that he on occasion offers for sale. Oh, and I didn’t even make it through January without falling in love with an ink from Colorverse. What do you think of it?
From the archives, a photo of my mother’s jet beads, a silk flower, Rhodia pad, and ten pens. The red Lamy Safari looks out of place but it’s a good writer. In my rotation, how a pen writes is more important than its form. Which is more important to you?
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.
Exaclair, Inc. sent a bottle of Herbin Vert de Gris ink to review and it did not disappoint.
Caveat: I am a longtime fan of Herbin inks but I set aside my bias when putting ink to the test. Mostly.
According to the website, the color is “based on the lovely gray/green patina that appears on aging copper”. It is a deep, dark teal. A free-flowing nib will bring out its dark side while a dry nib will make it a little less saturated and encourage a more subtle look. I shook the bottle before testing both the Herbin glass pen and the Namiki Falcon SF just in case there should be any settling. Oddly, results were slightly more green than online examples or the color swatch on the top of the box.
It is not an extremely lubricating ink, but rather a moderate one that will be more than satisfactory in most pens. I think my Parker ’51’ in Navy Gray is going to love it, especially the color. No bleed-through, show-through or feathering on Clairefontaine. A doodle on the back of a cheap envelope showed mildly uneven outlines, but that isn’t the surface on which my fountain pens get the most use.
No fancy-schmancy, two-toned, glittery look to Herbin’s Vert de Gris. Rather it is a well-behaved ink dressed in teal that could easily augment an everyday-carry (EDC) selection of blue and black. At least that’s what my pens recommend and I would not disagree.
A comment to yesterday’s post gave me the opportunity to expand on the situation about continuing to reside at WordPress. I am reposting that comment here.
Shubhranshu Das wrote:
Sign of the times…I hope you can get out of this paid version and rescue the prior records and exit to a more conducive platform …
My reply:
Yes, it is a sign of the times. Being profitable is essential to survival and expansion. I get that. The rub is that hobby blogs are rarely profitable. There is no income flow to defray expenses. My reviews have dwindled along with my budget while product prices have risen. The WP fee will cut into it further.
Thankfully, Luxury Brands (distributor of Platinum Pens, Noodler’s Ink), Exaclair (distributor of Herbin, Rhodia, Clairefontaine), Pen Chalet, Goldspot Pens, Nemosine, Jackson’s Art Supplies, and others have sent products in recent years that have kept Inkophile alive. Such supporters are priceless as are those readers who have sent products or donated cash. Inkophile has become a group effort in which every individual is greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately, I lack the expertise to relocate. Moving 1,244 posts with associated links and images along with 6,245 comments would be a daunting task. Inkophile is trapped in the clutches of the WP monster.
Update: A lovely reader sent a donation that will help pay the WP ransom. Yay!
Inkophile is ten years old! Can you believe it? Over 216,000 words, 250 reviews, 1,200 posts and 6,000 comments. That’s a lot of pen talk!
Fountain pens were’t always my tool of choice, but in an art store nearly twenty years ago, a disposable model caught my eye. Since then there has been no turning back.
Moving forward a few years, Ebay provided access to pens that were unavailable locally, but those thirsty suckers needed suitable nectar and that’s when I discovered Pendemonium. Through Sam and Frank, I learned about Rhodia pads and acquired a taste for J. Herbin Lie de The and Poussiere de Lune. Then came Noodler’s Black and Legal Lapis. Those early acquisitions made a fine start to my ink addiction.
Fountain Pen Network caught my interest a few years later, and after an extended period of lurking, I signed up. It was an enjoyable playground for a newbie and remains so. Back then FPN’s tolerance for intemperate and off-topic remarks led to the creation of Inkophile as a more free form and less divisive venue for pen posts. Thanks, FPN!
Even my Twitter account has been around for a decade. Recently, I put some time into refining my Twitter lists, one with over 250 artists and another with over 400 pen people. Twitter can be a cesspool so members are mostly folks who post on-topic or upbeat tweets. The lists are curated so will not only expand, but members who cease to write about relevant subjects will be removed. No aspersions cast on anyone, but the point is to see tweets related to art, pens, and things that are positive. The lists can be a treat when other areas of life are not.
Manufacturers have expanded their offerings in the past ten years well beyond anything I imagined when Inkophile was launched. There is no way to keep up with every pen and ink released making the support of retailers and distributors invaluable. In fact, Pen Chalet, Goldspot, and Exaclair have sent pens and inks recently so there are a few new items awaiting review. Much to do.
Lastly, a huge thank you to my readers who have made this blog possible. You are the best!
The Herbin Améthyste de l’Oural giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all of the ink aficionados who entered. Your comments showed great enthusiasm and anticipation for the new ink.
Also, thank you to Karen at Exaclair for sending a bottle of the lovely ink to share with you. She has been a huge supporter of this blog for which I will always be grateful.
Drum roll please. Congratulations to Robyn Brown, the lucky winner! Please contact me at inkophile@gmail.com to arrange shipment. I hope you love Améthyste as much as I do.
Herbin’s new “1798” Jacques Herbin Amethyste de l’Oural fountain pen ink was announced today with availability slated for September 1, 2017. It’s a lovely color with glints of silver that reminds me of an amethyst and platinum ring my mother bequeathed my daughter. Purple and silver are beautiful together, subtle but elegant.
Karen at Exaclair, Inc., the U.S. distributor for Herbin, gave me a bottle that I am going to give away. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment below about the new ink. One entry per person. Shipping to a U.S. address only. The random drawing will be held August 10, 2017 at 6 pm PDT. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me at inkophile@gmail.com to claim the prize.
An Inkophile's Blog 
