Swimming in the Bleu Ocean
Have you had the opportunity to try J. Herbin’s latest 1670 Series Anniversary ink, Bleu Ocean?
In lieu of testing it in a fountain pen, I opted for the “everything else I could find in my studio” approach Continue Readering »
Inky Gifts for your Fountain Pen Friends
Another great gift idea for your favorite fountain pen user would be a new bottle (or three) of J. Herbin fountain pen ink. J. Herbin inks are non toxic, pH neutral, lightfast, water based, and are available in 30 colors. The inks are made from all natural dyes and are smooth flowing and fast drying. Each 30 ml bottle is elegantly labeled and has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks” with the “D” referring to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”
I have personally tried all of the Herbin fountain pen inks with the exception of the new Ocean Blue 1670 Anniversary Ink. My favorites include Perle Noire, Orange Indien, and Violette Pennse.
Which of these inks are your favorites? Are they on your holiday wish list?
Fountain Pen Repair
In a recent comment, one of our fans asked if we might know where to get a fountain pen repaired. My suggestion would be to post your specific needs to the forums over on the Fountain Pen Network. (Loads of good people there.) I myself have mostly had nibs adjusted or modified and can personally speak to the quality of work performed by Richard Binder, Pendemonium, and Mr. Nagahara from the Sailor pen company.
Questions about J. Herbin Perle Noire Ink
Karen recently received some questions about Herbin’s Perle Noire ink. Since this is one I have reviewed and regularly use, I’d be happy to respond.
Is this ink a really dark black? While I haven’t tried every black ink on the market, Continue Readering »
Clem’s Birthday Cupcakes
Will you just look at this? A tiny J. Herbin ink bottle! (Rouge Caroubier?) Seems like one of Clem’s friends – wait, do you know Clem? She writes the Rants of the Archer blog and is a huge fan of pens, inks & paper – just like me! One of Clem’s friends baked her a series of cupcakes based on her various hobbies. You can see them all here on the Cupcake Factory blog – though I have to admit, as I looked at each yummy picture, I was hoping to see an orange Rhodia cupcake!
Changing Inks with the Seasons?
As summer moves towards fall, I wonder how many of our fountain pen friends are swapping out bright blue and vivid green inks for fiery oranges and deep brown ones. I personally like to use whatever I’m inspired by in any given moment – but then again, I’m also not one to swap out summer clothes for winter ones. I think it’s because I live in a constant state of denial pertaining to the weather here in the northeast US.
I don’t currently have many pens inked up, but what I am using is: Continue Readering »
Fountain Pen Users: Piston, Converter, Cartridge or Other?
I have been a fountain pen user for several years and own a few different kinds. In a pen like my Sailor 1911 shown above, you can either use a *disposible ink cartridge or an ink converter which will allow you to use a bottled ink of your choice. (Such as J. Herbin inks.) Some pens like my Pelikan M200 use a piston to draw ink into the pen.
If you use a fountain pen, which of these filling mechanisms do you prefer? Lately I’ve been drawn to the pistons because they hold a ton of ink. I also like my vintage Parker Vacumatic which utilizes a diaphragm and a plunger to create a vacuum to draw ink into the pen. These also hold a good amount of ink before needing a refill.
Learn more abut fountain pens on Wikipedia, and be sure to check out the forums on The Fountain Pen Network.
*Disposable ink cartridges can be refilled by using a syringe type tool.
Image above All Rights Reserved © Stephanie Smith
J. Herbin Ink Color Names.. Who Knew?
Did you ever question the names of J. Herbin’s inks? From what I understand, the chosen names for each color are poetic to preserve the originality of the brand, and as a French tradition.
For Example: Rose Tendresse shown above, whose name translates to English as “Tenderness Pink,” This is the rose of love and the flowers of the same name and symbol of love. The color represents the feeling of love and also tenderness shared by 2 lovers.
You can read about each of the names of the 30 inks on the J Herbin website. While you are there, feel free to poke around the rest of the site. Lost of great information to be found!
Highlighting with Herbin
Our friend Cheryl at The Writer’s Bloc Blog wrote a post yesterday about using s0me of the lighter shades of J. Herbin fountain pen ink for the purpose of highlighting. This makes perfect practical sense as to why such light color inks exist, but I’ve had a little bit of difficulty making this work for me. Bouton d’or bled through the thin pages of Eat, Pray, Love and made a smudgy mess when I tried to highlight over ink jet printed pages of a book I had been working on. (Maybe I didn’t let them dry long enough?)
Do you use fountain pen inks to highlight? If yes, how do you use them, and which colors are most successful for you?
Guest Blogger: Bleubug discusses Marks on Paper
Our latest Guest Blogger is Thomas from the delightfully eccentric bleubug blog.
“I’m certainly a person who enjoys writing instruments both vintage and modern. Throw a few inks (or a few hundred) into the equation I’m happy as a clam or maybe an inky squid. But there are marks on paper beyond those made by fluid and pen which while archaic or unnoticed I do enjoy, so let me make mention of them. Continue Readering »
Enter now to win the August J. Herbin Ink Giveaway! 10 winners, 3 bottles each!
Time now for our August giveaway of some J Herbin inks!
Do you own a fountain pen and want to try a few new colors? Now is the time! A short while back I asked people to name the three J Herbin ink colors they would most like to win and though your responses spanned all 30 colors of the Jewel of the Inks line, the three most requested inks were: Continue Readering »
User Review: Alberto on the J. Herbin Creapen
Knowing my friend Alberto’s fondness for brush pens, I was eager to see his take on the Creapen, a refillable ink brush pen from J. Herbin that I had tested on two previous occasions. Per Alberto: Continue Readering »
What would you do with lighting bug ink?
Uh-oh, I guess I should add a disclaimer that the ink isn’t actually made out of lightning bugs….
Exaclair will be debuting this new J. Herbin Phosphorescente ink at the upcoming National Stationery Show in New York City, May 16th-19th at the Javits Center.
Karen told me that this ink is meant to “glow like a firefly’s belly” and that it does! It is not an ink for fountain pens, so break out the dip pens for this one. And I’m certain you can guess what I did with it the minute I got it, right? Glow-in-the-dark mandala? You betcha! Now I just have to figure out how to take a picture of the results!
New 340th Anniversary J. Herbin Scarlet Ink : Rouge Hematite
Just got word that a sample of this new J. Herbin limited edition Scarlet ink (“Rouge Hematite” is its French name) is on its way to me. Rouge translates to red, and Hematite is an iron ore that when pulverized into a powder, can be used as red pigment. Continue Readering »
Speaking of inks, what is your favorite color?
Image courtesy of Biffybeans ©All Rights Reserved
As I had mentioned in a recent post, I have at least 10 fountain pens inked up at any given time- each with a different color. When I bought my first fountain pen, (a red Lamy Safari 2 years ago) I only wanted to use one color- black. Continue Readering »
