J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune Ink Review

J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune is my first bottle of colored ink (before that, I didn't know colored ink/online stationery store existed) and a start of something that's very exciting: Ink hoarding. It's one of the six bottled-ink I own and I have been getting a lot of use out of it.

As with all J.Herbin, Poussiere de Lune flows very well on all pens, the deep-dusky red purple is neutral (enough for daily note-taking or correspondence) with an interesting twist. The shade is kind of nostalgic, as it looks like a potassium permanganate solution (In China kids call it PP powder/buttock powder, as the strong oxidant is commonly prescribed by doctors to sterilize kid's bums).

In Hero 616 (and on cheap paper), it's super intense and doesn't shade a bit. 

Bleed through was pretty bad (not too much feathering though) but that's to be expected with watery inks.  Anyway, the ink doesn't hold very well with moisture or humidity. Be cautious if you are looking for permanence (as there is none).

Poussiere de Lune in Lamy Safari Fine on Clairefontaine Paper (which always yield glorious shading)

Lastly, the compulsory matching picture (the sky turned light navy blue a few seconds after I snapped it).

J. Herbin Vert Pre Ink Cartridges

 

The tin of J. Herbin Ink Cartridges in Vert Pre was a part of a giveaway price from Quo Vadis blog (from back in March). I have been wanting this ink ever since I stumbled across Pen Addict's review on it (it was sold out in Jetpen almost immediately afterward) but I didn't get a chance to. In fact, this is the very reason I got back to the whole fountain pen addiction (because you need those to use the pretty inks).

The tins are not only cute but also very storage friendly, having color-coded cap for each shade. 

There are six cartridges in each tin. I think they could add two more, to fill all the space and make the number lucky...By the way, 8 is every Chinese's lucky number. My student number back in China was 628 and it kind of sounds like "Good luck all the way" in Cantonese...Because of that, I got called by teachers  mid-daydream all the time. (Maybe it's not that lucky after all...)

A swab (I don't normally do swab but one of the cartridges broke and leaked). Vert Pre is a medium to slightly pale grassy green with quite a bit of yellow. The ink flows very well, feathers a bit on cheaper paper, dries fast enough and (as with all J.Herbin inks I have used) has no water-resistance. At least it's very easy to clean and perfectly safe on more expensive pens.

Writing sample of Vert Pre with Ohto F-Spirit (which lays down a more concentrated line )

Verdict: I am totally getting a bottle of this (just so that I can use it on varies nib sizes)...

J. Herbin Refillable Roller Ball Pen

(So here is a review without writing sample) J. Herbin Refillable Roller Ball Pen is a light-weight and short (just a bit longer than Pilot Petit) pen that takes standard international cartridges. I caught the nifty little thing at ISellpens.com when it was on sale for 6 bucks but it went back to $9.6 (so the seller that offers the best deal right now is Jetpens).

The pen is is a made of a slightly frosted plastic, it would take some degree of abuse (without showing too much of the wear and tear), the clip is pretty stiff and cap gives a crisp and secure click closure. There is three small holes at the end of the barrel so you need to get those taken-care of before converting the pen into an eye-dropper. 

The grip section is made of a clearer plastic that shows the feed. Inside the feed,  there seems to be a white cotton cord for the ink to diffuse through (it later got clogged by Noodler's No.41 brown, a ink with pigment that settles into small flakes).

There is a protruded ring (probably there so the tip will fit the inner sleeve inside the cap) that cuts my hand a little, but it wasn't too big of a deal (at least I prefer this over the trigonal grip). Bumped or not, prolonged writing session is not as comfortable since the pen is a bit too light, as I prefer heavier one that rests by itself.

When I first got the pen, I intend to use it with a waterproof brown ink, as a cheaper alternative to buying the brown Sakura Pigma Micron. Syringe-filled with Noodler's No.41 Brown (the culprit), it worked pretty well during the first few days, laying down a consistent and thin (around 0.5mm) line with a bit of shading...Then it just got clogged. I tried to revive it with flushes and days of (just water) soaking but it has never been the same...

Verdit: It's a good pen (while it lasted), just play safe and use watery inks for it.

Lamy Raspberry Al-Star with J. Herbin Rouge Opera

Lamy Raspberry Al-Star is the special edition for 2009 and it's no longer available in US (some Asian sources said it was made permanent). I was lucky enough to discover one from an England-based eBay seller, who charged...A little less than 30 dollars (international shipping included!) for a brand new one in package (that's cheaper than a special edition Safari!) and since it's the European version, it also came with a silver colored plastic pouch (that I ended up needing).

The Lamy Al-Star is around the same length as a Safari with a slightly chubbier build, the over-all design of the two are the same except Al-Star are smoother (as in, less angular on the edges) and feels more solid on the hand. It's a light weight one for a metal-body pen (it weights less than the resin-body, shorter Sailor Sapporo) but I like how it balances and the brushed-metal, cool-to-the-touch body. 

Like Safari, the Al-Star also has a cap that's denser (with a noticeably bigger weight per unit length) than the body, it not only feels a bit off-balance when posted (I try not to do it since it makes a chalkboard-scratching screech), it's also harder to balance...But I managed! (Maybe I love them because they/the flat bases are the perfect models for my outdoor glamour shots).

The transparent charcoal body show all the capillary and maybe's it's because the ink are evenly distributed (and the top is darkened so I don't see a huge glop of ink accumulated), I am actually not bothered by it. The Lamy M nib is smooth and stiff. Even it's doesn't glide on the paper like a skater, the specific break down of stiff-springiness is very compatible with my handwriting so I keep going back to it. 

Of course, I hate the trigonal grip with a passion (if it's not creating new bumps on my hand, it just cuts skin on my existing one. It's like a daily regional exfoliation on my middle finger). Anyway, I just learned to suck it up since it's part of the attractive design.

I haven't heard many people coveting the Raspberry color, but I find it really unique and magical: It's a pinkish red (well, raspberry pink) but there is also a hint of warm gold tone in the paint, which makes it look like ruby grapefruit under certain lighting. Even though I try to care for the pen like a baby, small scratches and dents still appear on the cap...

The closest match to the pen (in my small collection) would be J. Herbin Rouge Opera: A demurely dusty raspberry pink with medium intensity, decent (there are silkier inks out there) flow and no water-resistance. The writing sample is Olga's Aria from Eugene Onegin, as today is Tchaikovsky's 173th birthday!

The ink writes smoothly and the shading is pretty noticeable with the Clairefontaine paper (but pretty much every ink is, as long as it's not too intense) but I feel that it's a little dry on the normal cheaper paper I use.

Overall: Love them both.

J. Herbin Vert Olive Fountain Pen Ink

Vert Olive is the one of the first J. Herbin Ink bottle ink I have (OK, I only own two at the moment) and luckily, I didn't have to go through any internal struggle while I was picking it out (they do have a handful of greens in the line up)...Because this was the only green that wasn't sold out at the time.

Each bottle comes with 30ml of product and retails for 9 dollars at Jetpens (where I bought it from) and 8.91 bucks at Isellpen.com  (where they also offer some "official" shades like black, blue and purples in 100ml bottles for 18.75). There is a little groove in front of each bottle that works as a pen rest. I suppose it would be perfect for testing out ink with a glass dip pen but the groove it's too narrow for most of my pens.

 

Vert Olive/Olive Green is a golden yellow green that is "not unlike olive oil", according to many reviews.  With a heavy swap or a very wet nib (like this Lamy Safari Broad), the color is rich, warm and comforting but since normal fountain pens leave out a much thinner/drier line, I usually get something that's a little lighter, browner (like I am writing with pickle juice). 

As with most J.Herbin inks (which have medium to low intensity), this does shade nicely with wet nib. At the same time (as expected with watery inks), this flows very well, dries quickly and/but has no water resistance whatsoever. Since I am a cold-soda addict with a cluttered desk (more like cluttered room), I always found my entire note page smeared off completely where I have placed a cold glass/plate on top of this. 

What I think olive oil should look like (yes, I am aware that olive oil comes in all sorts of colors)...

What Vert Olive reminds me of...Watery, light and with a strong yellow/brown lean.  

Overall: I am on the fence about this one. This is certainly a very unique-looking shade that you don't come by very often (I have only seen one other pickle-looking ink, which is Wagner from Diamine's Music collection). Under yellow-lamp/by the candlelight, this looks luscious and warming, beautiful enough to make me overlook all the...pickle-ness. On the other hand, this is too light to be legible on most pens I use (I prefer fine nibs for daily writing) and the water resistance is a bit too low for my clumsy self.