J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor Ink Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

When J. Herbin first announced their newest 1670 collector's ink, the Internet went crazy–well, the fountain pen Internet went crazy. The photographs of the ink revealed a spectacular teal green with gold flakes and stunning red/pink sheen. I certainly had never seen anything like it before. Of course J. Herbin had already produced other 1670 inks with silver or gold flecks (Stormy Grey and Rouge Hematite), but Emerald of Chivor stands out because of its special sheening qualities.

As soon it was available, I bought a bottle from Anderson Pens for $26.00 plus shipping. I honestly didn't have high expectations for this ink. I bought the original formula Rouge Hematite and sold it. My bottle of Stormy Grey sits unused. The speckles just didn't show up consistently enough. Plus the red and grey colors weren't my favorites. But I'm a nut for blue and teal inks, so I knew I would like Emerald of Chivor even if the gold specks disappointed me. Plus, that fantastic sheen was so unique.

I've been writing with the ink for several weeks. It flows smoothly from my Pilot 912 with an FA nib. If I shake the pen gently before writing, the speckles appear pretty consistently. I'm impressed with how well the ink's sheen and flecks appear even with my fine FA nib.

I've also used calligraphy nibs to test the ink. Obviously broader nibs show off the ink even better than fine ones.

The ink is heavily saturated and it takes time to dry. So you have to be careful not to smudge it while you write. It isn't water fast, but it's so saturated, water doesn't completely erase it.

I haven't experienced any nib clogging. I've left the ink in my 912 for several weeks, and the nib writes perfectly each time. I wouldn't leave it in vintage pens for any length of time, however, just to be safe.

The thing that surprised me most about Emerald of Chivor is that the paper you use makes all the difference. On Clairefontaine Triomphe and Rhodia Dot Pad paper, the gold specks show up just fine, but there's no pink sheen.

But on Tomoe paper the ink shines like neon light. This is what made everyone go "Wow!" when they first saw this ink. I'm not sure why the pink sheen shows up on Tomoe but not on the other paper. You'll need to experiment the paper you use with Emerald of Chivor to find what brings out both the sheen and the sparkles.

Of course, to see these marvelous properties, you have to view the ink and paper in bright light, particularly bright sunlight. In ordinary light, the ink is a beautiful teal, and you can see some shimmer. But if you want an explosion of color, you need bright light.

The gold specks fall to the bottom of the bottle. You need to shake the ink well before filling your pen.

Perhaps this ink is best used for special things like invitations and envelopes where calligraphy nibs best express its beauty. It's certainly terrific for every day use in finer nibs, but to fully appreciate this glamorous ink, you'll have to take your writing into the sunshine to see it sparkle. And that's not a bad thing. Everyone can use a little sunshine.

J. Herbin Stormy Grey Fountain Pen Ink Review

I've only been deep into fountain pens and inks for a few years and I don't recall a product - especially an ink - causing this much noise in our little world. J. Herbin Stormy Grey has taken the internet by storm, proving that we all like shiny and new. Especially shiny.

Gold flecks contained within the deep grey ink are the big selling point in J. Herbin's latest anniversary ink release. Rouge Hematite, the first release in the 1670 series, also had a gold feature, but in the form of a sheen, not actual flecks in the ink. That one slight change really sets Stormy Grey apart.

The grey is a beautiful, saturated coal grey, bordering on light black. I had zero flow issues in either my TWSBI 1.5 mm stub nib that this writing sample was done with, or a medium dip pen nib which I used for a few notes. I found the gold flecks to be inconsistent, with a heavy presence on some letters, and a light to no presence on others. This happens when there are actual physical materials that need to be dispersed within the ink.

My biggest issue with Stormy Grey is the additional maintenance required to keep the ink flowing consistently. J. Herbin even has a label warning:

Having these additional things to worry about doesn't fit my usage pattern. I would be very worried to leave this ink loaded for more than a week or two. Plus, the bottle and reservoir shaking that is needed to get even fleck dispersion before use is annoying. Using a dip nib is an option, but that limits portability.

I must be the only one with this issue though, as JetPens can't seem to keep it in stock. There was a short reload right before Christmas that vanished within hours, so if you want to get your hands on this ink be sure to sign up to be notified when inventory becomes available again.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Rouge Hematite Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

I've been on quite an ink kick lately, and this week brings the end of the J. Herbin tour...for now at least. I've read a lot of good things about this particular ink, and I'm happy to say that the things I read were spot on.

J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Rouge Hematite is a brilliant red with some orange undertones and fantastic sheen. I've never seen an ink that has so much character as you're writing and even after it dries.

First off, the packaging for this ink is unique compared to the regular J. Herbin packaging, bottle included. I assume this is because the ink is a special anniversary edition. The bottle has a faux-rustic look due to the wax cap and wax stamp on the front. Upon closer inspection, they're not real wax, but they still look cool.

The only negative comment I have about this ink is about the bottle. The first two pens I tried to ink were unable to fit into the small hole on this bottle. The first pen I tried was a Pilot Penmanship with a cursive italic nib – I thought it would be a great pen to try out the shading behaviors, but it simply would not fit into the bottle. The second pen was a large Jinhao, and it didn't even come close to fitting. Finally, my Monteverde Artista and Lamy Safari had no problems inking up. This is definitely something to consider going forward – it's likely that some of your pens may not fit in this bottle, so look at something like the TWSBI inkwells or plan on using a syringe to fill your pens if they won't fit.

After getting my Monteverde and Safari inked, I was a very happy camper from the get-go. This is a beautiful ink that has many characteristics. I've always thought that J. Herbin inks can be slightly dull after they dry, and that always left a little to be desired. Not the case with the Rouge Hematite. This is a highly saturated, bright red with hints of orange and gold. When you tilt the page the right way under the light, the ink turns almost completely gold. Honestly, this probably made me a bit too excited. It's just unfathomable for an ink to change this much on the paper.

Apart from the deep saturation, the ink also shades fairly well. It's nothing amazing, but there is noticeable shading when using a regular tipped pen, and exaggerated shading in a large calligraphy nib. I think this would be a perfect red ink for use in a cursive italic medium nib.

Like all J. Herbin inks I've used, this ink behaves like a charm. It's a well-lubricated ink with no issues starting or stuttering. It has issues every so often in the 1.5mm Lamy nib, but so does every other ink I've used in that nib.

Dry time is a bit long, and I'm not really sure when the ink is actually dry because it's not smudge-proof. This is a pretty ink, but it has absolutely no archival properties (big surprise, I know). 30 seconds seems like a good average for dry time on this ink.

When using this ink, gold sludge builds up on the nib of your pen. This might bother some people, but I actually like it. Although, nib creep never really bothers me unless it's affecting the writing experience or functionality of the pen. The gold nib creep is a positive aspect in my book.

Overall, the J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Rouge Hematite is a fantastic bright red ink that will probably stay inked at all times in one of my pens. I love the multiple characterstics that this ink exhibits – so much so that it often distracts me when writing. Depending on the situation, this could be a good or bad thing, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a beautiful ink.