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J Herbin Terre de Feu A reddish brown, which is named after the Tierra del Fuego (land of fire) archipelago at the southern tip of South America. According to J Herbin: “This brown ink has a red tone a reminder of the burnt lands and vast deserts where nothing ever grows.”. I was really looking forward to this ink as a drop of it on a bill was winking at me from my desk However, the writing experience was opposite of the many positive reviews I saw on internet. It refused to flow in most of my pens. Reviewing this ink was the equivalent of being in a Star Trek mirror universe. Everything was the contrary for me. Ink is wet, with lower-than-average lubrication. It doesn’t like copy paper, and it has very long dry times. However, all the reviews I checked, were raving of its qualities. So take my review or all the others with a grain of salt For those of you who dabble in art and washes, this ink can be addictive. I couldn't stop doing washes with this ink. Chroma: Writing Samples: Scan is off. There's no purple in this ink. I've added photos, so you can see the real deal Photo: It's a sunny day, photos are close to what I see Comparison: Water test: Left side 10 seconds under running water. Art Work: I recently saw a documentary on Musketeers (the rowdy special forces of their day) and did a few sketches while watching, hence no cat and mouse. The paper is Talens Mixed Media Pocket book paper. The blue ink, is De Atramentis Document & Artist Cyan in a brush pen, diluted. The grey ink in the first drawing is Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite Not related to any musketeer, cat and mouse were out for a brisk walk, near a pond and were thinking of · Pens used: Pilot F3A (Ef /semi-flex), Lamy Safari(EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Jinhao 450 with fude nib not shown, and Waterman W2. · What I liked: Drawing , doing washes and appreciating drops of it on different papers. · What I did not like: Writing experience, especially with a Stub. · What some might not like: Long dry times. · Shading: Yes, there’s some. · Ghosting: Yes, on cheap paper. · Bleed through: Yes, on cheap paper. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Low · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Refused to write with many pens, some even after priming. · Saturation: Medium · Shading Potential: Depends on paper. · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Yes, with a wet pen. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Rather easy · Water resistance: Ok. · Availability: 10/ 30 ml bottles, and cartridges. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

Forgive my reviewing an ink that has been reviewed thoroughly before. This is my first review and I wanted to start with an ink that I have a lot of experience with. The written review was done in the Rhodia dotpad. The Titmouse sketch was done with J. Herbin's Terre de Feu and Cacao du Bresil in a Stillman & Birn Gamma Series sketchbook. Edited to add color wash detail, which I previously forgot to upload. Reasonable care was taken to ensure color accuracy.

I have decided to review some of my many inks. These aren't necessarily in any particular order. This one is J Herbin Terre de feu Terre de feu (Tierra Del Fuego or Land of Fire): Land of Fire (Tierra del Fuego in Spanish) is the name of an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland. Divided between Argentina and Chile, the main island is known as Land of Fire and also composed of a group of smaller islands. This brown ink has a red tone a reminder of the burnt lands and vast deserts where nothing ever grows. This isn't a waterproof or an archival inkBearing in mind the paper I use is very smooth, this ink took 13-16 secs to dry.It flows well and lubricates the nib quite well.It is currently available in sampling packs of 4 x 10ml mini glass bottles and 30ml D bottles. Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.It's available from many B&M shops and online retailers worldwide. J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700. Herbin uses all natural dyes in their fountain pen inks. This natural composition is reflected in the very neutral pH of the inks. From the beginning, J. Herbin distinguished itself from its competitors by offering a wide range of colors for the fountain pen inks. In 2007, 4 new colors were introduced which brought a total of 30 references of various colors. The names chosen for each color are very poetic to preserve the originality of the brand and as a French tradition.

I thought it would be interesting to compare the four Herbin browns. Top is Rhodia dotpad; bottom is Strathmore watercolor paper. Terre de Feu and Cacao du Bresil are two of the best sketching inks I've found. Lie de Thé is a gorgeous drawing ink that washes into a bold orange and sepia, but I never draw with it because it is such an ugly color to write with. I haven't found much use for Café des Îles. I considered including Ambre de Birmanie (one of my new favorites), but I consider it a yellow. Parker Quink Black (really a dark, dark blue) on the far right was added because Cacao du Bresil reads grey among the other browns. Anyone have a favorite? Hate them all? Prefer something else similar?