J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune

[carpedavid]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4404750081_b1705d4a10_b.jpg

 

J. Herbin Poussière de Lune (Moon dust) is a deep violet color that reminds me of the shadow cast by a lunar eclipse. It exhibits moderate shading in wider nibs, but is remarkably consistent in a fine nib. It is a moderately saturated ink – especially compared to other J. Herbin inks I own, which tend toward low saturation – so its overall color is affected by the paper it is used with. On the off-white paper of a Moleskine, the ink takes on an even more umbral tone.

 

It's been my experience that J. Herbin inks flow well in all of the pens that I've used, and this one is no exception. Unlike some of their other inks, which tend to feather, this one displays very little feathering regardless of paper; both Moleskine and Rhodia papers behave well with it. Show-through is minimal, even on the thin paper of a Moleskine Cahier, and bleed-through is nonexistent when used with a fine nib.

 

As with most inks, drying time varies by the absorbency of the paper in question. On an absorbent paper like Moleskine, it is dry to the touch in two seconds or less. On the Rhodia, though, I noticed a range of behavior, depending on how wet a line I created. It would dry in about eight seconds when writing at a quick pace (the speed at which one might jot down a note or two), but at a more leisurely pace (the speed at which one might write when concerned about one's penmanship) it took anywhere between ten and fifteen seconds to dry.

 

While I have a number of bottles of J. Herbin, this is one of the few that stays in my regular rotation. The ink color is saturated enough to provide good contrast and it is of a shade that's easy to read, so it is well suited to daily use. I'd also consider it to be conservative enough for normal business use.

 

J. Herbin fountain pen inks come in a 30ml bottle with an integrated pen rest that is suitable for displaying on top of one's desk.

 

Review materials: For the wide strokes, I used a Lamy 1.1mm steel calligraphy nib in a Lamy Safari. For the narrow strokes, I used a Lamy 2000 with an EF nib.

[Gene V]

I have been using this ink for the last week and I really like the color. It is wet and does take a few seconds to dry on Rhodia. I've been using it in my Parker Insignia with a medium nib. The ink makes the nib write more like a broad nib. The color in your scan looks about right on.

 

Gene

[PaulGeo]

Nice review... just ordered a bottle this week

[Alice L]

Nicely done, with beautiful penmanship! Thank you very much.

Now I'm going go place an order so I can play with it myself

[WendyNC]

That's lovely. This ink has been playing quite nicely in my finicky fine nibbed Visconti Opera, but seeing it here, I think I'm going to try it in something wider as well. Thanks!

[limesally]

Beautiful review and calligraphy! I have this ink but admit it plays second fiddle to Caran d'Ache Storm. But your review is so lovely I feel like pulling it out again.

[Ondina]

Nice review, of a true classic ink. Very accurate scan, the variety of pens used shows the shading well. This used to be a staple for me, but R&K Scabiosa and Diamine Damsom are fierce competitors these days. Many thanks for the review, the format is lovely.

[beelzebub23]

Very good review! I have never tried J. Herbin, but this color looks amazing.

[LWB]

Nice review. I am using this ink in cartridges and is dark enough for everyday use.

[lovemy51]

nice review, Dave! i got my bottle today, but i haven't inked any pens with it yet. after seeing this review... off to try it out!!

[lovemy51]

somehow mine appears different than dave's scan.

 

still a nice purple with a hint of grey that i see myself using a lot.

 

edited to remove a scan pic.

Edited March 4, 2010 by lovemy51

[GouletPens]

Nice review. This one is a big seller for me (I'm affiliated, not with the reviewer but with the ink!). I didn't know why it was a big seller at first because the color on the box looks like a plum color (not something I'm that into, normally). It wasn't until it was outselling Perle Noir and Êclat de Saphir that I decided I just had to see what it was all about. From the first few strokes I fell absolutely in love with this ink. It's always hard to get the color just right in a scan, but you've done a pretty good job here. The tough thing about ink reviews online is that everyone's monitors are set to different ratios, so the color will look a little different to everyone.

 

I was curious about why this ink sold so well, so when I asked a bunch of my customers (a lot of who are members here), I was enlightened that this ink almost exactly matches the color of red wine stains. All of our wine connoisseurs were buying it because they like the wine stain look!! The best thing about this ink is the fact, like you said carpedavid, that it's easy to read. This ink is very easy on the eyes, and in my opinion, looks best on the more ink repellent papers (Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Apica, etc) with very wet writing broad or calligraphy nibs. You get a lot of really nice shading and character, but still is very easy on the eyes. I try to cycle through all my J. Herbin inks when I'm writing thank you notes to my customers (so far I've been able to keep that up with every order, despite the 5-week old that demands much of my time), but I just keep going back to this one. The one ink I have found that I like allllmost as much is Bleu Nuit, because of the same shading and 'easy on the eyes' look. I do sell all 30 of the Herbin inks, but Poussière de Lune is my #1! If you want to try it, just go to my site and type "FPN" in the coupon code for a 10% discount.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks.

[specialk0449]

Based on your excellent review I placed my order for this ink along with 5 other colors. J. Herbin is fast becoming one of my favorite ink brands.

[ailleurs]

I love this color. Oh heck, who am I kidding? I adore all the Herbin inks I've tried so far. Every time I put a new one in a pen, I think "no, this one is my favorite!" :ltcapd: That lasts only as long as I keep the pen inked with that color. Then the wheel turns and we start all over again...

[kdnavrat]

Great review - I bought a bottle of this from Brian recently and can't wait to get to it - still enjoying the Violette Pensee that I inked up.

 

When in Cleveland, are there any pen shops or pen heavy shops to visit in the area?

 

Thanks,

Kurt

[carpedavid]

When in Cleveland, are there any pen shops or pen heavy shops to visit in the area?

 

Alas, Cleveland seems to be a pen-light kind of town. I have found only a few places that carry a handful of fountain pens (mostly jewelers), so all of my purchases so far have been online.

[carpedavid]

Based on your excellent review I placed my order for this ink along with 5 other colors. J. Herbin is fast becoming one of my favorite ink brands.

 

Excellent. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It's a great ink.

[jschwab]

Great review... and darn, another ink I now have to buy.

 

John

[FrankB]

GouletPens wrote:

 

"I was curious about why this ink sold so well, so when I asked a bunch of my customers (a lot of who are members here), I was enlightened that this ink almost exactly matches the color of red wine stains. All of our wine connoisseurs were buying it because they like the wine stain look!! ..."

 

Exactly! I have been using this ink for many years and I have always referred to it as "wine stain red." (And to Vert Olive as "grass stain green.") I love that lovely organic wine stain look. I also love the way this ink behaves - in the pen and on paper. It is heartening to hear that I am not alone.

Edited March 11, 2010 by FrankB