J. Herbin Standard Inks - Full Line Comparison

[visvamitra]

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J. Herbin was established in 1670.

 

M. Herbin was a sailor, and from his many journeys to India he brought back to Paris formulas for manufacturing sealing wax. His special lacquer formula improved the quality of the seals in adhesion and neatness, helping him to become famous throughout the kingdom.

 

J. Herbin is also the oldest name in ink production in the world.

 

By 1700, the company was producing “l’Encre de la Tete Noire,” followed by “Perle des Encres,” (The Jewel of Inks) and “l’Encre des Vaisseaux” (The Ink of Ships).

 

J. Herbin made ink for Louis XIV, and a black ink for the sole use of Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. These formulas still reside in our company headquarters in Paris.

 

At the moment company belongs to Exaclair Inc, that has rights to brands like Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Brause or G. Lalo.

 

J. Herbin offers 30 standard colors:

 

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1. Ambre de Birmanie
2. Bleu Azur
3. Bleu Myosotis
4. Bleu Nuit
5. Bleu Pervenche
6. Bouquet d'Antan
7. Bouton d'Or
8. Cacao du Bresil
9. Cafe des Iles
10. Diabolo Menthe
11. Eclat de Saphir
12. Gris Nuage
13. Larmes de Cassis
14. Lie de The
15. Lierre Sauvage
16. Orange Indien
17. Perle Noire
18. Poussiere de Lune
19. Rose Cyclamen
20. Rose Tendresse
21. Rouge Bourgogne
22. Rouge Caroubier
23. Rouge Opera
24. Rouille d'Ancre
25. Terre de Feu
26. Vert Empire
27. Vert Olive
28. Vert Pre
29. Vert Reseda
30. Violette Pensee

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Edited October 10, 2015 by visvamitra

[visvamitra]

Midori MD, Hero 5028, stub 1,9

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Calendar, Kaweco Sport Classic, B

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Chamois paper, Kaweco Sport Classic, B

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[visvamitra]

Clairefontaine, Kaweco Sport Classic, B

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Water resistance (after 10 minutes in warm water)

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Summary

Personnaly I'm huge fan of J. Herbin inks. At the moment they're my favourite onea along with some Sailor inks. I believe J. Herbin standard line is pretty cool and understated. They offe wide variety of well behaved and unique colors. My favourites are: Lie de The (one of the best inks ever created IMO), Ambre de Birmanie, Rouille d'Ancre, Lierre Sauvage, Poussiere de Lune and Orange Indien, plus Eclat de Saphir and Bleu Nuit. Reds are ok, especially Rouge Opera. There are however few inks that are really, really bad: Gris Nuage, Bleu Azur, Vert Reseda, Diabolo Menthe. Let me know what's your opinion on J. Herbin inks.

[Cyber6]

I am totally with you... Lie de The and Ambre de Birmanie are two of my favorite inks.

 

 

AMAZING.. SPECTACULAR.. COMPARISON as usual Vis.. A lot of work on this one too. Thanks so much for indulging us with your fantastic work.

 

 

 

C.

[lgsoltek]

You did it! The whole line of JH standard inks! Maybe the next step would be the whole Diamine line!

 

I find JH standard inks are generally not saturated. (I prefer more saturated inks.) There are a few that I do enjoy, like Lierre sauvage, Lie de thé, Ambre de Birmanie, Vert olive. But there are more that I really don't like, for example, Bleu Azure, Rouille d'ancre, Gris nuage, Vert réséda, Diabolo menthe, Rose tendresse, Bouquet d'antan, basically those that are so under-saturated.

[Hallel]

This is a lovely comparison. I really enjoy some of the J. herbin inks but I have an equally intense dislike of others. I guess I appreciate how this one ink brand can inspire so much emotion in me, positive and negative.

 

Plus Poussiere de lune, bleu nuit, and Rouge Opera and Emeraud de chivor are some of the prettiest inks ever made.

[dompred]

What a great comparison, I've been waiting for it!

 

My favorites are Ambre de Birmane, Blue Nuit and Poussiere de Lune. I own the last two but now I have to get the Ambre as well, it looks lovely.

[Tas]

Excellent work visvamitra! Thank you.

I'm sure many will be putting some of these on their lists now.

 

These, and Diamine, were the first inks I started to experiment with and I bought three to play with - Lie de The, Poussiere De Lune & Gris Neuage. I wasn't wowed by any of them really and not many pens got a second fill .

Can't put my finger on why.

 

I later discovered an wonderful artist, Paul Madonna and bought Cacao de Brazil in my poor attempts to emulate his colours. It's my fave J Herbin and the only one I will replace.

 

 

[lapis]

...longer than it needs to what?

 

Great comparison-overview! Being so (at least relatively) inexpensive, all the more reason to have all 30. (That leaves only the 5 scents and 3 flakes.)

 

Mike

[drv1913]

Very nice! Thank you for doing all of this work and posting it. I heart J. Herbin inks.

[Tas]

...longer than it needs to what?

 

Great comparison-overview! Being so (at least relatively) inexpensive, all the more reason to have all 30. (That leaves only the 5 scents and 3 flakes.)

 

Mike

 

No idea lapis. It was just a free to use image of his online that reminded me of CdB.

[visvamitra]

Thank you guys. This inks are easily available and the price is fair. I think it would be cool to make this kind of comparison for Sailor Kobe inks many of which remain obscure. Maybe one day.

[amberleadavis]

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[amberleadavis]

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[visvamitra]

Hi AMber - yes, Rouge Opera is quite interesting ink and you had the worst possible start with Herbin inks. I was lucky - one of the first inks I've ever bought was Lierre Sauvage (my fifth ink bottle I believe) and I was hooked.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thank you for reminding me how much I love the JH line of inks!

[mmg122]

JHerbin is not my favorite brand of ink but I do like (and use often) Lierre Sauvage, Lie de Thé, Rouille d'Ancre, and Terre de Feu, as well as all the 1670 inks.

Thanks for a very comprehensive review of the JHerbin line, Vis.

[RayJ]

I like Lie De Thè, Poussiere De Lune, Vert Empire and Lierre Suavage, Éclat De Saphir and Blue Nuit.

 

I think I would like to try Cafè Des Iles, looks like a nice color. But I have been told that it's quite dry. No nice reds in the lineup.

 

Thank you Visvamitra for all the effort and time you have put in to make this comparison.

Liked your R&K comparison too, and bought 9 out of 18 inks.

Edited October 22, 2015 by RayJ

[Diderot]

Thank you for the effort, it is very useful.

Of the range, I only use Saphir and very recently, Perle Noire.

On the back of this, I might try one or two others as well.

 

It is an exhaustive and I suspect it might have been an exhausting review.

[VivienR]

Great work, I like Herbin inks have around 16 different bottle from the standard line. Really like Perle Noire, Rose Cyclamen, Bleu Pervence, Eclat de Saphir, Ambre de Birmaine and Terre de Feu. Since I found my favorite ink, which made by Diamine sadly my Herbin inks receive a bit less love in terms of usage.