Quick Review: J. Herbin Café Des Îles

[Resolute]

Here's one I found interesting. I've only played with J. Herbin's 1670 series of inks, so it was nice to try something a bit more conventional. I had bought an empty bottle just for the style. I'm surprised I was able to get so much leftover ink out of it.

 

[RedScarves]

I finally found a review that doesn't dislike cafe des iles

[Resolute]

This ink meets or exceeds minimum standards. That being said, my bar is set pretty low.

[VictorTurcanu]

That's a nice color! I like it.

[Shannon]

It seems to fade to a lighter brown with purple undertones toward the end of the page. Is that because of the water/drip test?

[Filot Palcon]

Looks like a nice ink.

[Resolute]

It seems to fade to a lighter brown with purple undertones toward the end of the page. Is that because of the water/drip test?

 

 

I think that end of the paper got overexposed with my crappy cell phone camera. Sorry - I didn't even notice that. The top half most reflects the color, as that's what I was focusing on in Lightroom when I was balancing the image.

[Resolute]

UPDATE:

 

I dumped the ink out of my Pelikan tonight. After sitting in the pen for a while, I started experiencing hard starts. Other times, it would flow with no problem. I've never had this issue with this pen; the ink would come out dry, dense, and dark, and by the third letter in a word it would be back to the normal color. This leads me to think that this ink dries much faster than I had initially thought. I just hope it didn't leave a bunch of residue under the nib, as I can't take apart the M200 nib unit.

[trurl]

UPDATE:

 

I dumped the ink out of my Pelikan tonight. After sitting in the pen for a while, I started experiencing hard starts. Other times, it would flow with no problem. I've never had this issue with this pen; the ink would come out dry, dense, and dark, and by the third letter in a word it would be back to the normal color. This leads me to think that this ink dries much faster than I had initially thought. I just hope it didn't leave a bunch of residue under the nib, as I can't take apart the M200 nib unit.

 

Yes, this was pretty much my experience too, some years ago. It used to clog my Sailor, and that's why I ditched it. Too bad that this problem hasn't been solved by Herbin.

[Guenther]

i really like it. nice tones. greater colour pitch and brightness than most browns i've seen.

[Occipital Lobe]

Cafe des Iles is a Winner for me.

I find it nicer than Waterman Havana because it lacks the purplish/red tones that I see in Havana.

I´ve used it in a TWSBI Micarta (M) and a Pelikan M800 stub with no problems whatsoever. No hard starts, no skipping anf no tendency to dry out when uncapped.

I have experienced all of those problems with GvFC Hazelnut, which annoys me tremendously because I really, really like that color

[Pravda]

Strange experiencing problems with Herbin ink as I have four and they're the wettest easy flow inks I own :/ I actually dedicate Herbins to my finicky dry nibs

[Charles Skinner]

I have read a couple of "posts" that were not "friendly" toward J. Herbin bottles. I have just started using from my first and only J. Herbin bottle, so I don't know what to expect "later down the road," so to speak. Your opinion about these bottles, please. C. S.

[dapprman]

Bottles look pretty, but are a PITA after several fills due to being low and wide. Fine for a dip pen, not for a fountain pen. Still love their inks though.