Swatching Some Herbin Inks

In this video I swatch the Herbin inks in my collection.
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[@moeharri]

Rouge Grenat is one of my top 3 favorite inks. Thank you for showing other colors from this brand!

[@gadgetstop321]

I know what you mean! I didn't think I liked red fountain pen ink until I tried Rouge Grenat. It feels so luxurious to write with. I have it in my new Pilot Custom 98, and I look for reasons to write with it. 😀

[@MummyBrown]

I got in my first Herbin bottle yesterday. Vert de Gris…OH MYLANTA. It’s so beautiful. It’s a less opaque kind of blue- black with a teeny dash of green. I have a new Estie coming in this week and I think that would be a great first inking mate for it 😊

[@gadgetstop321]

I know what you mean! I've always liked the look of Vert de Gris, but I didn't think I would like writing with it. Turns out I love writing with it in Western fine and Japanese medium nibs. I like the vintage flair it gives my writing. 😀 Which Estie are you getting?

[@MummyBrown]

@@gadgetstop321 It's an Esterbrook Estie Tortoise Palladium Plate Trim (F)...I read that back to myself in Ralphie's voice from A Christmas Story 🤭Oh geez! I really am that excited to get it though. It's such a classy piece. I'd love it if I could score a journaler nib at a later date but I'm not sure they sell the seperately.

[@michaelstephan5272]

Great video/video editing! Interesting overview of these inks. Really appreciate your efforts on behalf of the fountain pen/ink community.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you, Michael. I really enjoy making these videos. It gives me more opportunities to play with my pens and ink, and I get to engage with others who share the enthusiasm. 😀

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Your ink test skills are more skilled than my own. And, your recording system is a winner. :) I recently tried a few Herbin Inks out of curiosity. They all had plenty of 'Herbin' character but given their very high price I doubt I will continue to get many more. Perhaps the exception might be Violette Pensée which is the most stunning Violette I have ever seen. R. Grenat looked nice as seen in your vlog. I do hope you cover a few more of these. Thanks for an excellent vlog. I enjoyed it immensely.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you, Kevin! There are a few more Herbin inks I'm wanting to try. Violette Pensée has been recommended by several people, as well as Cocao du Bresil, and I'm eager to try all their pink inks. At this point I might as well get all the little 10ml bottles that I'm missing. 😀

[@belphegor_dev]

Ooh that rouge grenat looks lovely

[@gadgetstop321]

It is nice! I like using it in a medium nib that puts down plenty of ink. 😍

[@ksanneken]

What a great idea to use a calendar for swatching! 😊

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you! I wish I could take credit, but I think I got the idea from Manda B on @Inksplat! 😀

[@MarcellHobbs]

Excellent use of a Hobonichi! I have an extra, unused 2022 A6 that will serve as an ink journal. Thanks for the idea!

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you! 😀

[@davecharvella4854]

Loved this! I only have three Herbin inks, two of which are my favorites over all. Poussiere de Lune being my go to "purple" and Cocao du Brezil my favorite "brownish grey". Lie de The is the third of the three, and in the couple of years that I've had it, I think I only wrote with it once ... gotta revisit that one!

[@gadgetstop321]

I agree, Dave, Poussier de Lune is also my go to purple. I'm thinking that I need to try Cocao du Bresil since I've heard Eric from Anderson Pens mention it several times and now you, and I don't have a bottle of ink in that color family. I have a bottle of KWZ Honey that I like to use in my E95s, but I prefer to use Lie de Thé if I'm writing something that I want at least a little water resistance.

[@davecharvella4854]

@@gadgetstop321 The ONLY thing I don't like about that ink is the bottle it comes in! Absolutely hate those 30 ml Herbin bottles!!

[@MarcellHobbs]

I love the way you have several inks on one page. That was my previous swatch style, but I recently started an ink swatch journal in order to record more info on one page of a particular ink paired with pens. Still, I need an index, or page at a glance when selecting inks. Thanks for sharing! 🖋❤️

[@gadgetstop321]

I've thought about using a Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebook as an ink journal and I wondered how I would index the inks. I think the easiest thing to do would be each time an ink is tested in the front of the book, add it to a list in the back of the book. Then when you meet in the middle, you're done with that book. 😀

[@flabbybum9562]

Brilliant idea doing the different nib sizes.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you! 😀

[@lynnconroy8]

Brilliant idea using the month layout as the index, then the day page as a full on test.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you, Lynn! This method has worked well for me. 😀

[@Susans_inks_and_drills]

I’m going to copy your method of using the Hobonichi as an ink journal. I have an Avec from 2020 that I barely used. You can guess probably why. 😊

[@gadgetstop321]

LOL, I hear there's a lot of unused planners from back then. I think you'll like it. I'm seeing more and more people using them for that purpose. 😀

[@ernstbrubaker]

Nice video. I am a big fan of Herbin inks. My favourites are too many to mention, but "Terre de Feu" (a lovely reddish brown, looks like clay) deserves a special prize.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thanks, Ernst! I know what you mean. My favorite Herbin ink depends on which pen I'm using. Some of my favorites are Rouge Grenat, Vert de Gris, Larmes de Cassis, Poussière de Lune, and Lie de Thé.

[@Rgc571]

Herbin inks are great. Thank you for the video.

[@gadgetstop321]

You're welcome! 😀

[@mebpratt859]

Some of these I like the color better using the extra fine nib, my go to size nib. Other ones I like better using the medium nib and some using a stub (my second favorite nib size). Size does make a difference 😁. I really like the way you did the color comparisons with the different size nibs. This gives a much better representation of the colors. In some comparisons on vender websites I have seen the large swatch which looks so nice then when I see a writing sample on another website I don’t care for the color at all.

[@gadgetstop321]

I ran into the same issue. That's why I started testing ink in this way. 😀

[@irvintepper5]

I have several of the inks you feature in this video. Myosotis, Empire Vert, and Lie de te'. I like them all and usually use them in stub nbs. Lie de te' works great in both fine and extra fine nibs as well. thanks for your videos

[@gadgetstop321]

You're welcome, Irvin! I usually use these inks in Japanese medium nibs because the shading I get is beautiful 😍.

[@davideselmin8018]

Larmes de Cassis......super.

[@gadgetstop321]

It's my favorite "pink" ink. 😀

[@MorganScorpion]

Thank you. Lie de The is probably my favourite brown, I love how it looks on that paper. Have you tried Ambre de Birmanie? Shades beautifully.

[@gadgetstop321]

You're welcome, Morgan! I always get lots of compliments on Lie de The. I haven't tried Ambre de Birmanie. I'll have to check it out. 😀

[@janisstewart2217]

Very helpful video.

[@gadgetstop321]

Thank you, Janis! 😀

[@RachelGreig]

I just received the Rouge Grenat and Gris Nuage inks today, I'm looking forward to swatching and trying them out!

[@gadgetstop321]

I've never used Gris Nuage, but Rouge Grenat is one of my favorite inks to use in a Pilot medium nib... it's so rich!

[@NadiaBracken]

The first ink I put in my Pilot Custom 823 was vert empire and it was far too dry. The pen came to my secondhand and tines were splayed. I had it tuned and a much better writer but I am not excited to try that ink again.

[@gadgetstop321]

I know what you mean, Nadia. That's the same reaction I had when I tried Diamine Earl Grey for the first time. Earl Grey and Vert Empire are inks that intensify any imperfections or feedback a nib might have. Eventually I tested Earl Grey in a variety of nibs and found a few that were enjoyable. 😀

[@anguswhite8233]

I wish inks by Herbin dried a bit faster on tomoe river paper!: my worst offenders are éclat de saphir and lièrre sauvage which is very unfortunate as these are inks I never want to be without(bleu nuit hasn’t smeared on me so far, so I don’t think it’s a problem across the board!:)

[@gadgetstop321]

Dry time is something I need to start paying closer attention to. Now that I do most of my writing at home, if a particular ink is taking extra long to dry, I just leave it out on my desk. The only inks I can remember having dry times that stood out as being unusually long were Noodler's. Blue-Black, Red-Black, Golden-Brown, Navy, and Cactus Fruit Eel are inks that I like a lot but can take up to an hour to dry, especially if they've been in a pen for a while.

[@d2row96]

In your opinion, are Herbin inks better than a Diamine ink? And what makes them so? Just curious.

[@gadgetstop321]

I wouldn't say that either one is better than the other. I've had good experiences with both.

[@ichirofakename]

Another reviewer says Lie de Thé is a particularly dry ink. Do you agree?

[@gadgetstop321]

Most of these inks felt dry to a certain degree, but Lie de Thé was still pleasant to write with in my EF Kaküno despite that. I went back and checked my notes from when I tested it, and Lie de Thé was scratchy in my EF 78g, so I compared the nib on my Kaküno to the 78g, and the Kaküno is noticably smoother. So, before I use the 78g for any more ink tests, I need to run it over some micromesh. But, back to Lie de Thé, it's very usable in a nice EF nib, but I still prefer it in a Japanese medium. 😀

[@belphegor_dev]

Most inks in the J. Herbin line are relatively dry, with the exception of some colors like Rouge grenat.

[@kolaloh]

Are the feeds at 00:53 just cut off where the portrude out of the barrel?

[@gadgetstop321]

No, I just pulled the feeds and replaced them with rolled up paper to hold the nibs in place.

[@kolaloh]

@@gadgetstop321 Oh that makes more sense, thank you :)