Rating: 4.0
If J Herbin Café des Isles is the color of coffee with cream, then Terre de Feu is the color of powdered cocoa. It is a lovely milk-chocolate ink with a slight reddish undertone – almost reminiscent of red clay. It possesses a low degree of saturation and a high degree of shading in even a fine nib pen.
As with most J Herbin inks, Terre de Feu is slightly watery – as a result, it flows easily, but does not provide significant level of lubrication between pen and paper. It is well-behaved in other respects, though. It exhibits a low level of show-through and no bleed-through at all on each of the papers I tested it against.
Dry time was average. On the slow-drying and non-absorbent Rhodia paper, it took 5 seconds to dry to the touch. On the absorbent and typically fast-drying Ecosystem paper, it took slightly longer, at 6 to 8 seconds. I've seen this behavior with occasional inks, and it always startles me. Feathering was atypically low for J Herbin inks on both papers, which is nice to see.
Water resistance was generally low. In the smear test, in which I run a wet finger across the page, the red-brown dyes ran easily, creating a lovely smudge on the page. The drip test, in which I let several drops of water soak into the page for a minute before blotting them up, pulled the red-brown dye right off the paper, leaving a ghostly grey line behind.
The results of the soak test, in which I run the paper under a stream of water for thirty seconds, were better than I anticipated. While the red-brown dye washed off almost immediately, it left behind a light grey line that is similar to a pencil line. As a result, a catastrophic encounter with water might not completely obliterate one's work. However, I wouldn't use Terre de Feu with anything I intended to resist the elements, like the outside of an envelope.
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.
Brown inks are a versatile lot. It is a relatively conservative color, so one could quite likely use it for business purposes. It reads easily on white and off-white paper, and therefore works well for journaling or personal correspondence. This ink, in particular, is lovely for calligraphy and other artistic endeavors, with a rich, earthy character hiding under its surface.
I like J Herbin Terre de Feu more than Café des Isles. It is a versatile ink that walks the line between conservative and bold, and the red undertones are evocative and lovely. While the water resistance is low, it is otherwise a delightful ink to use, and, for those that like brown ink, is a worthwhile addition to your collection.
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 an EF steel nib in a Lamy Safari. The paper is Rhodia 80gsm from a No. 16 Bloc Pad.
(click to embiggen)
If J Herbin Café des Isles is the color of coffee with cream, then Terre de Feu is the color of powdered cocoa. It is a lovely milk-chocolate ink with a slight reddish undertone – almost reminiscent of red clay. It possesses a low degree of saturation and a high degree of shading in even a fine nib pen.
As with most J Herbin inks, Terre de Feu is slightly watery – as a result, it flows easily, but does not provide significant level of lubrication between pen and paper. It is well-behaved in other respects, though. It exhibits a low level of show-through and no bleed-through at all on each of the papers I tested it against.
Dry time was average. On the slow-drying and non-absorbent Rhodia paper, it took 5 seconds to dry to the touch. On the absorbent and typically fast-drying Ecosystem paper, it took slightly longer, at 6 to 8 seconds. I've seen this behavior with occasional inks, and it always startles me. Feathering was atypically low for J Herbin inks on both papers, which is nice to see.
(click to embiggen)
Water resistance was generally low. In the smear test, in which I run a wet finger across the page, the red-brown dyes ran easily, creating a lovely smudge on the page. The drip test, in which I let several drops of water soak into the page for a minute before blotting them up, pulled the red-brown dye right off the paper, leaving a ghostly grey line behind.
The results of the soak test, in which I run the paper under a stream of water for thirty seconds, were better than I anticipated. While the red-brown dye washed off almost immediately, it left behind a light grey line that is similar to a pencil line. As a result, a catastrophic encounter with water might not completely obliterate one's work. However, I wouldn't use Terre de Feu with anything I intended to resist the elements, like the outside of an envelope.
(click to embiggen)
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.
Brown inks are a versatile lot. It is a relatively conservative color, so one could quite likely use it for business purposes. It reads easily on white and off-white paper, and therefore works well for journaling or personal correspondence. This ink, in particular, is lovely for calligraphy and other artistic endeavors, with a rich, earthy character hiding under its surface.
I like J Herbin Terre de Feu more than Café des Isles. It is a versatile ink that walks the line between conservative and bold, and the red undertones are evocative and lovely. While the water resistance is low, it is otherwise a delightful ink to use, and, for those that like brown ink, is a worthwhile addition to your collection.
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 an EF steel nib in a Lamy Safari. The paper is Rhodia 80gsm from a No. 16 Bloc Pad.
Excellent review. I love this ink.
ReplyDeleteLovely review--your calligraphy is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI've been considering procuring a pen with an EF nib--do you find that the Lamy EF writes smoothly?
Holly,
ReplyDeleteLamy steel EF nibs can be a little scratchy, but are generally nice to write with. The gold EF nibs are very smooth writers, though. Regardless, they're all well constructed, and I've had no real issues with any of them.
Dave
Holly,
ReplyDeleteLamy steel EF nibs can be a little scratchy, but are generally nice to write with. The gold EF nibs are very smooth writers, though. Regardless, they're all well constructed, and I've had no real issues with any of them.
Dave
Lovely review--your calligraphy is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI've been considering procuring a pen with an EF nib--do you find that the Lamy EF writes smoothly?