J. Herbin — Bleu Nuit (Night Blue) — Ink Review #100

 J Herbin — Bleu Nuit (Night blue)

 

Ink Review # 100

 

Originally posted on FPN: Nov 25, 2023

 

Ink: Bleu Nuit (Night blue)
Brand: J Herbin
Country: France
Availability: 6-pack cartridges, 10 ml or 30 ml bottles.
Pens Used: Pilot 3A EF, Lamy Safari (EF, F, M, B, 1.1), Conway Stewart 330

Description

It is an ink with below-average lubrication. It has some water-resistance, and it is easy to clean.

The colour when wet is a blurple. It transforms into a washed-out denim colour when dry. 

The colour doesn’t remind me of night, but dusk. The ink shades and does not like copy paper.

It is one of my first bottles of ink and is over 10 years old, and while not my favorite, I’ve found a new life for it in my Kuretake brush pen to do artwork. It can also be mixed with Perle Noire, to convert into a delicious-looking blue-black.

Writing Samples

The text for Rhodia, Tomoe River 68 gsm, and Hammermill 20 lb is from a poem by French surrealist poet Louis Aragon (1897 – 1982), translated by me. 

When I speak of love, my love irritates you,
When I say the weather is lovely, you shout "it rains",
You say my meadows have too many daisies,
and too many stars in my nights, and too much sky in my blue sky...

Rhodia

Midori

The text is from Pierrot, or the Secrets of the Night, by the French novelist Michel Tournier (1924-2016). My own translation. 

Listen to a marvellous secret: my night is not black, it is blue. A blue that one can breathe... My oven is not black, it's golden, a gold one can eat...

Tomoe River 68 gsm

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

Hammermill 20 lb

..


Photo


Comparison


Watertest:

Red Penguin Musing at Night.

J Herbin Blue nuit mix with Perle Noire (sky), J Herbin Blue nuit (sea), Octopus Brown Colibri (land), and De Atramentis Document Red



Ink Characteristics

·      What I liked: Using it with a brush pen, mixing it. Easy cleaning,
·      What I did not like: Dryness, the colour.
·      What some might not like: Same as above, plus it doesn’t like copy paper.
·      Shading: Yes.
·      Ghosting: Yes, on copy paper.
·      Bleed through: Yes, on copy paper.
·      Flow Rate: Wet
·      Lubrication: Low
·      Nib Dry-out: In between nib changes.
·      Start-up: No.
·      Saturation: Low.
·      Shading Potential: Yes, but not dramatic.
·      Sheen: No.
·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.
·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: No.
·      Staining (pen): No.
·      Clogging: No
·      Cleaning: Easy-peasy
·      Water resistance: decent

Feel free to share your experience, feedback, or any other comments. The more the merrier. 😊

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