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View Full Version : J. Herbin---The bottle



Freddy
May 21st, 2012, 08:20 PM
Am I the only one who is frustrated by the awful design of the J. Herbin 30 ml ink bottles? And no, I am not talking about the classic pen holder part, either. I find the bottle so shallow that after one or two fills, the 2284 nib on my Esterbrook Transitional stands taller than the level of ink so when I go to fill the pen I'm getting more air in the sac than ink. There is absolutely no safe comfortable way to tilt the bottle to get a deeper fill. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, do you have a solution to correct this, short of decanting the ink into a different shaped bottle?

493

eriquito
May 21st, 2012, 09:11 PM
Hi Freddy,

It's a common complaint. I think everyone will agree that the bottle is worthless for filling a fountain pen. I'm guessing that it's designed for use with a dip pen (about the only pen that will actually rest on the built-in pen rest).

I do love my Cacao du Brésil, however, so I decant.

dannzeman
May 21st, 2012, 09:27 PM
You're right on, Freddy. Those bottles are terrible. I hate them. I hate them so much that I won't even buy their ink until they change the design. I will not go to the trouble to decant them.

Freddy
May 21st, 2012, 09:34 PM
Well, at least I'm not alone. I happen to love the Rouille d'Ancre and, at first, thought there was something wrong with the nib. Then I noticed the problem. Now I just have to figure out what to decant the ink into, without making a mess.


Hi Freddy,

It's a common complaint. I think everyone will agree that the bottle is worthless for filling a fountain pen. I'm guessing that it's designed for use with a dip pen (about the only pen that will actually rest on the built-in pen rest).

I do love my Cacao du Brésil, however, so I decant.

Freddy
May 21st, 2012, 09:38 PM
The trouble is, Dan, I have several of their inks, already, and happen to really like them. I agree that I shouldn't have to decant them but I won't throw out what I already have.


You're right on, Freddy. Those bottles are terrible. I hate them. I hate them so much that I won't even buy their ink until they change the design. I will not go to the trouble to decant them.

gwgtaylor
May 22nd, 2012, 12:01 AM
TWSBI diamond 50 ink bottles + pipette/syringe = job done.

John the Monkey
May 22nd, 2012, 02:10 AM
a cunning plan to bring back snorkel filling systems...?

etoyoc
May 22nd, 2012, 04:30 AM
Well, there is always the option to remove the nib prior to filling, but typically, I find it much less messy to decant than mess with nib removal/replacement. I don't go through my inks that fast so I am somewhat concerned about cross contamination and putting something from the pen into the ink bottle and causing issues with an entire bottle of ink. I have gotten into the habit of decanting all my inks into smaller volume, but easier to fill from containers.

Sailor Kenshin
May 22nd, 2012, 07:02 AM
Am I the only one who is frustrated by the awful design of the J. Herbin 30 ml ink bottles? And no, I am not talking about the classic pen holder part, either. I find the bottle so shallow that after one or two fills, the 2284 nib on my Esterbrook Transitional stands taller than the level of ink so when I go to fill the pen I'm getting more air in the sac than ink. There is absolutely no safe comfortable way to tilt the bottle to get a deeper fill. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, do you have a solution to correct this, short of decanting the ink into a different shaped bottle?

493

Nope.

I LOVE the JH bottle (as much as the ink within). The shape is extremely stable, a plus for me, as is the easy-open cap.

I'm mostly a cart-fill pen person, but if I need to fill a pen from the bottle it's easy enough to arrange a bit of an angle to 'expose' more ink.

I see your reasons, but those are the same reasons I like the bottles.

jor412
May 22nd, 2012, 10:21 AM
I have several J.Herbin inks which I really enjoy using. As for the bottle, I love the way it looks, I hate the way it doesn't quite work.

Freddy
May 22nd, 2012, 12:14 PM
I have several J.Herbin inks which I really enjoy using. As for the bottle, I love the way it looks, I hate the way it doesn't quite work.

BINGO!

manoeuver
May 22nd, 2012, 02:31 PM
if it was me, I'd get some ink samples and then reuse the vials to decant the herbin inks.

Freddy
May 22nd, 2012, 03:32 PM
if it was me, I'd get some ink samples and then reuse the vials to decant the herbin inks.

That looks like what I'll have to end up doing. I already have ink sample vials so that isn't the problem. I was just hoping to avoid that extra, potentially messy, step.

Bogon07
May 22nd, 2012, 10:27 PM
That looks like what I'll have to end up doing. I already have ink sample vials so that isn't the problem. I was just hoping to avoid that extra, potentially messy, step.

This is where a university education is useful, you become very careful pouring concentrated acids now also inks.

Sailor Kenshin
May 23rd, 2012, 07:02 AM
Two words: eye dropper. ;-p

Freddy
May 23rd, 2012, 03:50 PM
Two words: eye dropper. ;-p

It is is an Esterbrook lever fill that I want to ink up, not an eye dropper. Getting the ink from the bottle to the vial isn't the problem. It's getting it from the vial into a lever fill pen.

dannzeman
May 23rd, 2012, 03:55 PM
It is is an Esterbrook lever fill that I want to ink up, not an eye dropper. Getting the ink from the bottle to the vial isn't the problem. It's getting it from the vial into a lever fill pen.

If it's an Esty then you're good to go. Just unscrew the nib and shoot some ink in like you would with an eye-dropper.

Freddy
May 23rd, 2012, 04:06 PM
If it's an Esty then you're good to go. Just unscrew the nib and shoot some ink in like you would with an eye-dropper.

I never thought of that, Dan, thanks. Of course that still doesn't solve the problem of those awful bottles. Also, it's a cumbersome way of filling the pen and cleaning up the syringe (which I think would work better than an eye dropper) is an extra step that discourages use of the J. Herbin inks. What is J. Herbin thinking? :rant:

klpeabody
May 25th, 2012, 08:39 PM
I really like the J.Herbin ink bottle. Even though it gets harder to fill the pen as time goes on. It's not very practical, and likely built for a dip pen, as others have said, but I like the uniqueness of the bottle itself. It is cute looking (which scores points with me), and it's not as hard to get a fill as some other bottles. But, I agree with some other folks here, I've had to transplant some ink into friendlier bottles. I do enjoy the Waterman ink bottle the best; I love how its many facets enable it to rest on its side so that you don't need to try to figure out how to juggle and hold both the bottle and pen to get a good fill. =)

jor412
May 25th, 2012, 08:56 PM
In terms of function, I like the Waterman, the small Pelikan, the Mont Blanc, and the Lamy bottles. The old Skrip bottle with its ink well is also pretty cool, except it can't take big nibs.

Freddy
May 25th, 2012, 09:04 PM
In terms of function, I like the Waterman, the small Pelikan, the Mont Blanc, and the Lamy bottles. The old Skrip bottle with its ink well is also pretty cool, except it can't take big nibs.

I like all of those bottles. The trouble is, they all still have ink in them. :rolleyes:

jor412
May 25th, 2012, 09:24 PM
Well, there's that. I can barely wait until my Lamy green & Mont Blanc oyster grey are used up. :p

FLJeepGuy
May 31st, 2012, 02:51 PM
I find that the Levenger inks and bottles are a good deal. For $12 before shipping, you get 50ml of really nice ink and a fantastic glass bottle. The bottles are very stable for filling and the have a plastic internal reservoir that lets you keep filling pens even after the ink level has dropped very low. I've been using them for years and save every bottle when empty for decanting other brands' inks. Between the Levenger bottles and syringes, I can pretty much use up every drop of ink in a bottle.

Tokugawa
May 31st, 2012, 09:11 PM
Just wondering, is there a perfect ink bottle out there?

snedwos
June 1st, 2012, 02:10 AM
The Visconti bottles are ridiculous looking and expensive, but it looks like a sensible design for pen filling. As for J. Herbin, the colour I most want (Poussiere de Lune) comes in the 100 ml format. I've never used these inks before, how well do the large bottles work for filling?

jor412
June 1st, 2012, 02:24 AM
The Visconti bottles are ridiculous looking and expensive, but it looks like a sensible design for pen filling. As for J. Herbin, the colour I most want (Poussiere de Lune) comes in the 100 ml format. I've never used these inks before, how well do the large bottles work for filling?

The large bottles are unwieldy, like the large bottles of Noodler's inks. Decanting into a vial or better bottle is necessary.

jor412
June 1st, 2012, 02:57 AM
I find that the Levenger inks and bottles are a good deal. For $12 before shipping, you get 50ml of really nice ink and a fantastic glass bottle. The bottles are very stable for filling and the have a plastic internal reservoir that lets you keep filling pens even after the ink level has dropped very low. I've been using them for years and save every bottle when empty for decanting other brands' inks. Between the Levenger bottles and syringes, I can pretty much use up every drop of ink in a bottle.

I like this idea. I have yet to try the home-made version where you cut off the spout end of a funnel and stick it in an otherwise ordinary ink bottle. :)

FLJeepGuy
June 1st, 2012, 06:16 AM
I like this idea. I have yet to try the home-made version where you cut off the spout end of a funnel and stick it in an otherwise ordinary ink bottle. :)
I'm a big fan of the Levenger inks, but for some reason, they aren't discussed much in the pen community. It's similar to the way Cross pens are treated. Both brands have consistent high quality yet, in my opinion, they don't get the coverage their product deserves.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so TWSBI must have seen some merit to the Levenger bottle design. The TWSBI bottles are near duplicates of the Levenger bottle design with the addition of the TWSBI-specific filler parts. The Levenger bottles are glass with a plastic top, and the TWSBI bottles are plastic with a plastic top and metal collar for the TWSBI filler parts. They both use a tapered plastic insert which is filled by inverting the bottle before removing the cap that allows for filling of pens when the overall ink level is well below a useful filling level.

I'm not sure what the shipping charges to the Philippines would be, but these are some of the best bottles in the business in my opinion. Of course, the TWSBI is $25 empty (http://www.gouletpens.com/TWSBI_Ink_Bottles_s/1084.htm) and the Levenger is $12 full (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=8-221|Level=2-3|PageID=787), so there you go.

Sailor Kenshin
June 1st, 2012, 07:42 AM
I really like the J.Herbin ink bottle. Even though it gets harder to fill the pen as time goes on. It's not very practical, and likely built for a dip pen, as others have said, but I like the uniqueness of the bottle itself. It is cute looking (which scores points with me), and it's not as hard to get a fill as some other bottles. But, I agree with some other folks here, I've had to transplant some ink into friendlier bottles. I do enjoy the Waterman ink bottle the best; I love how its many facets enable it to rest on its side so that you don't need to try to figure out how to juggle and hold both the bottle and pen to get a good fill. =)

The cute factor is part of my liking, too. Also, the older bottles had nicer label art.

jor412
June 2nd, 2012, 10:52 PM
I'm not sure what the shipping charges to the Philippines would be, but these are some of the best bottles in the business in my opinion. Of course, the TWSBI is $25 empty (http://www.gouletpens.com/TWSBI_Ink_Bottles_s/1084.htm) and the Levenger is $12 full (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=8-221|Level=2-3|PageID=787), so there you go.

I buy several things, have a friend take care of them for me, and then have them shipped in one go. :) I'll have to try a Levenger ink--maybe Cobalt blue or forest green.

FLJeepGuy
June 3rd, 2012, 07:41 AM
Their Cobalt Blue, Raven Black and Cocoa are my three favorites and ones that I always keep on hand.

jor412
June 3rd, 2012, 09:00 PM
I intend to put the Cobalt blue on my inks-to-buy list so I'm not getting one of these, but if anyone's interested I saw empty Levenger bottles from the eBay Levenger outlet store:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEVENGER-BRAND-NEW-EMPTY-INK-BOTTLE-FIREBALL-LABEL-/150808847035?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231ce862bb#ht_847wt_900

The description says they'll include the insert when they ship the bottle.

jfsisler
June 11th, 2012, 07:00 AM
It never even occurred to me that this would be an issue until I got about halfway through my Violette Pensee bottle and started noticing more air than ink in my pens. My problem is I love the colors of the J Herbin line....I've got Larme de Cassis, Lierre Sauvage and Orange Indien as well...so I guess I'll have to decant the ink into another bottle.

I am going to try to branch out and use other inks as well. It's just I haven't used converters before this year and I"m somewhat new to all the inks out there.

southpaw52
July 11th, 2012, 01:14 PM
The bottle is an odd design and be troublesome to fill a pen. I have never had problems, I just tilt the bottle and fill the pen. My pens rest comfortably on the pen ridge.

snedwos
July 11th, 2012, 02:29 PM
Akkerman wins for design. If only it came in a smaller format... 150 ml is a lot of ink.