J. Herbin Rouge Hematite

[firstpancake]

I've got a review of J. Herbin Rouge Hematite up on my new blog http://nibcrease.wordpress.com
Here's the handwritten portion

Don't mind the extra smudges on the layering example, the page caught the corner of a wet paper towel there.
(click to see the super big version)

i-jVhNSK3-M.jpg

[Jeph]

That is a nice looking ink. Thank you for the review.

[fountainpenkid]

I love the colors of R.H but the smudging is HORRIBLE with a wet nib.

[firstpancake]

I just ran my hand over some writing in Rouge Hematite from a flex nib, and yeah, that's some horrible smudging even after it seems the ink has dried.

[cedargirl]

I'm trying this ink now and it isn't exciting me.
I as expecting more of the greeny tinges as you see in the Goulet's swatch, but my sample seems to be straight red. Does anyone get this effect?
And I agree with the smudging.

[Honey Mustard]

I'm trying this ink now and it isn't exciting me.
I as expecting more of the greeny tinges as you see in the Goulet's swatch, but my sample seems to be straight red. Does anyone get this effect?
And I agree with the smudging.

I'm pretty sure they took the gold out of newer bottles. Apparently people were complaining of clogging.

[AndyT]

I'm pretty sure they took the gold out of newer bottles.

I can think of somebody who's going to be very upset about that. Better, surely, for Herbin to be upfront about any potential problems and retain a distinctive flagship product.

[velo]

I love the colors of R.H but the smudging is HORRIBLE with a wet nib.

I'm moving towards broad and italic nibs. Do you think it's worth a sample at least? It just looks like an interesting ink.

[fountainpenkid]

I love the colors of R.H but the smudging is HORRIBLE with a wet nib.

I'm moving towards broad and italic nibs. Do you think it's worth a sample at least? It just looks like an interesting ink.

The original formula, yes! Very fun, especially a little diluted. But if what people are saying is true, and they took the gold out, then I don't know, it might not be so special anymore.

[fountainpenkid]

I'm trying this ink now and it isn't exciting me.
I as expecting more of the greeny tinges as you see in the Goulet's swatch, but my sample seems to be straight red. Does anyone get this effect?
And I agree with the smudging.

Maybe your bottle isn't shaken enough, or your nib is very dry.

[velo]

I love the colors of R.H but the smudging is HORRIBLE with a wet nib.

I'm moving towards broad and italic nibs. Do you think it's worth a sample at least? It just looks like an interesting ink.

The original formula, yes! Very fun, especially a little diluted. But if what people are saying is true, and they took the gold out, then I don't know, it might not be so special anymore.

It definitely needs the gold. The contrast is the point of interest.

I'll try it out it'll only cost me a sample.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

The gold is very cool. However, I agree about the clogging. That was a huge issue for me. The regular fountain pens also didn't show the gold real well after the first day or two. I think it got caught in the fins maybe?

I like the ink with a glass pen, but that limits its use for me. As to smudging, I really didn't notice it, but I also use some other slow drying inks.

[KrazyIvan]

The gold sediment is the only reason I refuse to try my sample of the ink. Yeah, I could put it in a pen that I can take apart completely (ie Ahab, Konrad) but I don't use BSB for a similar reason. I don't have time for the pen hygiene level required to maintain the ink/pen.

[velo]

Okay maybe not then.

[firstpancake]

It definitely doesn't have the same sparkle now, but have you tried shaking the bottle up? it might help a bit. Here's what mine looked like before shaking:



It doesn't look as gilt as the original formulation, but I like Ed Jelley's interpretation of the "Hematite" in Rouge Hematite, that it's more like blood, complete with the rich look of iron, than red/gold.

[firstpancake]

I'm trying this ink now and it isn't exciting me.
I as expecting more of the greeny tinges as you see in the Goulet's swatch, but my sample seems to be straight red. Does anyone get this effect?
And I agree with the smudging.

The greeny tinges show up with the ink is laid down super wet, like out of something with a flex nib. I also found it helps to occasionally shake the pen as you write, or if it's been sitting on a table for a few minutes to get the sediment back on and flowing again. The nib I used in this review writes on the dry side, and suddenly wets up at the end of a down-stroke. That's why you can only see the green at the ends of tall letters. The green also plays in the light so it looks more dynamic than what shows up in the pic.

[cedargirl]

I'm trying this ink now and it isn't exciting me.
I as expecting more of the greeny tinges as you see in the Goulet's swatch, but my sample seems to be straight red. Does anyone get this effect?
And I agree with the smudging.

I'm pretty sure they took the gold out of newer bottles. Apparently people were complaining of clogging.

That's a great shame. Maybe the sellers need to mention this and/or change their swabs/swatches.

I love the colors of R.H but the smudging is HORRIBLE with a wet nib.

I'm moving towards broad and italic nibs. Do you think it's worth a sample at least? It just looks like an interesting ink.

The original formula, yes! Very fun, especially a little diluted. But if what people are saying is true, and they took the gold out, then I don't know, it might not be so special anymore.

I agree - nothing special at all. This has been an ink on my must try list for ages - but I've left it too late.

[firstpancake]

I'm curious, there doesn't seem to be any reports of this clogging problem with R&H's Alt Goldgrun, which also has shades of gold in it. I wonder how they're getting this effect without the clogging problems associated with Rouge hematite?

[Marsilius]

Thanks for the nice review. I have a bottle of Rouge Hematite, and generally feel about it the way I used to about that kid next door who always made perfect model planes. No matter how much I tried, I could never get them just right, but his were always flawless.
I see nice samples of the gold tinge, but have seldom gotten it, despite shaking the bottle, saying magic spells, holding my breath, and . . . oh yes, trying different pens. I think I got some gold sheen once or twice.
But it sure looks nice whenever I see it!

[fountainpenkid]

I'm curious, there doesn't seem to be any reports of this clogging problem with R&H's Alt Goldgrun, which also has shades of gold in it. I wonder how they're getting this effect without the clogging problems associated with Rouge hematite?

From my experience with the ink, it doesn't have a gold sheen, but a gold color. Therefore the clogging wouldn't be an issue for that reason.