J Herbin Terre de Feu

[Yazeh]

J Herbin Terre de Feu

A reddish brown, which is named after the Tierra del Fuego (land of fire) archipelago at the southern tip of South America. According to J Herbin: “This brown ink has a red tone a reminder of the burnt lands and vast deserts where nothing ever grows.”
I was really looking forward to this ink as a drop of it on a bill was winking at me from my desk
Terre de Feu drop.jpg
However, the writing experience was opposite of the many positive reviews I saw on internet. It refused to flow in most of my pens. Reviewing this ink was the equivalent of being in a Star Trek mirror universe. Everything was the contrary for me.
Ink is wet, with lower-than-average lubrication. It doesn’t like copy paper, and it has very long dry times. However, all the reviews I checked, were raving of its qualities. So take my review or all the others with a grain of salt

For those of you who dabble in art and washes, this ink can be addictive. I couldn't stop doing washes with this ink.

Chroma:
Chroma-TerredeFeu.jpeg


Writing Samples:
Scan is off. There's no purple in this ink. I've added photos, so you can see the real deal
Rhodia - Terre de Feu.jpg

MIdori- Terre de Feu.jpeg

TR68- Terre de Feu.jpeg

Iroful- Terre de Feu.jpg

Hammermill - Terre de Feu.jpg

Photo:
It's a sunny day, photos are close to what I see

J Herbin Perle Terre de Feu1.jpg

J Herbin Perle Terre de Feu2.jpg
Comparison:


Water test:
Left side 10 seconds under running water.
Watertest - TerredeFeu.jpeg
Art Work:

I recently saw a documentary on Musketeers (the rowdy special forces of their day) and did a few sketches while watching, hence no cat and mouse.

The paper is Talens Mixed Media Pocket book paper.
The blue ink, is De Atramentis Document & Artist Cyan in a brush pen, diluted.
The grey ink in the first drawing is Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite






Inspired by Cardinal Richelieu from the documentary above, who played an important role with the musketeers. I just updated his clothing


Not related to any musketeer, cat and mouse were out for a brisk walk, near a pond and were thinking of



· Pens used: Pilot F3A (Ef /semi-flex), Lamy Safari(EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Jinhao 450 with fude nib not shown, and Waterman W2...
· What I liked: Drawing , doing washes and appreciating drops of it on different papers.
· What I did not like: Writing experience, especially with a Stub.
· What some might not like: Long dry times.
· Shading: Yes, there’s some.
· Ghosting: Yes, on cheap paper.
· Bleed through: Yes, on cheap paper.
· Flow Rate: Wet
· Lubrication: Low
· Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.
· Start-up: Refused to write with many pens, some even after priming.
· Saturation: Medium
· Shading Potential: Depends on paper.
· Sheen: No.
· Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Yes, with a wet pen.
· Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice.
· Staining (pen): No.
· Clogging: Did not notice.
· Cleaning: Rather easy
· Water resistance: Ok.
· Availability: 10/ 30 ml bottles, and cartridges.
Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

[LizEF]

Nice enough color, though lack of lubrication would not go well with my finer nibs. But then, I'm more interested in the artwork!

Nice warm kitty and mouse enjoying a fire after a quick dip.

The big hair band of Musketeers! And a nice duck, grateful it's neither a goose nor a turkey this day!

I hope you have a relaxing week leading up to the New Year, Yazeh!

Thank you for another fun and colorful review!

[Sailor Kenshin]

But it could have ended up a turducken…🤪

Love the Musketeering. The drawings are full of attitude. And good thing Kitteh and Mousie weren't completely washed away.

Terre de Feu. Sigh. Though it looks pinkish in the bottle, and the chroma suggests red, I've never been able to get any red tones out of this ink.

Yazeh, thanks once again for making life colorful with your detailed, entertaining InkSplorations! *Keep ‘em coming!

And Merry Christmas! May your days be inky and bright!

[Yazeh]

Nice enough color, though lack of lubrication would not go well with my finer nibs.

I couldn't make it work, but I'm sure there's a wet pen somewhere, that can tame this ink

But then, I'm more interested in the artwork!

Nice warm kitty and mouse enjoying a fire after a quick dip.

Sssh, don't say that to you know who

The big hair band of Musketeers! And a nice duck, grateful it's neither a goose nor a turkey this day!

I'm sure, cat would be happy would cream/ and mouse with a cheese platter

I hope you have a relaxing week leading up to the New Year, Yazeh!

Hope so too

Thank you for another fun and colorful review!

A pleasure!

[Yazeh]

But it could have ended up a turducken…🤪

Love the Musketeering. The drawings are full of attitude. And good thing Kitteh and Mousie weren't completely washed away.

It was fun to draw these "attitude" character. What was shocking to discover was their penchant for duels. Apparently 4000 or so died every year. And they could take offence for anything. Such a waste of life, when I think about it.

Terre de Feu. Sigh. Though it looks pinkish in the bottle, and the chroma suggests red, I've never been able to get any red tones out of this ink.

Try a water brush or any brush. You'll be surprised.

Yazeh, thanks once again for making life colorful with your detailed, entertaining InkSplorations! *Keep ‘em coming!

I'll do my best

And Merry Christmas! May your days be inky and bright!

Thanks, you too!

[dneal]

My favorite brown from Herbin. Good review.

I'm really surprised you had issues with it. I've used both bottles and cartridges. Did you get a sample vial?

[Chrissy]

It's one of my favourite red brown inks too. It flowed quite wet for me when I reviewed it and still does.

[dneal]

Looking at Chrissy's review and the comments, I'll offer my thoughts on Herbin's standard line of ink.

They're 'watery', which means to me that they're not very saturated with dye. Many years ago I had similar complaints about getting a sort of bland, faded line when using them. While that may lead one to believe they work best in a fine, or broad, or whatever nib they have that works best with those inks; I discovered that is an incorrect assumption.

I have found that they're excellent inks for nib tuning. I draw a vertical line and watch the ink quickly creep back up to the top. It's sort of a thermometer effect, where you can gage the wetness of the nib adjustment by how high the saturated part rises. I shoot for somewhere between halfway to 3/4. This results in great shading, which is one benefit of the low dye concentration.

That tuning ends up working well for most other inks. Super dry Pelikan Blue Black or other IG type inks need to be tuned a little more wet, and super wet inks like Diamine or Sailor tuned a little more dry.

This 1.5 Lamy stub is right at halfway.

Tune - 1.jpeg

I'm still a little confounded at remarks that Herbin doesn't flow well though. I've never experienced that.

[Yazeh]

My favorite brown from Herbin. Good review.

I'm really surprised you had issues with it. I've used both bottles and cartridges. Did you get a sample vial?

I had a 10 ml bottles. I tried it in different pens. I'm going to try another one and see if it still gives me grief

[dneal]

My favorite brown from Herbin. Good review.

I'm really surprised you had issues with it. I've used both bottles and cartridges. Did you get a sample vial?

I had a 10 ml bottles. I tried it in different pens. I'm going to try another one and see if it still gives me grief

Curious.

I did note an inconsistency comment in Chrissy's thread, and also a note on SITB. That would certainly cause flow problems, and happens mostly with brown inks (for me). I think it's related to copper being used, and it oxidizing over time. Green rings around the cap aren't unusual.

[Yazeh]

It's one of my favourite red brown inks too. It flowed quite wet for me when I reviewed it and still does.

I always check double check ink reviews, especially with inks I find problematic. I had difficulty with most pens. While I find the ink watery as @dneal mentioned, the ink is low on lubrication. The writing experience was quite unpleasant with Lamy. The Swan ink write wet, but it isn't pleasant to write with due to lack of lubrication.

[Yazeh]

My favorite brown from Herbin. Good review.

I'm really surprised you had issues with it. I've used both bottles and cartridges. Did you get a sample vial?

I had a 10 ml bottles. I tried it in different pens. I'm going to try another one and see if it still gives me grief

Curious.

I did note an inconsistency comment in Chrissy's thread, and also a note on SITB. That would certainly cause flow problems, and happens mostly with brown inks (for me). I think it's related to copper being used, and it oxidizing over time. Green rings around the cap aren't unusual.

I bought my ink bottle few months ago from fountainfeder. I tried it in 5 different pens, I used about half of the bottle. I still maintain I don't like this ink for writing.
Even after priming the Waterman W2, pen refused to write consistently. It's very unpleasant in the Swan, which I filled right now. As the posters on Chrissy's post mentioned it needs a wet pen, preferably with a smooth M to B nib. I didn't see and Green ring around my bottle, however

[Yazeh]

Looking at Chrissy's review and the comments, I'll offer my thoughts on Herbin's standard line of ink.

They're 'watery', which means to me that they're not very saturated with dye. Many years ago I had similar complaints about getting a sort of bland, faded line when using them. While that may lead one to believe they work best in a fine, or broad, or whatever nib they have that works best with those inks; I discovered that is an incorrect assumption.

I have found that they're excellent inks for nib tuning. I draw a vertical line and watch the ink quickly creep back up to the top. It's sort of a thermometer effect, where you can gage the wetness of the nib adjustment by how high the saturated part rises. I shoot for somewhere between halfway to 3/4. This results in great shading, which is one benefit of the low dye concentration.

That tuning ends up working well for most other inks. Super dry Pelikan Blue Black or other IG type inks need to be tuned a little more wet, and super wet inks like Diamine or Sailor tuned a little more dry.

This 1.5 Lamy stub is right at halfway.

I'm still a little confounded at remarks that Herbin doesn't flow well though. I've never experienced that.

Thanks for sharing this info. It depends which Herbin ink we're talking about. Some lack in the lubrication department and some are better. There's a huge difference between this and Bleu des Profondeurs. This, reminds me more of Rouille d'ancre, or Bleu Nuit.

[dneal]

You're certainly free to not like an ink. I have plenty that I don't like, which others do. There's no accounting for taste, or however the proverb goes...

I find Herbin's standard line very consistent across the colors, but none seem particularly lubricious to me.

My comments are simply related to the fact that I have never experienced the problems you mention (particularly the hesitancy to write). I don't doubt that's the case for you, and I can see it in your samples above. That's why I find it so puzzling. Maybe you have a recent batch with different properties, or there is a problematic batch which your sample is affected by.

I'll still like Terre de Feu, you likely won't, and everyone else will have their opinions. It's still a good and useful review, so thanks for that.

[Yazeh]

@dneal, yes, I was surprised with the flow issues too. I'm assuming if I had a wet enough pen with a very soft B nib, I might have enjoyed it. Even with the Swan Self-filler, the writing experience wasn't pleasant. However, the drawing experience was really fun. I finished a whole filling in less than two hours:

This was done from a still from a still of James Stewart from 1940s Shop around the corner, directly with a fountain pen, while there's some likeness, I screwed it up, but I had fun with the ink brush. The grey ink is diluted Lexington Gray


I often draw while watching a movie, trying to capture the essence of a character. It's very hard as angles changes and fountain pen isn't the best way to do an initial drawing.
Regardless, the color of the ink and textures one can create is really fun....