Inks on Review: J. Herbin Rouge Opera and Bleu Pervenche

When I started using a fountain pen, I only had one ink color in mind: black. After I found a bottle of old washable black Parker Quink at a brick and mortar shop here in Los Banos, it worked fine for me. The fine-nibbed maroon Parker Vector and bottle of Quink worked okay for a long time. Until I found a bottle of Quink Blue-Black in a box of sale items at an NBS branch. It was an important discovery for me, one that opened up to a huge Pandora’s box of endless possibilities in the world of fountain pens.

These endless possibilities include inks, ink colors, and ink brands. I wanted to learn more about them and so I read. And read. And read more. As I read more, I learned more. As I learned more, I began to want to own more pens, and inks, and more ink colors…

While blog hopping last July, I read somewhere that Exaclair, the exclusive distributor of Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Quo Vadis, G. Lalo, Exacompta and J. Herbin products in North America is giving away inks for review in celebration of Bastille Day on July 14. That is how I got these two bottles of wonderful J. Herbin inks. Though it took me longer than Odysseus to get these inks, the wait is worth every second of it. (The story about the Exaclair packages is here.)

When I sent the email to Exaclair, I did as they said. I chose one red ink and one blue ink. I was hoping to get the most coveted J. Herbin orange ink, Orange Indien, but I kept by the rules. I was torn between Rouille D’Ancre and Rouge Opera for my bottle of red; and between Bleu Azure and Bleu Pervenche for my blue ink. I finally settled on Rouge Opera as my red, because it looked so blooming and alive; and Bleu Pervenche for my blue because it’s a turquoise, and yet looked solid and strong.

And now, the reviews.

J. Herbin Rouge Opera

Did I say this ink looked blooming and alive? Well, it is. When I got the first package that Exaclair's VP for Marketing Karen Doherty sent me, Rouge Opera was the first bottle I opened. I'm not one to smell inks, but the scent of Rouge Opera caught me by surprise. It's like taking in the scent of wild flowers and that makes it even better to use. I filled one of my Schneider Base pens with this ink and tried it on my Moleskine. Uh-oh. In my excitement to try the ink, I forgot that Molie paper is the big time ink sucker. I then tried it on my Scribe using my Lamy Joy’s 1.5mm italic nib on my white Safari. It was amazing. It was beautiful. Rouge Opera clearly shows off the beauty of its shading and color when used on pens with broad nibs.

Rouge Opera is my first pink fountain pen ink. It is a lovely pink that leans towards dark fuchsia and burnt red. Though it shows more traces of red, I know that I can use it for everyday writing because it is not as bright and glaring as other red or pink inks. While wet, it has a certain sheen which gives it a glossy, slick appearance. When it has dried, it loses the gloss, but retains the same color intensity. The shading is very evident, especially when used with broader nibs, and I like that with my inks. While I’m more of a blue and black ink user, this pink ink is a keeper on my stash.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche

My all-time ink favorite is Waterman South Sea Blue. It’s an attractive turquoise ink that is wet and friendly to all of my pens. Then Bleu Pervenche comes along. I filled another Schneider Base with this ink as soon as I opened the bottle and tried it on the Scribe. Wonderful. The next pen I tried was my new Lamy Vista with my Lamy Joy’s 1.1mm italic nib. It was magnificent. It was beautiful.

Bleu Pervenche is my not my first blue or turquoise ink, but its clarity lends it a unique softness. I like it better on ivory-colored than bright white paper, because it looks softer in the former. While wet, it appears lighter than SS Blue, but looks very soft and readable as soon as it dries. Shading is very evident, as it is with Rouge Opera, and again, that is something I very much like with my inks. I like Bleu Pervenche a lot and right now, I got four pens already filled with it.

And for writing samples, I present my attempts to learn Chancery Italic Script. I wanted to present something worthwhile with my ink tests, and inspired by my Speedball textbook and Ann Finley's instructions at FPN, here are a few samples of my new addiction.

Below is one of my better attempts to Chancery italic script using my Schneider Calligraphy pen with a 1.5mm italic nib.


And finally... a small token of my gratitude to Karen and to Exaclair for being so generous in giving away so many of their products not only for review but also for long-term use. I will forever be grateful to Karen for sending stuff all the way from New York to the Philippines so I can review, use and enjoy these wonderful products I so dearly love!

Christmas in September

My first Rhodia: Rhodia No. 10, from Exaclair's Bastille Day inks offer. Oh, sure, it's that small, and that's a regular teacup. :)

September has been another hectic and trying month for me. A lot of things went on at the same time, and all equally required the same attention and care from me. Ondoy and Pepeng came and went, we got flooded, and yet, there is so much for all of us to be thankful for. And here's my share.

First is this package of heavenly goodies from Exaclair. In July, I read from the Quo Vadis blog that Exaclair is offering J. Herbin blue and red inks as part of their Bastille Day offer. Though hesitant, I still signed up for the offer, but added that I'm in the Philippines and if they won't ship the items here, that's no problem. To my surprise, Exaclair's VP for Marketing, Karen Doherty, replied to me a few days later, saying that she has already sent me the inks and notebooks and that I should receive the package soon. I have to admit that I almost fell off my chair when I read that message. I got excited to see the notebooks, but more than excited to get my hands on the inks I requested: Bleu Pervenche and Rouge Opera. Oh, who wouldn't be?

J. Herbin inks from Exaclair: Rouge Opera and Bleu Pervenche.

And after the excitement came the painful wait. July went to mid-August. Then August ended. By early September, I lost hope and convinced myself to never trust the postal system again. It's simple: the package got lost or stolen along the way. And I was so embarrassed when I told Karen about it. Then again, she said that she will send me another set of goodies. Oh, wow.

Towards the end of September, I got a big surprise when our mailroom guy called me up even if it was after 5pm already, to let me know I got a package from Exaclair. Hurray!

Aside from the Rhodia No. 10 pad and the inks, Karen also sent me these wonderful notebooks. From left: Rhodia Pad No. 16, reporter-style Clairefontaine Basic pad, and wirebound Clairefontaine Basic. It's a surprise that all these goodies came intact...

... when this is where they all came from!

It's obvious that the package got wet somewhere, and it's a miracle the items inside were not destroyed, if for some minor damage on the notebook covers. But the J. Herbin catalog did not survive the water that seeped through the envelope. (Photo below.)

A week later, the second package was delivered to me.

This time, the envelope is intact, and all the notebooks inside are in pristine condition, including the inks and their boxes. I got a black 5x5 No. 10 Rhodia pad, a black 6x8¼ clothbound Clairefontaine Basics, Rhodia No. 16, a large Quo Vadis Habana notebook, and the same two J. Herbin ink colors I requested before. Great! I can't wait to tear the plastic off the Habana and try writing on all the notebooks. So far I've tried the No. 16 and it's just great! My reviews will trickle in beginning next week. :) Oh, the toy is one of my Tomica ChoroQs. :)


And then...

Right after the 2nd Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper was published, I sent an email to Marian Ong of Scribe Writing Essentials to inform her that my blogpost about the red Scribe journal I recently got made it to the top editor's choice. A few days later, a bag was delivered to me all the way from our Makati Office and here, behold, are the contents: all pure notebook goodness in red and black. The pen on top, is my Rotring Core Rubidium. I'll use the red large notebook for my fountain ink tests, the black one as a spare to follow my current journal. The Pocket notebooks will be used for my GTD stuff. But more on that later. :)

But the Christmasy feeling doesn't end there. In between the packages from Scribe and Exaclair, there is definitely more! :)

Sailor Kenshin, a fellow member of Fountain Pen Network was giving away some of his pens. I emailed him to ask for a burgundy Hero 616 and a Stypen. He sent the pens free of shipping charges, and suprised me when he included a mini Daiso fountain pen. Great guy. Cool gifts. When I emailed him to say thank you, I inquired about the pens he wanted to trade away. I don't know if I'm just lucky or what, but he said he'll send the two pens to me. So I got myself a clear/white Waterman Kultur and a red Pelikano Junior. What he doesn't know is that he gave me my first Waterman and my first Pelikan pens.

My Hero 616 with the Chinese Terracota Army

The Stypen with American Indians on the battlefield.

The mini Daiso fountain pen in Angkor Wat.

The Waterman Kultur in Anatolia, Turkey's Çatal Höyük

And the Pelikano Junior on an Aztec temple.

I'm overwhelmed! How can I fully say thank you to Karen, Marian, and Sailor Kenshin for all the goodies they sent me? My reviews of all these stuff will come next week, and I'm hoping that somehow, someday, I'll be able to return their kind gesture...