J. Herbin 1670

[shaylenwilliams]

I had very high hopes for this ink, and while they weren't completely dashed, they weren't fulfilled either. You see, this here ink has some gold in it... not real gold, per se, but metallic gold flecks/specks/particles. THAT is what makes this ink so interesting to me. Otherwise, it would just be red. Well, I had heard reports that these little gold beasties don't make their way onto paper, and not to count on that. On the contrary, I had seen many examples online of ink with the gold "halo" effect front and center. What was I to do? Not get any and later regret it when it is no longer available? Pish-posh!

So, I bit the bullet and anteed up the $22 I paid for 50mls of this stuff. Too much? Yes, but not by a lot, considering it may no longer be produced in a month or so.

I loaded this stuff into a Safari (with 1.1, 1.5, B, and M nibs)...and no gold. Curses! A dip pen tells another story. The red was much more dark and prettier, and the gold could be seen! I don't really like writing with dip pens though. Le sigh.

A few days after I got this ink, I got my Sheaffer Imperial in the mail. WOW- does this thing put down a lot of ink! I now had a little bit of restored hope that I could get the gold to flow from a fountain pen nib. So, yesterday, I loaded the 1670 up in the Sheaffer. It was mediocre at best. No really apparent gold. It might be there, if you squint a lot, and it was a really wet stroke of ink. Maybe. This next photo proves I am not crazy, that there is some "gold" there... it just isn't coming out of a fountain pen nib.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_doL1DRM7HpI/TOPMYlU7bfI/AAAAAAAAAEU/hPxDXARAExQ/s1600/Herbin1670splotch.jpg

The ink is fine to write with. It flows smoothly, doesn't feather, or bleed-through. But honestly, from a fountain pen (or at least the ones I have) it is just red. Not even a pretty red like Diamine Oxblood; just plain ol' red. It dries really slowly, and is super saturated. It is not waterproof at all, but I don't think anyone expected it to be.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_doL1DRM7HpI/TOPMYL94VII/AAAAAAAAAEQ/3CRwt2Uazbo/s1600/Herbin1670written.jpg

Now- it was dark outside when I prepared this review, and my scanner has been crappy as of late, so this is the best I could do for getting a picture. You get the gist, though. Besides, any of you who care about this have probably seen a million other examples of this ink. I do believe that it is worth noting that the dip pen sample in the above picture does show what I wanted this ink to look like. The gold almost gives it a greenish cast.

So- do I love it? No.

Do I hate it? No.

Would I buy it again? Probably not, especially for $20-$22.

Well, do you regret buying it, Shaylen? Not really. I will probably only use it for "love letters" written with a dip pen, but the hoarder in me is glad I got some while I had the chance.

 

Full review here.

[orange lamy]

I wanted to order a bottle of this ink, turns out its on back order, i guess ill have to pass it up and search for something else that i can get quickly.... my flexie should be here any day now, and i am not going to put lamy blueblack in it!

 

i still like this color a lot... maybe ill have to find something else...

[GirchyGirchy]

Did you shake the ink prior to filling the pen with it?

[shaylenwilliams]

Did you shake the ink prior to filling the pen with it?

 

I did... I even tried to suck up from the bottom to get that lovely gold... It's there if I let the pen leak in one spot for a bit, but I just wanted it to be pretty and shimmery with normal writing. I know I was warned about this, so I'm not complaining about it... just giving my thoughts/impressions/opinions.

 

Also, orange lamy, Goulet is supposed to be getting some very soon.

[shaylenwilliams]

Here is a better picture... at least it was taken during the day, anyway.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/luuuckyclover/herbin1670written2.jpg

[John the Monkey]

forgive a newbie what could be an abvious question, but does it seem that the gold is staying inside the pen? The feed/nib could filtering it out before it reaches the paper or is it possible that the ink is being filtered as it flows into the pen while you fill?

[mstone]

probably just need a wetter pen; the safari's tend to run dry

[shaylenwilliams]

probably just need a wetter pen; the safari's tend to run dry

 

The Safari's run dry in my opinion too. The Sheaffer definitely does not, maybe a bold nib would do it, but then my handwriting would look even more terrible than it already does. I guess I'll just use it with a dip, unless I happen upon some fabulous gusher before it's all gone. Oh well!

[shaylenwilliams]

forgive a newbie what could be an abvious question, but does it seem that the gold is staying inside the pen? The feed/nib could filtering it out before it reaches the paper or is it possible that the ink is being filtered as it flows into the pen while you fill?

 

Good theory, but I filled my converter with a syringe, straight from the bottle. Of course, the feed is obviously stopping some of the gold coming out, I just don't know *how* wet of a pen I would need for it to flow freely, the Imperial is a pretty wet pen.

[bassopotamus]

I'm really not impressed with it eiter. It is an Ok red, kind of pinky rather than dark to my eye. Nothing special, pretty expensive, and leaves pretty bad crud on the nib.

[shaylenwilliams]

I'm really not impressed with it eiter. It is an Ok red, kind of pinky rather than dark to my eye. Nothing special, pretty expensive, and leaves pretty bad crud on the nib.

 

I agree that it can be pinkish when it's in a normal to dry pen. When you're rinsing it out, it definitely looks pink. Oxblood doesn't do that- it stays reddish... I like it much better. If they could just get the gold-ish-ness into Oxblood, we would have a winner! Even better- how about a silver aspect? (I like silver better than gold.) I don't want to feel like a detractor, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't blown away by this ink.

[kwpalzang]

I'm sooooo confused... >__< I thought they originally planned to have an earthy red ink with gold flecks, but after finding out that the solid particles in the initial version would be incompatible with fountain pens, eliminated the gold in the final product. Have I been mislead this whole time?! D:

[bassopotamus]

I'm really not impressed with it eiter. It is an Ok red, kind of pinky rather than dark to my eye. Nothing special, pretty expensive, and leaves pretty bad crud on the nib.

 

I agree that it can be pinkish when it's in a normal to dry pen. When you're rinsing it out, it definitely looks pink. Oxblood doesn't do that- it stays reddish... I like it much better. If they could just get the gold-ish-ness into Oxblood, we would have a winner! Even better- how about a silver aspect? (I like silver better than gold.) I don't want to feel like a detractor, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't blown away by this ink.

I suppose I should try it in my noodler's ebonite which just vomits ink onto the page, but Herbin in a Noodler's pen might destroy the universe.

[shaylenwilliams]

I'm really not impressed with it eiter. It is an Ok red, kind of pinky rather than dark to my eye. Nothing special, pretty expensive, and leaves pretty bad crud on the nib.

 

I agree that it can be pinkish when it's in a normal to dry pen. When you're rinsing it out, it definitely looks pink. Oxblood doesn't do that- it stays reddish... I like it much better. If they could just get the gold-ish-ness into Oxblood, we would have a winner! Even better- how about a silver aspect? (I like silver better than gold.) I don't want to feel like a detractor, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't blown away by this ink.

I suppose I should try it in my noodler's ebonite which just vomits ink onto the page, but Herbin in a Noodler's pen might destroy the universe.

 

Ha! It's against some law of physics or something... You might summon the Dark Lord Cthulhu!

[Sandy1]

 

I suppose I should try it in my noodler's ebonite which just vomits ink onto the page, but Herbin in a Noodler's pen might destroy the universe.

 

Ha! It's against some law of physics or something... You might summon the Dark Lord Cthulhu!

Hi,

 

No problem. I've got him in a jar that's rigged to power my cyclotron.

 

S1

[MrsGouletPens]

As another poster said, did you shake it up well before using it? I find that it often quickly settles out of suspension, so shaking helps. I haven't noticed a distinct gold, but I do really like the color. One of my favorite red inks.

 

edited by moderator

Edited November 18, 2010 by Ann Finley

[GouletPens]

This is an interesting take. Maybe I've been under a rock, but this the first I've heard anyone try this ink with any kind of expectation (albeit a tempered one) of gold on the page. And 'dark' red is such a relative term, what someone considers dark another may not. It's all such a matter of personal preference! I do agree though that Diamine's Oxblood is distinctly darker than 1670. To me, 1670 is more like a halfway point between Sheaffer Skrip Red and Diamine Oxblood (that might make for an interesting mixture, actually!!).

[shaylenwilliams]

Well, I haven't been in this game long enough to know what the initial phases of 1670 were supposed to look like. Nor do I have any other "regular" reds to compare it to, besides a red Varsity.

Again, I don't wanna come across as talking anyone out of this ink. If you want, buy it, especially given its limited availability. I just wanted to give my opinion. I hope that is all anyone is ascertaining. THIS IS A NICE INK- it just doesn't pour out golden red rivers with unicorns swimming in them like I wanted it to.

 

 

*edited because I am dumb.

Edited November 18, 2010 by shaylenwilliams

[QM2]

In your first picture it looked like a vermillion red, which would be worth getting because that shade of red is not really offered by ink manufacturers. But then later in the daylight picture it looks just like plain crimson red. So I agree: not exciting.

[saskia_madding]

I am intrigued about this idea of ink that comes with unicorns swimming in gold. I've always wanted a pet unicorn and this seems like an inexpensive source to get one from. Could you post a link to the vendor? :roflmho: