J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage

[kookychick]

I've pasted one pic (it's too cumbersome to post all the pics and takes up too much space here) and the text of my review below. For the full review with more photos, please see my blog! Thanks!

 

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Karen Doherty at Exaclair very graciously sent 2 inks in her most recent batch of products for review! I was happily surprised to receive both Lierre Sauvage and Orange Indien. Thanks so much, Karen! :-)

 

Lierre Sauvage is one of the J. Herbin "La Perle des Encres" (The Jewel of Inks) fountain pen inks. There are 30 colors available, which come in 30mL bottles and cartridges (6 cartridges in a cute little metal tin--I use the empty tins to keep dip pen nibs in them!). They are advertised as non-toxic and pH neutral, with natural dyes.

 

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

 

Here's a shot of the bottle. I had a bottle of Bleu Myosotis for years before I found out that the little lip on the front of the bottle is a built-in pen rest. Very cool idea!

 

Here's a full-length shot of my handwritten ink review (thanks to SProctor on the Fountain Pen Network for the template). I'm not ecstatic about the way it photographed--I tried it outside in bright sunlight, but got some weird effects. I tried it inside in natural sunlight, but as you can see, I got some shadows over it. However, the ink color looks pretty true to life on my monitor, for what it's worth! I'll try using a smaller sheet of paper or a notebook for my next ink review. Feel free to comment or tweet me with tips for improving my photography! :-) (But nothing too technical like fiddling with 15 different settings or downloading expensive software, please--honestly, it won't happen.)

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3461918808_37850ecd1d_b.jpg

 

Here's a closer view of the top half of the page:

 

A closer view of the bottom half of the page:

 

I used a Sensa Meridian fountain pen, custom ground to an XXXF nib. The paper was some random cheap copy paper I had around the house (Georgia Pacific). I also tried it on Clairefontaine paper, but didn't photograph it.

 

I really liked the bright green color--it wasn't too yellow, nor too blue. It was slightly on the yellowish side, but not much. And, surprisingly, it was quite legible for a bright green color. It's a nice spring/summery color, and makes you think of golf course lawns.

 

Flow: Flow was really good in my dry-writing, finicky XXXF nib! It wasn't a gusher, either--just a nice, consistent flow.

 

Drying Times: Granted, I'm using a really fine nib, but I find that J. Herbin inks typically dry pretty fast (and even work pretty well on glossy textbook paper). Lierre Sauvage was no exception.

 

Feathering: It feathered a little on this cheap copy paper, but I haven't found an ink yet that won't feather on this paper (I'm never getting it again!). Not surprisingly, there was no feathering on the Clairefontaine.

 

Bleedthrough: A few tiny pinpricks of ink on the back of the cheap copy paper, mostly where I paused. None on the Clairefontaine.

 

Shading: Yes, there was some shading, even with my XXXF nib. On glossy textbook paper, it was more noticeable.

 

Waterproof: This ink does not claim to be waterproof, and I did not test this quality myself.

 

Nib Creep: Just the tiniest drop on the very tip of the nib.

 

Staining/Clogging: I only used this ink briefly (see below for the reason), but there was no staining or clogging detected, and the ink rinsed out of the pen fairly easily.

 

Smear Factor: Since it dried quickly, it didn't smear on glossy textbook paper after 3 seconds! It was GREAT for the few pages of margin notes I took.

 

Odor: It has a noticeable, pleasant scent, though it's not a "scented" ink. The ink was somewhat like a perfume, slightly earthy and floral. The scent disappeared from the paper pretty quickly. However, I'm really sensitive to certain odors, and this ink gave me a bit of a headache. I was really saddened by this, since I loved the rest of its qualities. But I would be remiss in not mentioning it, so my fellow headache sufferers can be forewarned. If you have headaches from certain scents, you might want to try a sample of this first, before you buy a whole bottle!

 

Caveat--I'm REALLY sensitive to certain scents, and the average person probably won't have any problem with this ink. I had a headache in one class every morning at the same time, until I figured out that the hand lotion of a student a couple rows away was causing my pain! (I changed seats and everything was fine after that.)

 

Not all J. Herbin inks give me a headache--I've tried Orange Indien recently, I usually have a pen inked with Violette Pensée, and I've tried Rose Cyclamen and Rose Tendresse in the past. I didn't have a problem with any of those inks--just this one so far! (Oh, and I tried the rose scented J. Herbin ink, which also gave me a bit of a headache.)

 

The scent also lingers in the pen. I flushed it until the water ran clear, and washed what I could of the plastic feed, then refilled it with another ink. However, I can still smell the Lierre Sauvage one week later (though it's muted and isn't strong enough to give me a headache anymore). Just a warning, in case you object to the scent. (Many people love the scent, however, and actually like this quality!)

 

Appearance: The squiggle to the left is from one swipe of the Q-tip, and the squiggle to the right is from two swipes of the Q-tip.

 

Overall Conclusions: This is a happy, colorful green ink--the epitome of spring! :-) Bright enough to stand out, yet dark enough to be legible. The flow was great in my XXXF dry writer, and it dried really quickly on the 3 different papers I tried. I loved this ink, and would have continued to use it if it wasn't for the scent. The scent is really pleasant and not extremely strong, but unfortunately, I'm prone to headaches with certain scents (especially perfumes/botanicals).

 

 

[publius]

This was one of four greens I tested, & I liked it pretty well, although I ended up buying Caran d'Ache Amazon instead. (I would, however, be overjoyed to relieve you of the bottle, since it sounds as though you can't use it — I may be able to trade you something interesting.) I noticed the scent myself ; although I am a little sensitive, it didn't bother me. To tell the truth, the ink smells as though it's actually made from the "wild ivy" it's called after!

[koa]

My second favorite green, even after I managed to translate the name. If only it came in slightly larger bottles.

Thanks for the review, very thorough and you pointed out a few things I had missed!

[Ghost Plane]

Thanks! Can't wait to see this off one of my stub nibs.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

This is my favorite green. In my experience, Lierre Sauvage is a bit darker than this scan, probably because I do not use nibs this fine for green ink (extremely fine nibs I use for technical diagrams, usually with black ink).

 

Thank you for the review.

[Gran]

Kookychick, thanks very much for your thorough, friendly review.

 

I have a new bottle of Lierre Sauvage, thanks to the St. Patrick's Day offer from Exaclair. I like the warm tone of the color, and that it is a medium green. It does look much the color of the ivy growing outside, and of several varieties of shamrocks I've seen. It is smooth to write with, and looks cheery. It fits nicely in the warm season palette of inks this year.

[bluemagister]

Even though I personally don't like the impermanence of the Herbin inks...I have to give them credit for making the nicest, NICEST shades of green on the FP ink market! They really know how to make colors that reach right through my eyeballs!

 

Nice review!!

[Ed Ronax]

Great review, this is deffinatly a very nice shade of green, thanks.

[Pictrix]

Even though I personally don't like the impermanence of the Herbin inks...I have to give them credit for making the nicest, NICEST shades of green on the FP ink market! They really know how to make colors that reach right through my eyeballs!

 

If you mix them with a little of Noodler's "Blue Ghost", they'll stay put against water quite a bit better. I can't say if it is any "insurance" against fading, as I haven't really looked into that aspect. Maybe that's a good distraction for this coming week

[GouletPens]

Nice review, thanks! This is a GREEN ink, more so than the fine nib here really shows. Herbin inks in general look better in wetter (esp. stub) nibs. Here's a watercolor I did with Lierre Sauvage that shows the full color nicely:

[Sailor Kenshin]

This ink is rapidly becoming my go-to neutral green. I normally use it in either a Hero 616 or 366---can't wait to try it in one of my fude nibs (talk about wet writers!)

 

Thanks for the review.

[majorworks]

Kookychick, thanks very much for your thorough, friendly review.

 

I have a new bottle of Lierre Sauvage, thanks to the St. Patrick's Day offer from Exaclair. I like the warm tone of the color, and that it is a medium green. It does look much the color of the ivy growing outside, and of several varieties of shamrocks I've seen. It is smooth to write with, and looks cheery. It fits nicely in the warm season palette of inks this year.

 

I obtained a free bottle from Exaclair in the same giveaway and am enjoying the ink. It was the first ink in a new Lamy 2000 EF. Nice color, nice flow, dries quick. I haven't tried a Herbin ink yet that I haven't liked a lot.

[Ondina]

Even though I personally don't like the impermanence of the Herbin inks...I have to give them credit for making the nicest, NICEST shades of green on the FP ink market! They really know how to make colors that reach right through my eyeballs!

 

Nice review!!

 

There is a boatload of documents written with Herbin inks since 1670 that have lasted till our days. That's pretty good permanence by my standard. Herbin's was chosen by Seyès precisely for their safe nature and resilience. That a given color is not as steadfast does not mean the rest are not. In the category of dye inks, (obviously, ferrogalic & carbon based India inks can put on the table much older writings), do you know of any other that has lasted as long?

Lierre Sauvage is one green that are really pleasant to use and see, very nice green-green with shading and a real joy to use. Thanks for there review.

[arthury]

Very saturated green and it glows after it dries. I love it.