Herbin Terre de Feu

[Ann Finley]

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9876/terredefeureview34ui0.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5669/terredefeujherbinchartpartaa5.gif

I'm including part of Herbin's chart from their website so you can see how I thought Terre de Feu would look (middle sample).

 

Actually, the color is a pretty nice brown, just not what I was expecting. The paper used above is Rhodia. The title was done with an italic Sheaffer NoNonsense B nib.

 

Like other Herbin inks, it's thin and flows well. The shallow bottle doesn't serve well for very long, so I pour the ink into a taller, narrower bottle for ease of use. This ink also come in cartridges which are in a nifty little tin. I believe this is the only ink I've ever seen go down in price (except for special sales.) It was $9. per bottle when I first bought it and now it is usually sold for $7.50 to $8.00 for the 30mm bottles.

 

Best, Ann

[Judybug]

Ann,

 

I have some Terre de Feu cartridges that look pretty much like J. Herbin's chart - well, sometimes it looks like the chart. I don't know if I'll ever use all these cartridges because I think this ink is "moody." It will write dark for a while [looking very much like the sample] and then get very light - too light to suit me. I like it when it's writing dark, but don't like it when it starts looking washed out. I've tried it in more than one pen with the same result. Of course, this is just me - some people might like the dark-to-washed-out look.

 

I'd be happy to mail one of these cartridges to you. Send a PM if you're interested.

 

Judybug

[Inkanthropist]

Ann

 

I'm wondering if you actually do have a mis-labelled bottle, as my bottled Terre de Feu -- like Judybug's cartridge -- looks very much like the Herbin sample in your picture. I've used it in lots of different pens, and it's never looked anything like the ink in the (very nicely) handwritten part of your picture. My bottle must be about 18 months old now, though, so perhaps they've (radically) changed the colour.

 

Neil

[Ann Finley]

Ann

 

I'm wondering if you actually do have a mis-labelled bottle (snip.)

 

Neil

I guess it's possible...But when I tilt the bottle back & forth I can see a definite reddish look, which seems like the ink ought to look like Herbin's sample on the chart. And after reading about the differences regarding Diamine Prussian Blue a few hours ago in the Inky Thoughts forum, well I don't know...

 

Best, Ann

[PinarelloOnly]

Ann, I wish I could have handwriting like you!!!

 

I am going to be practicing soon when I get my crisp italic Conklin back from RB.

 

Scott.

[saintsimon]

Ann, I wish I could have handwriting like you!!!

 

...

But your cuneiform script is also interesting to look at , I've never seen anybody writing like you do

Edited September 7, 2006 by saintsimon

[Oxonian]

Hello Ann,

 

Very nice hand if I might say although I am no calligrapher myself, and rarely post in this forum but I must admit to lurking about from time to time.

 

It was the title that caught my eye in passing, I hadn't come across a brick red ink before and was looking forward to having a look at one, nice colour to draw in I thought.

 

Looking at the colour swatches on my monitor, the ink in your bottle looks very close to Coco de Brasil, much closer to that than to what the label says is in it.

 

Cheers, John.

[Sonnet]

Ann, I wish I could have handwriting like you!!!

 

I am going to be practicing soon when I get my crisp italic Conklin back from RB.

 

Scott.

Ditto that. Ann's handwriting is beautiful.

[hatherton_wood]

I have tried a bottle of this and do not like it at all - its too thin for me and not too keen on the flow in the Parker pens I have tried it in.

 

John

[rosey]

Thanks for the review, Ann. I have an ink sample of this ink but have not tried it yet. It's interesting the different opinions of this ink.

 

I ditto the comments regarding your handwriting...very beautiful!

[Ann Finley]

Thanks again, everyone, for the kind words and feedback. I'm not having the problem that John mentioned re: flow...Just the color surprise. This just means I won't need to order another brand of brown ink that I was going to order--at least for a good while! (But I may be looking for a brick shade. )

 

Best, Ann

[southpaw]

Nice review Ann. Your scan looks very accurate from the sample in your snail. You're right, it's definitely doesn't look like the color swatch. Glad you like it anyhow. Thanks again for the review, and as always, very nice handwriting!

[Dr.Grace]

FYI, I just received a sample of Private Reserve Fiesta Red from James P, and it has a nice brick-red color. Perhaps mixed with a bit of brown it could come close to the original Terre de Feu swatch above.

 

Also, a sample of Diamine Monaco Red seems very close to PR Fiesta Red.

 

Don

[Lennart Wennberg]

I love this ink!

At present this is the only ink, apart from different blacks, that I use.

 

I like it, not least, because it is complex and has all properties as described above.

Sometimes it looks brown, sometimes red, somtimes rich and sometimes washed out. And as a writer I sometimes get surprised myself. But it never looks bright red or brown like excrements!

 

It sometimes looks like stained venous blood...

 

[FrankB]

I have to agree with you, Lennart. I have been using Terre de Feu for about two years (I think) and I am well pleased with it. I like it with wet M and B nibs. The color does change a bit depending on the nib I use, but I keep seeing the color as a "sepia." I can see myself using this ink for some time to come.

Edited May 2, 2008 by FrankB

[encephalartos]

To me the color in your scan looks like the Herbin sample scan below it of

Cacao de Bresil. Could it be wrong label on the bottle? I think I have

Terre de Feu in some carts and a bottle, but don't remember if I got around

to trying it yet.

 

One time I got a bottle with a label of P.R. Orange Crush, but the ink inside

was BROWN, maybe more like what Copper Burst should be. Wrong label,

or else it changed color in storage?

[vans4444]

I have just started to use Terre De Feu just for three of four pages. The colour is close to the Terre De Feu in the chart below your written review (and nothing like the colour of your review).

 

The colour sample printed on the Herbin box looks slightly more red than the ink does in use. I have put the ink in a cheap no name Chines pen. It seems a little dry but it is still a very good looking red-brown. The Windsor and Newton Indian Red is similar but a lighter shade and perhaps a tad more orange than Terre de Feu.

[Mauricio]

Ann,

With your beautiful handwriting any ink looks good. Thanks for your review as I have written and very much enjoyed other J. Herbin brown colors but not the Terre de Feu. Will be checking it soon. Thanks!

[WendyNC]

I'd love to have some of the color shown in Ann's original review (and I'd really love to have her handwriting). I just got a bottle of this stuff and the color in a fairly wet writer with a round medium nib is the color of Carolina clay. I know this because it's raining here and the dogs have tracked some onto the kitchen floor. I just wrote in my scribble book, "This stuff looks like mud--and shaded mud at that." While it's an amusing color to me, it's not one I'm likely to use outside the house in my part of the world.

[bunnybaby]

I was torn between Lie de The and Terre de Feu, but this review sealed the deal for me. Thanks much, Ann :-) I'm lovin' it.