Ink Review: J. Herbin Lie de Thé

[ladyambrosia]

Full Review with two scans posted at The Ink Rack

 

 

Tested again with my Jinaho F5 M nib and on Staples Bagesse composition notebook to try to keep variables on the ink tests similar.

 

The ink behaves very nicely on this paper laying down a nice wet line. It has no feathering and no bleed through although there is some dark shadowing on the other side of the paper. There is a subtle but pretty shading to this brown. And it stands up fairly well to water although it is not bulletproof. There is a green hue to it but on paper without a darker brown near it, you will have a hard time noticing it.

[GouletPens]

Nice review, thanks!

[ladyambrosia]

Thanks for commenting. I made a hack out of writing with my steel nib quill on this one. *laughs* but It is brand new and I am still breaking it in and learning its quirks.

[Thornton]

I've decided to include this in my next ink purchase based on numerous positive reviews. Thanks for sharing.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks.

[PenTieRun]

I've had this ink for two years; my first Herbin. Great stuff, and the perfect--I mean perfect--match for the color of tea...if that fits one of your needs.

[Inkling]

This was my first Herbin as well, and it's still my favourite. I can understand it's not anyone's cup of tea (sorry :embarrassed_smile: ) but I really like it. In my broad stub Swan you get shading from orange to deep brown - just like an autumnal western Norwegian hillside.

 

For the record, your scan looks pretty much spot on for the colour I get in most pens. Great review, keep them coming

[ladyambrosia]

Thanks I am enjoying reviewing and I am enjoying this ink. I just copied a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams using it

[mikej165]

My experiences with this ink have not been good. It seems to bleed pretty badly on Molekskine paper, but perhaps that shouldn't be an indictment of the ink but rather the paper. Still, it bled far more than the other inks I've used. I may give it a shot on better quality paper to see how it performs.

 

That aside, the color is lovely.

[specialk0449]

An excellent review of an excellent ink. I recently acquired this ink and love the color.

[bjornhansson]

How I wish my Lie de Thé looked like this! Mine is MUCH greener than this scan shows. Perhaps I just got a bad bottle.

 

Edit: It is not that I dislike my bottle of Lie de Thé. I think that it has a certain appeal to it, but I was expecting the ink to look like it does in this scan.

Edited February 11, 2010 by bjornhansson

[ladyambrosia]

How I wish my Lie de Thé looked like this! Mine is MUCH greener than this scan shows. Perhaps I just got a bad bottle.

 

Edit: It is not that I dislike my bottle of Lie de Thé. I think that it has a certain appeal to it, but I was expecting the ink to look like it does in this scan.

 

I know when a thinner line is down with a finer dryer pen it is slightly more green. My wet writers get this nice lay down.

[mikej165]

My experiences with this ink have not been good. It seems to bleed pretty badly on Molekskine paper, but perhaps that shouldn't be an indictment of the ink but rather the paper. Still, it bled far more than the other inks I've used. I may give it a shot on better quality paper to see how it performs.

 

That aside, the color is lovely.

Not wanting to leave the wrong impression, I should add that this review inspired me to try this ink again on better paper. On Clairefontaine or Leuchtturm paper this ink does not bleed at all, so my criticisms are limited to the Moleskine's in which I've tried it. The shading is beautiful and it dries almost instantly.

[GouletPens]

My experiences with this ink have not been good. It seems to bleed pretty badly on Molekskine paper, but perhaps that shouldn't be an indictment of the ink but rather the paper. Still, it bled far more than the other inks I've used. I may give it a shot on better quality paper to see how it performs.

 

That aside, the color is lovely.

Not wanting to leave the wrong impression, I should add that this review inspired me to try this ink again on better paper. On Clairefontaine or Leuchtturm paper this ink does not bleed at all, so my criticisms are limited to the Moleskine's in which I've tried it. The shading is beautiful and it dries almost instantly.

Just my biased opinion, but I don't think it's fair to any ink to review it on Moleskine paper. With perhaps the exception of the new 100g A4 folio paper, which I haven't used myself but have heard better things about than the other notebooks.

[Ondina]

A member sent me a letter written with this ink on off-white Verge de France, and it became an instant favorite. Elegant, classic and timeless.

[GouletPens]

A member sent me a letter written with this ink on off-white Verge de France, and it became an instant favorite. Elegant, classic and timeless.

I've heard from many members here that this combination is ideal for a vintage look!

[LexieS]

I love this ink! I do not notice as much green in my fps. I typically use xf nibs, so the brown is more, well brown I guess. It behaves very well on almost any paper I put it on, and it is not as difficult to flush out as some of my other inks.

[hudsong]

Great review, thanks a lot!

[Fabienne]

I am a bit late but I just lerves this ink. Thank you for your great review.

[anaximander]

My favorite brown ever! (With honorable mentions going to Iroshizuku Yama-guri, Noodler's Brown, and J. Herbin's own Cacao du Bresil.)