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J Herbin Ambre de Birmanie This is a gorgeuos golden honey, warm and legible ink. It made my heart sing in happiness writing with it, despite its idiosyncrasies. It’s a dryish ink with a confusing flow. Let me explain, it was wet, very wet when I filled the pen, but over time the flow was dry. I never thought to say that about a Herbin ink, but it needs a well-sealed pen, otherwise it might have start-up issues, and it doesn't like copy paper at all. It has decent water resistance as you can see. Despite all the shortcomings it's an ink I'm glad I tried and have a 10 ml bottle of. Let's start with the intriguing chroma: Writing samples: It doesn't like copy paper: Photo: Comparison: Water test (24 hr minimum left to dry. I held the left side under running water for 10 seconds) and finally a tiny sketch, I entitled joy: · Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Lamy Safari (EF/F/M/B/Stub 1.1), Waterman W2 · What I liked: Color · What I did not like: Very long dry times on Japanese papers, inconsistent flow. · What some might not like: Same as above, feathering on copy paper, dryness · Shading: It’s there. · Ghosting: Yes, on copy paper · Bleed through: Surprisingly yes, on copy paper · Flow Rate: Very wet / Very dry, go figure · Lubrication: Lower than average. · Nib Dry-out: No. · Start-up: Sluggish. · Saturation: Nope · Shading Potential: It’s there. · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Surprisingly yes on copy paper. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: No. · Cleaning: Easy · Water resistance: · Availability: cartridges, 10 ml, 30 ml. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

I am seriously in love with this ink. It will be in my daily carry pen for a while. Or at least until my bottle of Shin-kai arrives. This ink loves a dip pen, too. Forgive my heavy-handed example above, but perhaps you can see the promise. In better hands, this would be remarkable dipped. Sketch was done with Ambre de Birmanie, J. Herbin Bouton d'Or (the most useless ink I've ever put in a pen) and a touch of Iroshizuku Shin-kai. Not a success but that is hopefully more my total lack of experience with these three inks than anything else. I still have hope. Reasonable care was taken to ensure color accuracy.

I have decided to review some of my inks. These aren't necessarily in any particular order. This one is J.Herbin Ambre de Birmanie (Burmese Amber). This isn't a waterproof or an archival inkBearing in mind the paper I use is very smooth, this ink took 10-12 secs to dry.It flows reasonably dry but lubricates the nib quite well.It is currently available in packs of 4 x 10ml small glass bottles and 30ml glass bottles.It's available from many B&M shops and online retailers worldwide.