J. Herbin Transparent Fountain Pen

[jmeldorf]

curios if anyone has tried it yet? Opinion? Any thoughts in comparison to a Kaweco Classic Sport or a TWSBI Mini?

[rafapa]

I don't know if you are talking about the one similar to the rollerball or the eyedroper one.

I have the first one. The material is exactly the same as the roller, cheap plastic. Nothing comparable to Kaweco or TSWBI. The one I have has a scratchy nib. I changed it for a Jinhao one and now I can use it.

It uses standard international cartridges and I believe it's too short to use a converter.

Hope this helps,

Rafael

[Jamerelbe]

Yup, I believe the construction is similar to the rollerball pen SBRE Brown reviewed here:

 

 

Doesn't surprise me to hear that the nib was scratchy - though I imagine it will vary from one pen to the next, and can be fairly easily fixed. Massdrop are selling these with Monteverde mini converters, which they say will fit - I have no reason to believe otherwise!

[dneal]

It's the same as a JetPens Chibi, with some additional metal bits and around 3 times the price.

[rafapa]

It's the same as a JetPens Chibi, with some additional metal bits and around 3 times the price.

If you want to see a really overpriced J.Herbin fountain pen have a look at:

 

http://www.bureaudirect.co.uk/j-herbin-tempete-fountain-pen/p3789

[jmeldorf]

Being a scooter fanatic, a hiker, hunter, and fly fisher, I'm big on pocket fountain pens. So when I saw this pen advertised on Massdrop, I thought I should come to "The Source" and seek your guidance. I took the Chibi with me to a trade show yesterday; it's in my rotation. Y'all have convinced me not to spend the extra money for the J. Herbin. Thanks for your help.

John

[dneal]

Just to get back to the original question... Not a lot compares to a Kaweco Sport for portability, utility and durability.

[jmeldorf]

Agree, dneal, but I do love my TWSBI mini, too. But my Kaweco and a Leuchtterm travel journal carried me thru 17 days in the Czech Relublic last summer

[bbs]

I've got all three, and I'd rate the TWSBI Mini way out in front, followed by the Kaweco Classic Sport and a long, long way behind the J. Herbin. Wish I hadn't bothered with that one!

[PortiaDaCosta]

I've got the small, cheap Herbin FP and I really like it. In fact I just bought a second one. The one I'm using seems to be a nice smooth writer for me, with a Herbin cartridge. There's a bit of what I guess is feedback, but it's comfortable to use. Seems to suit my medium sized hands, but I like mini pens in general. I have a Kaweko Sport Ice and I like that too. The Herbin isn't as solid as the Kaweko, but I don't take my pens out of the house so they don't get much wear and tear.

 

I've got the tiny Monteverde converter I'm going to try in it when this cart runs out.

 

For me, the Herbin is great for under a tenner. I doubt I'd shell out for the Tempete though. That does seem a bit over priced.

[senzen]

I've got the small, cheap Herbin FP and I really like it. In fact I just bought a second one. The one I'm using seems to be a nice smooth writer for me, with a Herbin cartridge. There's a bit of what I guess is feedback, but it's comfortable to use. Seems to suit my medium sized hands, but I like mini pens in general. I have a Kaweko Sport Ice and I like that too. The Herbin isn't as solid as the Kaweko, but I don't take my pens out of the house so they don't get much wear and tear.

 

I've got the tiny Monteverde converter I'm going to try in it when this cart runs out.

 

For me, the Herbin is great for under a tenner. I doubt I'd shell out for the Tempete though. That does seem a bit over priced.

 

Thank you!

[Gloucesterman]

Actully I kind of liek the roller ball AND the Noodler roller ball pens as well.

[sandy101]

If you want a small pen the OHTO Tasche PF101 might be up your street. It's a telescopic pen. The metal cap covers the plastic nib section. You uncap the lid and post it onto the back. This forms the rear section of the fountain pen. The writing end is a plastic section with an iridium nib. It gives a consistent fine line and takes international standard cartridges. It is comfortable to write with. It gives a very tight line, so it won't show off your beautiful shading inks to their full advantage, if that's what you want - but for a pocketable nibbed writing instrument, that is half the size of your average pen - it is pretty decent and it is not terrible expensive (around £10-12 in the UK).

[PortiaDaCosta]

I've been fancying the Tasche. I think I've got one on my Cult Pens wishlist. Might move it to basket for my next splurge.

[PaperQueen]

I have four (yeah, yeah, I know, four of anything is ridiculous) J. Herbin demo pens, plus corresponding Rosetta mini converters, purchased from iPenStore.com. Have been a fan of J. Herbin inks for 20 years, so what the heck; needed something small, inexpensive, and easy-to-play-with for Goulet ink samples.

 

Pens were $13.97 each; converters were $2.97 each.

 

They're advertised as a M nib, but they write more like a F, and just a titch dry--the wetter the ink, the better. Stroke and performance are fairly consistent between all four, so no complaints there.

 

My only real complaint at this price point is the crack that suddenly appeared in one of the caps. I'm not one to jam a cap on when posting, so this falls outside the realm of my "expected wear and tear" comfort zone.

 

They work fine for my purpose, but I definitely wouldn't pay more than $13.97 for another.

[PaperQueen]

My only real complaint at this price point is the crack that suddenly appeared in one of the caps. I'm not one to jam a cap on when posting, so this falls outside the realm of my "expected wear and tear" comfort zone.

 

Update:

There are now cracks in three of the four caps. Love their inks, but not their pens. Bummer.

 

My heart sank when reading the Goulet email newsletter this morning---they're adding these to the roster. Sure hope that wasn't the result of a conversation I had with Jeremy a couple of weeks ago, touting how handy mine were, ordered from someone else. :::gulp:::

[kevanf1]

I have just got myself both a J.Herbin rollerball (very unusual for me as I far prefer a fountain pen) and a fountain pen, both clear demo style pens. I tried the rollerball first and I am very impressed. It writes like a smooth fountain pen and gives those subtle shade differences in ink on the paper that you normally only get from a fountain pen.

 

Then I tried the fountain pen... Posted it felt right in my hand (as does my Kaweco Sport). I shall have to be careful about how I put the cap on to post though going by previous comments. I popped a cartridge of unknown origin into place (it's one that has been knocking around in a kitchen drawer for at least 10 years..) half full of black ink.

 

First impressions of the nib were that it was, like others have noted, scratchy or toothy as some would say. It is supposed to be a medium nib but I feel it is more like a fine.

 

Next step I thought I'd try cleaning the nib up a bit. I got a piece of cardboard out that I have successfully used in the past for other nibs, I don't have any crocus paper or anything at the moment. After writing my name, the alphabet twice once in upper case and again in lower case and then a few punctuation and notation marks the nib feels very slightly improved. It is now pleasant to write with and I have no doubt that it will improve further with use.

 

I find it writes cleanly, neither too wet or too dry but of course this could be due to the unknown ink and other inks may be different. I shall try various inks such as Noodlers, Diamine Parker and Pelikan as and when. The line is consistent and did not falter. I paid £13UK for my pen and I think that price is about right. I'll see how it goes and I may get another at some future date.

 

All in all not bad.

[Munshi]

Are you referring to J Herbin Tempete? I have one of these gorgeous pens, and it has a fantastic nib, and I really love using it as my favorite eyedropper. However, I should say it isn not a well made pen! The cap doesn't fit very securely, and I recently noticed a small crack on the top of its cap.

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Munshi

[Nosferatualso]

Sorry to resurrect this. I just wondered if anyone had been able to swap the nib?

[Omaslover]

Thank you for bringing this pen to our attention