J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean

[sirgilbert357]

I don't think I've done a formal, in depth review of an ink yet, so here is my first effort. I've actually tried Stormy Grey too, and I have samples of Emerald of Chivor and Rouge Hematite -- I just haven't used them yet. Maybe I'll get around to reviews on all four eventually. The ink used for this review and pics actually comes from a full bottle of Bleu Ocean, in case anyone cares about that little detail.

The gold in the ink is beautiful - some of time. The issue is with how it hits the paper. There is truly no reliable way I have found to manage the amount of gold that ends up in the writing. If you don't at least attempt to manage it, it varies heavily, sometimes coming in ultra heavy at the very beginning of a sentence and then tapering off to literally almost nothing after roughly a paragraph. The best way to manage this (if you want the amount of gold to be somewhat evenly deposited throughout the writing session) is to fill the pen (after shaking the bottle with overzealous enthusiasm to mix the gold particles up) and then begin writing right away. Then pause after every sentence to turn the pen nib up and give it a gentle "swirling" motion, or turn the pen end over end a few times to keep the gold from settling.This seems to help...but its still not a perfect solution. And each pen is different, so experiment with it, as YMMV, etc.

The ink itself: Pretty dark blue with a good bit of purple in it. Flow: goes down wet, but seems rather thin, so absorbs into most papers readily. Dry time on the papers I've tested (HP Premium 32 lb laser paper, Composition notebooks with paper from Brazil, Norcom spiral notebooks with paper from Mexico) is very fast, 5-10 seconds. Acts very much like Iroshizuku Asa-Gao if you've ever tried that one -- but Bleu Ocean has less purple and a touch more dark blue to it. I've not seen any shading so far -- literally zero. Might be the pen I'm using (a broad straight italic nib). I also haven't noticed any sheen to speak of, but I don't have papers that facilitate that, sadly (come to think of it, that probably affects the shading a bit too, though I do get shading with some of my other inks on the same papers). Bleed through is almost non-existent unless you are going over the same spot multiple times with the cheap Norcom paper.

Clean up: Well, let me be blunt. Its a pain in the ass. Getting all the gold out of a converter is almost impossible (and the converter I used cannot be taken apart sadly - the piston seal in it is still coated with gold!), and the feed fins on my nibs have gold particles all over them, even after rinsing with water. I'm guessing an old toothbrush with soapy water could do the trick, but I don't know, haven't tried -- I just keep re-filling the pen, lol. I think it would be best to dedicate a single pen to this ink if one were inclined to use it a lot. A cheap TWSBI that can be taken all the way apart or a Parker 45 with the nib and feed that is super easy to tear down (and just refill an empty cart instead of using a converter) and deep clean would be my primary choices. I guess long term testing would show how often deep cleaning is truly needed to keep the feed channels from clogging with gold specks, but if it were me, I would NOT use this ink on any pen whose nib could not readily be taken all the way apart for deep cleaning.

Overall, I like the ink and its effect is pretty cool. But I question the gold's ability to adhere to the paper long term. I wrote with this ink in a Norcom single subject notebook and the first few sentences came out super saturated with the gold. I finished my page, (everything was dry), closed the notebook and went on my way. Upon coming back to that page, I noticed some of the gold specs had come loose and were stuck to the facing page. So, the sentences that were over saturated with gold had shed some of it. Not a big deal to me, but worth noting, as I didn't expect that and could see it being an annoyance to some.

Anyway, there you have it. My experiences and observations. I like the ink quite a bit, but it is a demanding little gremlin of an ink. I have to be in the right mood to want to mess with it, I guess. Hope this helps anyone on the fence about it.

Pics were taken in terrible light with my iPhone. Sorry.

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2754.jpg

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2752.jpg

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2753.jpg

[northstar]

Hello,

 

Congrats for your first review, lovely sheen, I have already ordered a bottle of this ink, might decide to get an extra bottle.

 

Best regards.

[jasonchickerson]

Beautiful review and writing sample.

 

My problem with this ink, and all the inks in this series, is that you can take your finger and lightly rub across the page and the ink and the gold flakes will smear long after it is dry.

 

I did some cards with Rouge Hematite and after handling by the postal service, there was some smearing and ink transfer inside the envelope.

[benbot517]

I only use pens I can take apart completely with this ink. My Kaweco AL sport fits the bill. I use the converters, and for extra safety have a dedicated squeeze converter for each ink.

[sirgilbert357]

Beautiful review and writing sample.

 

My problem with this ink, and all the inks in this series, is that you can take your finger and lightly rub across the page and the ink and the gold flakes will smear long after it is dry.

 

I did some cards with Rouge Hematite and after handling by the postal service, there was some smearing and ink transfer inside the envelope.

 

Yes, I noticed this too. If used on the outside of an envelope, I would put a piece of packing tape across it to protect it. The letter inside (if folded upon itself) will be a different story though...

[sirgilbert357]

I only use pens I can take apart completely with this ink. My Kaweco AL sport fits the bill. I use the converters, and for extra safety have a dedicated squeeze converter for each ink.

 

I'm wondering now...do the feeds/nibs on those pens come all the way out quite easily?

[sirgilbert357]

Hello,

 

Congrats for your first review, lovely sheen, I have already ordered a bottle of this ink, might decide to get an extra bottle.

 

Best regards.

 

Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. I'm excited to finish off the fill currently in the pen and explore Emerald of Chivor next!

[benbot517]

 

I'm wondering now...do the feeds/nibs on those pens come all the way out quite easily?

 

On the AL sport you can simply pull the nib and feed out of the pen. They're friction fit. If you want to be extra thorough you can also unscrew the nib collar itself. They really lend themselves quite nicely to taking on nasty inks.

[sirgilbert357]

 

On the AL sport you can simply pull the nib and feed out of the pen. They're friction fit. If you want to be extra thorough you can also unscrew the nib collar itself. They really lend themselves quite nicely to taking on nasty inks.

 

Interesting...I may consider one of these if I decide to buy another "tester" or "beater" pen. Right now, though, I need to shrink the collection of pens.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. I finally got around to trying the sample of this last week. I'm not 100% enamored of it, the way I was with Stormy Grey and the original version of Rouge Hematite. It *is* an improvement of the original (not particle version) of Bleu Ocean, which was really disappointing after all the hype when it was first released.

I did notice the the new formulation seems to be a darker blue than the original -- but I'm not sure whether that's just a matter of the pen it's in. I had put the original in a Wing Sung 237 with a fine nib, and in a Noodler's FPC. I have the new version in a Pelikan M100 with a 1 mm stub nib, so I'm putting more ink down on the page just from the start.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[benbot517]

Interesting...I may consider one of these if I decide to buy another "tester" or "beater" pen. Right now, though, I need to shrink the collection of pens.

 

The Al Sport is a bit spendy, but not only can it take really mean inks, it can also take a massive beating itself. It's pretty indestructible all around. I found mine worth the money.

Edited October 21, 2015 by benbot517

[Inked]

Great review.

 

I have three bottles, pre-gold infusion, which I really love.

Very dynamic blue and well behaved.

 

However, I think I would like to give Bleu Ocean 2.0 a try.

 

Thank you,

 

Inked