Let’s take a look at five J Herbin inks today. You can finds these inks for sale at a lot of retailers, including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Rouge Caroubier, Rouge Bourgogne, Poussiere de Lune, Larmes de Cassis, and Violette Pensee.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry Time: 20-40 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five have low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Rouge Caroubier is a little more pink than Robert Oster Santa’s Hangover.

Rouge Bourgogne is more pink than these other red inks.

Poussiere de Lune is closest to Diamine Harmony.

Larmes de Cassis is deeper than these other purple inks.

Violette Pensée is close to Thorton’s Purple.

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All five had average flows.

Overall, I really like these inks. They are classics in the fountain pen community, and for good reason. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.