on saleJacques Herbin Violette Pensee - Ink Sample

I don't love this ink. The color is...okay to pretty good. It's a purple that leans blue. I like the color, but I don't love it. I don't hate it, either though. It can be hard on the eyes to read back. It's pretty vibrant and saturated, but it could be moreso. I'm marking water resistance as medium because I haven't tested it myself, but in reviews and water tests I've seen online, it seems to hold up pretty well.However, this ink is really not well behaved. It's drier than De Atrementis Aubergine, J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune, and J. Herbin Perle Noir. It's wetter than De Atrementis Document Violet, but also not as well behaved as that ink is. I've had lots and *lots* of skipping with it, and almost a hard start -- and those in a TWSBI Eco with a broad nib, and those are pretty famously well-behaved pens that are known to be smooth, wet writers. It's also one of the purples I tried that had a nasty chemical scent to it, though not as much as De Atrementis Document Violet or De Atrementis Aubergine, and that's only a problem during cleaning and refilling. It's actually very hard to clean out of a pen, considering that it is not a pigmented or iron gall ink, and it's not advertised as being water proof or water resistant. It does stain the pen, and can be hard to get out. This ink also leaks when stored in my capped pen, and a ton of ink gets on the nib and looks messy. It may be because I have a broad nib, but even so, I only noticed this with this ink and J. Herbin Perle Noir. Nib creep also happens with this ink, if that bothers you, though that's not really a problem for me. It also smudges and can take a while to dry. I'm still searching for a perfect purple ink that's waterproof orbat least somewhat water resistant, that's flows wet, and that is reasonably well-behaved, which I realize is a tall order, but this ink isn't anywhere near it. Overall, I won't be buying a full bottle of it. I'm so grateful to Goulet Pens for their great customer service, though, and for selling samples so we don't have to waste money on full bottles that we wouldn't like or use. The writing sample is on Black n' Red Optik paper and written with a TWSBI Eco with a broad nib.

I've seen numerous samples of this online and thought I was getting a bluish-purple ink, but when I wrote with it, it was definitely leaning towards red. I tried it on multiple papers including Rhodia and Lechtturm. Later when I wrote a note on a receipt it turned into the blue-purple I wanted! I suspect this ink is pH-sensitive like litmus paper. Whichever color it appears is beautiful, but I definitely recommend trying the sample vial before buying a whole bottle.

I bought a sample of this because I was looking for a nice purplish ink. It didn't disappoint. I used this ink in my Pilot Metropolitan White Tiger pen with a M nib. It flows very smoothly and it dries fairly quickly.

After Diamine, J. Herbin inks have got to be among the best inks I've ever used. I bought the two colors mentioned in the title here at Goulet Pens. The inks are vibrant and well behaved. Eclat de Saphir even cured a CS 100 with flow issues. These are not my first J. Herbin inks and they will not be my last.

J Herbin inks are a joy to use. Each color I try becomes a favorite. Lierre Sauvage my favorite green, Violette Pense my favorite violet, etc. Same goes for Rouge Caroubier. These inks flow beautifully and pens clean up nicely. Highly recommend you try J. Herbin.