Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal: Ink Review

Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal ink splatter

Inspired by Kyanite, a noble and luxurious mineral discovered in Nepal, Herbin Kyanite du Nepal is the newest 1798 Anniversary ink and the gorgeous turquoise blue color is sure to be a gem in your collection.

According to Herbin, Kyanite is a unique and amazing mineral: "... an exotic gem and one of the two minerals on the planet that neither accumulates nor retains negative energy. It is believed to promote positive communication and encourage self-expression." What better muse could there be for your writing?

Herbin Kyanite du Nepal is a bright, cheery blue with a delightfully rich deep magenta sheen and glittering silver shimmer particles. It is a highly saturated ink, so there isn't a ton of shading potential, but the sheen is quite exciting and evident in areas of ink pooling. The shimmer is best shown on fountain pen friendly paper with a wide, wet flowing pen and the dry time is definitely on the longer side. However, the sacrifice in time is well worth having an ink as rich and vibrant as this is.

Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal writing samples, pen and ink bottle

Drawing Inspiration and Technique

drawing of an ice cream cone done with Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal

This summer has been a hot one here in Virginia. On the day, I completed this drawing, it was nearly 100˚F. The first thing I think of in this kind of weather is a cool, refreshing cone of ice cream. The icy blue hue of this ink lent itself well to this theme as well. So I decided to draw a dripping ice cream cone.

I lightly sketched out the way I wanted the ice cream cone to look and did a few practice runs. I did the majority of the work for this piece with a water brush pen because I was simply fascinated by the color variations this ink produces. I started with a swatch of ink at the bottom of the page so I could pull from that as I needed to get more color. I placed the outline of the cone and ice cream scoops then filled them in so the darker shades formed the edges and the middle of the piece was lighter. I used the swatch of color to fill in more depth and shading as well. Then I created the puddle of melted ice cream and drew some drip drops coming off the cone.

I left all of that to dry for a while before I came back to do detail work. I used a TWSBI Eco 1.1mm Stub to outline the cone and ice cream scoops and draw in the waffle pattern on the cone. Then I grabbed a TWSBI Medium to sketch on some sprinkles (or Jimmies if you prefer that term).

I was hoping more of the sparkle would come through in the drawing but I can definitely appreciate the subtle sparkle this ink offers. If you are looking for ink with a little pop, but not a lot of in-your-face sparkle, Kyanite du Népal is the choice for you! I love that it helped my drawing look like a tasty summer treat.

Ink Review

smear and dry time test of Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal

Flow- Medium
- Flows nicely from all pens
- the shimmer doesn't seem to affect the flow
Dry Time- 30+ Seconds
- This ink can be quicker drying if laid down lightly
- but thick lines will take more than 30 seconds to dry
- Probably dry around the 45-second mark
Water Resistance- Low
- This ink gets washed away as soon as water makes contact
Shading- Medium
- That is some color variation in writing
- subtle differences between the swabs in the ink review
How did the ink behave on other papers?
- The ink performs well on all types of paper
- I didn't notice any feathering and it only bleedthrough the page when I was doing things with splatters
Special Features Worth Noting?
- It's a shimmer ink, but the shimmer is subtle in my experience
- Didn't clog my pens, just gave them a twirl between my hands occasionally to keep the particulate suspended

Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal on Rhodia and Leuchtturm1917 paper

Comparable Inks

swabs of Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal and other similar blue inks

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A special note:

Due to the amount of particulate in this ink used to achieve the sparking look, you may experience restricted ink flow in some of your pens. We recommend shaking the ink thoroughly before filling and gently rolling the pen in your hands often to keep the shimmer effect consistent. This will also help prevent clogging. You will also want to be diligent about cleaning and maintaining your pen when using this ink.