J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink (30mL) - Rouge Grenat

This ink is a nice deep and rich red colour. It flows well and is a pleasure to use. I use it in my Kaweco Bordeaux Sport medium nib and Pilot Metropolitan medium nib (which is a finer nib than the Kaweco) and it works great in both. An easy to read ink. I’ll continue using this ink regularly for a very long time.

I was pleasantly surprised that this ink was so saturated. I expected it to be light like Rouge Bourgogne of the same collection, and to dry to a chalky or flat finish, but it didn’t! I find it’s a Christmas-y ink.

I don’t have many colours in this range, but to my eye it is redder or more orange than Diamine Syrah, Sailor Kobe #27 Kounan Maroon and Bungubox Clown Teardrop Ruby. Sailor Kobe #6 Bordeaux, Sailor Bungubox Sweet Potato Purple or Röhrer &Klingner Alt-Bordeaux are much bluer. I liked this ink most on ivory paper, because it moves away from the Bordeaux-burgundy-beet juice colour, and looks more maroon.

I’ve observed no sheen, even on heavily saturated puddles. However, I did observe a dark, almost black, outline on the edges of where the ink pooled. It’s a fairly saturated ink, readable in all nib widths, yet feels thin under my nibs, even in my Sailor H-B, which is a wet writer: I could feel the traditional Sailor feedback, but I experienced resistance or drag, which I don’t usually get with that nib. I could feel the fibres of the paper, and the nib had problems gliding across them.

I obtained some ruby-to-maroon shading in the right pen and paper combos; with my Sailor 21 kt H-EF and Rhodia DotPad. I obtained none.

It’s a decent performer: no feathering, no bleedthrough, no hard starts, no skipping, no nib dry out. It also cleans out easily, for a red ink; I just don’t enjoy it in my pens enough to get a bottle.