thINKthursday
Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Nepal
Like a mountain lake, Kyanite du Nepal is sure to take your breath away.
Kyanite du Nepal is the second ink in the 1798 Jacques Herbin line of ink. The ink is a gorgeous cerulean sky blue that is highlighted with silver shimmer particles. The ink comes in a 50ml glass bottle that has an improved wide mouth opening to accommodate your thickest pens. A silk cord wraps around the opening and is secured with a wax seal stamped with the year 1798. This review was done with a Sailor 1911 F, Lamy Safari B and on Rhodia blank No. 18 paper.
Kyanite du Nepal is named after the mineral Kyanite, and the color of the ink is a good match for its namesake. At its lightest, the ink is an arctic sky blue. From there, it shades to a cerulean blue. The ink can shade into dark azure lapis tones. The silver shimmer particles go really well with this range of blues. Kyanite du Nepal does not have any sheen, instead relying on its shimmer for that eye catching sparkle.
The first Jacques Herbin ink in this series, Amethyste de l’Oural, behaved ok but did have a tendency to feather. Kyanite du Nepal doesn’t suffer from these issues, in fact it’s a very well-behaved ink. It has outstanding flow with no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper. Dry times were good at 20-30 seconds even with the inks high saturation. Water resistance is low, and because of the shimmering particles cleanup can be more intensive that most inks.
J. Herbin really nailed it with this ink; it’s my favorite addition to line since Emerald of Chivor. The underlying color is a beautiful vivid blue, and the addition of the silver shimmer makes good into great. The ink is fun and playful, and you could probably even get away with using it at work.
As with any ink review, the pen, paper, and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the one for you.
Ink it Up!
Chris
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