Ink 02: Éclat De Saphir

By Chas Wallace

This is a J. Herbin Ink and therefore hails from France. You likely have never heard of them so let's take a peek at some text from their website. These guys have been around a while:

1682 - One hazy morning, a cavalier takes a letter to Louis XIV, King of France, in Versailles. The ribbon wound around the letter is sealed with wax.
1814 -Napoleon Bonaparte pauses for a moment, then dips his quill in the ink and writes his abdication.
1862 -Victor Hugo dips a steel nib in the bottle, and prepares to write the final sentence in Les Miserables.
2008 -A decorative touch of wax is applied to a Chanel perfume bottle.

The common point with all these events: J. Herbin wax and inks.

Now I will admit that I am impressed by history; it is one of the things that first drew me to my Moleskine. Having said that, when it comes to writing and the ink I use, it either performs well or it does not. So what do I think of Éclat de Saphir?

This goes under the heading of "What Was I Thinking?" It has helped me to understand though, perhaps for the final time, dare I say, that I do not like blue ink. If I am going to write in my journal -- an every day occurrence for the Ridge Walker -- then I need Black ink, or a shade that is close enough to black as to make you say, if only to yourself, "This ink is a wonderful shade of black."

Éclat De Saphir is as blue as you can get. If you like blue ink this shade will absolutely thrill you, it screams blue. BLUE BLUE BLUE BLUE BLUE! In my medium fine nib pen it flowed well and easily. The color was saturated quite nicely. I have no doubt this ink would serve one quite well as an every day ink, if blue was their thing. Now that I think about it, this would make a wonderful ink for one's signature pen. You know what I'm talking about, right? It's the pen, and I'm talking a very nice pen, the nicest or one of the nicest you may have, that you pull out to sign things with. Of a necessity signature pens are filled with blue ink. That's how you know it is your original signature. Even in a room with the most subdued lighting there would be no doubt this ink was blue. There. I found a nice use for it. Signatures. I wouldn't even use it for sending a handwritten note to someone though. It's too blue. Having said all that, this is a very nice ink. If I were to give some to you, you would be quite pleased with it.

I will also comment on another aspect of the J. Herbin inks. This is my first, so it came as somewhat of a surprise. It has a lovely floral scent to it, rather like lilacs, and in that respect it very much reminds me of The Chef's grandma Char. If you are of the feminine persuasion this might be somewhat appealing to you. It does little for the Ridge Walker though. Even though The Chef calls him a Nancy because he can't give her a good massage, he does not need a floral note in his ink.