A drop of Caroube de Chypre on Schizza e Strappa paper - highly saturated, with varying states from edge to middle: milk chocolate brown, iridescent green sheen, and a gold flake middle.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
When Emerald of Chivor hit, most people went a little nuts. I assume the same will happen again, and for some people, that's not worth it. That's cool. I myself only had a sample for over a year before I picked up a bottle when they were readily available. I will probably do the same with this ink because I have more than enough ink to keep me occupied, but I'm really happy to be able to share this sample with you. Thank you to Bureau Direct for sending a sample of the new Caroube de Chypre over for review!
The ink of Louis XIV, Napoleon and Victor Hugo, used to sign treaties at Versailles and write Les Miserables, quite literally the ink of Kings. This is the special 340th anniversary ink produced by J. Herbin in a beautiful glass bottle with celebratory wax seal and presentation box.
50ml bottle of J. Herbin 1670 Caroube de Chypre (brown) with a red sheen and gold flecks, to be released in July 2016. This is the fifth ink in the 1670 series. Each 50ml bottle is hand dipped in sealing wax with a stamped “1670” seal on the front and individually packaged in a collector edition box.
It is said that J. Herbin was very fond of dried carob pods and that is the reason he lived so long! As the other merchants sailing the Mediterranean sea, he would pick them up in Cyprus, on his way back home. The carob bean is the fruit of the carob tree and was cultivated in the Mediterranean countries since ancient times. Carob pods are known for their great therapeutic properties and were marketed throughout Europe as the “black gold of Cyprus”. This new Anniversary ink is called “Caroube de Chypre” because of its intense and deep brown with a hint of red, and of course its gold specks”.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
Color: Brown
Bottle: 50 ml
Price: (expected) £14.95
Due for release on Bastille Day, July 14th
Where to buy: Bureau Direct
Gold on top is a rich complement to the warmth of the brown.
Unique mixture.
Shades well.
A great ink for drawing attention - cards, notes, etc.
Green sheen is really pretty.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
Oxford paper.
Schizza e Strappa paper.
CONS
With highly saturated inks or with inks with particles, extra care is needed. Practice good pen hygiene so the ink doesn't dry out in your feed, and make sure to flush well to remove the particles.
A finicky ink - fairly high on bleed through, show through, and feathering.
A very narrow mouth on the bottle - if you have big nibs or wide sections, it can be difficult to fill from.
As usual with J. Herbin's anniversary inks, Caroube de Chypre is unique, special, and a lot of fun to use. I think this is a beautiful mixture - the brown and gold are rich and warm together, and I really like it. Shimmer and particles and gold flecks aren't for everyone, and I can't be 100% sure this sample is entirely representative of the bottle's ink to fleck ratio, but I don't think there are as many particles in this ink as we saw with Emerald of Chivor/Rouge Hematite. The brown base can still be seen.
Oxford paper.
Get Your Own: Tracing Paper I received this ink free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are affiliate links in this review that do not cost you any extra should you choose to use them, but help support this blog (that's me!). You are not obligated to use any of them!
Thank you to De Roos for sending one of these sets for review! IT IS SO NEAT.
ABOUT
These Stilovite sets were made in the 50s for technical drawings, drawing lines, and shading surfaces, and this set was made in Holland!
Body Material: Metal
Trim: None
Length (capped): 112.8 mm/4.44"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 101.0 mm/3.97"
Length (posted): 130.2 mm/5.12"
Barrel Diameter: 9.8 mm/0.38"
Section Diameter: 9.8 mm/0.38"
Nib material: Steel
Weight (all): 12 g
Weight (cap): 2 g
Weight (body): 10 g
Fill type: Eyedropper
Price: € 14.99
Where to buy: De Roos
PACKAGING
This drawing set was packaged in a small, slide out box. The nibs are held in place on a cardboard bed with slots to hold them in place, and the pen itself is loose on the side. There is also a small, thin manual that comes with it. It's cute, simple packaging for a cute, simple drawing set.
APPEARANCE
The Stilovite drawing pen is very simple in appearance and design. It is a round, fairly slim pen, not too long, with slightly rounded off ends. The body and cap are black metal, with recessed threads at the end of the barrel. The cap is short, and uncapping it reveals the "feeder" system - a thin metal tube.
The manual is so neat, printed on very thin paper, and taking up very little space.
NIB & PERFORMANCE
There are eight metal nibs in total, all of which have two metal plates that create the ink reservoir. They all click into place on the end of the feeder section. Each nib offers a different line width. The nibs with the rounder tips are used for shading, and are written with straight on the tip. The lines are not as wide as with the other six nibs, which are used on the edges for thick and thin strokes and lines. My favorite nib was the #6, which offered the widest strokes, and the round tip because it produced equal lines no matter how it was written with.
It took me awhile to really master this pen, which is why this review has taken me so long to get up! I flushed the system and have tried several inks, ranging from India Ink (which it is supposed to be used with), to inks like Platinum Carbon Black, J. Herbin Anniversary Inks, Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, and some others.
India Ink offers the most solid ink flow for lettering, and it was quite consistent. If it runs dry, Stilovite recommends flicking the barrel lightly to get ink flowing again, which works very well. Of course, this means you can splatter some ink, so do so with caution. I do not intend to and have not used this pen for real technical drawings (because I do not do technical drawings!). I mainly use these nibs in a calligraphic/hand lettering style - mostly broad, messy, inky strokes. As such, if you plan to use this kind of set as it was intended, your miles may vary. I want wet ink flow and 95% of the time, ink flow was generous. I really enjoy this set!!
The barrel is filled with an eyedropper/pipette. There is a metal piece that must be removed from the section to access the inside of the barrel. Easy to fill, easy to clean.
IN HAND
In hand is not very exciting. There's no clip, there's no real designated section - it's just the barrel, and it's small, slender, and all metal. Not the most comfortable thing to use, but I don't imagine anyone would be using this for extended writing sessions. The one thing that I dislike is that I have to remove the nib every time I want to cap it!
It must be used posted because unposted, it's way too short, but when it is posted, it has a nice weight and a comfortable length.
PROS & CONS
Quite simple: fun, but can be messy. Of course, you also cannot see how much ink you have left, you have to re-cap the pen every time, which means removing the nib, and it can run a bit dry, but it's all worth the fun.
OVERALL
For € 14.99, I think this is completely worth it if you enjoy ornamental nibs and calligraphy/typography/hand lettering. It's a lot of fun to experiment with, and you can create some really fun stuff! There is some maintenance involved, especially if you use India Ink - it can dry out and plug the feed, but it can also fairly easily be cleaned.
I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.
Skip the camera, take the sketchbook - Sketch Skool Blog. I rarely take pictures in museums and such, not because I have some complex that you shouldn't, but because I'm too lazy to navigate crowds all the time. Do you have a preference?
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