J. Herbin Rouge Hematite Issues?

[The Nid Hog]

I told my family that I didn't need any pen gear for Christmas because I had bought myself the B&B Essential pen. Fortunately, no one listened to me! One daughter got me an FC pen case and the other a neat desk case (I'll post them in monthly acquisitions). My wife, meanwhile, put a bottle of J. Herbin's Rouge Hematite in my stocking. I use a lot of red ink, so this is a welcome addition to my arsenal. I've used it quite a bit over the last couple of days and it's an exceptionally beautiful ink.

So here's my question: should I take any special precautions when I use it? Reviews of the ink talk about how the name "hematite" derives from the Greek word for blood and other reviews mention that it has gold flakes in suspension. I'm just a simple country boy, but I thought that hematite probably indicated that the ink has iron oxide in it. Is this going to do anything to a good pen? Right now, I've inked up a Noodler's Konrad that I've been tinkering with and kept around to test new ink. I would kind of like to move it over to my new Essential pen--I think that the ink would look cool when laid down by the FC stub nib. Any thoughts?

 

[nemo]

I've read all the warnings about clogging and smudging but still want to try it. There is a glittery sheen I'm interested in seeing, but I don't want any stains.

I wouldn't put it in any pen I couldn't separate the nib from the feed if in fact it does clog. I'd be careful and not use it in a vintage transparent pen, and whatever you use it in, wash it out quickly. I'll just continue along with my Terre de Feu when I want an iron shade sans gold!

Keep us posted. By the way, how's that FC stub?

 

[Moondancer]

I bought a bottle back in September or October IIRC, and immediately bought a Pilot 78G with a stub nib to use it in. A wonderful ink with a wet writer, in my opinion. I've read horror stories about it experiencing creep and deposits and clogging feeds and staining pens. Nothing to stain on the 78G (that could be seen), no deposits, no clogs. It does creep some, but not excessively when compared to a couple Noodlers inks I use. I can tell you that I left the pen sit in a drawer, horizontal, for better than a month. When I took it out to sign Christmas cards it took about one letters worth of stroke to get it feeding again and I signed close to 50 cards with no issues whatsoever.
Really nice shading with it... enjoy it!

 

[nemo]

Great to know, thanks! I'm going to get a sample from Goulet.

How is the gold sheen?

 

[Moondancer]

Depends on how wet and wide the line is. I go from pretty red, not much gold, to nice gold sheen on the bottom of the stroke, to so much gold it almost has a greenish cast to it. Paper has a big effect on it. All in all, I'll keep a bottle on hand just cause I like playing with it so much. Having said that, it's not something I would dream of using for work. For that I'll stick with 5 O'clock Shadow, Black Swan in Australian Roses (my favorite ink), Liberty's Elysium, or just plain Black as the mood strikes.