REVIEW: JAQUES HERBIN CLIPPER FOUNTAIN PEN

Jaques Herbin makes pens now, whadda ya think about that? Since their brand refresh a year or so ago, Jaques Herbin (previously J. Herbin) seems to have refocused some of their attention on fountain pens. They previously dabbled in this area, but that never really seemed to take off. This time around, it looks like they mean serious business though. The collection is quite extensive, given they're only about a year into it: leather goods, pens, paper and of course their core business: ink.

Their fountain pen collection is seemingly made up of three different pens. But look closely, and you'll see that the general design is identical for all three pens. It's basically just one product divided into three finish 'tiers' - they all look a bit different, and they all sit in a slightly different price range.

The Clipper sits in the middle of the price range and comes in an appealing all-metal brushed finish. The design of the Clipper is rather conservative overall. It has a modern and minimal appearance because it's quite featureless and sleek. This particular version has an all-brushed palladium finish that looks quite clinical and clean, but there's also matte black, rose gold and gold plated options. Fit and finish is really nice, I'm honestly quite impressed. The satin-brushed finish is cleanly done and makes everything fit together nicely. 

I like the design quite a bit, but if I had to nitpick... it lacks a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to keep it interesting. I guess you could argue just how much brushed finish is too much, and that they probably could've done with a contrasting finish or color on the trim just to make it stand out a bit... In fact, the Clipper is also available in a version with polished trim. I haven't seen it IRL yet, but I'm pretty sure I'd go for that one just to keep the aesthetic aspect of the pen a bit more interesting.

L to R: Sailor Pro Gear, Conid Minimalistica, Pelikan M805, Pilot Justus 95, Jaques Herbin Clipper, Jaques Herbin Caravelle, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000

The Clipper (and all other Jaques Herbin pens, for that matter) is an average-sized pen that measures 13,8cm capped (5,43"), and 12,7cm (5") without the cap. It's actually a very nice size in the hand with the cap off. The all-metal construction makes for a hefty pen (57g) and I kind of like it, although I'm sure opinions will be divided on that. The textured section has a decent size and provides a bit of grip, but the threads are cut a bit sharp so you do notice them a bit.

The titanium nib comes from Bock, and it's stock in every way but the imprint. The engraving on the nib face is excellent. It's very finely detailed, and I dig the way they covered the entire nib in a uniform pattern. Really, this may be one of the best laser-engravings I've seen on any nib. That said, it's still a stock nib underneath though, and we all know how Bock nibs can sometimes be a bit finicky. The EF nib does show a mild baby's bottom, which is a bit of a bummer on a pen this price. It's an otherwise fantastically smooth and soft nib with a really nice flow.

There's also something curious going on with the nibs on Jaques' pens: you don't really get much choice. It seems like they just made sure that the nib matches the rest of the pen, because the brushed pens only come with a -matte- titanium nib, and the brushed pens with polished trim have a stainless steel nib, plated to match the rest of the pen. Fair enough... but wait, the pricing doesn't always match with the type of nib that you get! I don't know if this is just an oversight on the Herbin website, but it doesn't make sense that a stainless steel nib would cost the same as a titanium one.

The nib situation has me confused. The options are a bit too restrictive it seems, and the performance issues are certainly not great for a pen this price (unfortunately a recurring theme for Bock nibs, showing how important a proper QC really is).

If I'd overlook the nib situation for a second, I'd dare to say Jaques Herbin pulled off a pretty great pen design, especially for their first real foray into the fountain pen business. But then we haven't even looked at pricing yet...

I mean, I get it. I truly do. Jaques Herbin wants to show presence, and establish themselves as a luxury brand, among the likes of Montblanc, Montegrappa, Dupont... But I don't think it works that way, does it? Slapping a fancy rebrand on it doesn't immediately turn everything you make into solid gold. If this was a 1000$ Montblanc, people would probably go nuts over it, but now it's a  pen that costs 355€/415$ and up (345$ without VAT if you buy from Appelboom), from a brand that was previously only known for having decent ink and basically has no reputation as a pen manufacturer. 

I sure hope they'll realize sooner rather than later that their pricing structure needs some work. I can totally see the potential for something good here, if only the prices were a bit more accessible.

This product was provided on loan by Appelboom, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post contains affiliate links.