Vert Empire - J. Herbin

[Pravda]

That's very strange. Though I have noticed that when first ink a pen with the bottle, it's light palm green then after a few days the pen starts putting down dark pine greens.

[visvamitra]

Vert Empire isn't my favourite color in J. Herbin line. The color varies from green-grey to grey-green depending on the pen and paper you use. It's decently saturated and very well behaves - I've never experienced clogging, hard-starts or feathering with J. Herbin inks and Vert Empire is no exception. For me it lacks character a little bit but I believe it's the kind of color that can be considered “business appropriate” and it can provide a nice contrast to the boring day to day blue or black.

The flow is remarkable and I would say this ink gets along very well with all pens - I think even precious vintage pen users can use it safely and sleep well without getting up late at night to check if the pen hasn't desintegrated. It's easy to flush and clean and it's important when you tend to use demonstrators. The only real drawback for some users is the lack of water resistance. Well, you can't always gey what you want.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Color range

Water resistance

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Leuchtturm1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

No-name notebook, TWSBI 580, stub 1,1

 

[CrispyBacon_87]

My sample is more like that dusty/grey, it's barely green at all. But in the sample vial and in the pen, it definitely looks green. Definitely not the most consistent ink.

[goodpens]

Glad to know that others find this an odd ink. Mine (cartridges) is a mossy-to-olive grey/brown. It looks nothing like the deep forest green I have seen in other swabs or reviews (and which I think I'd prefer). Strange that it is so inconsistent.

Edited March 14, 2017 by goodpens

[Bo Bo Olson]

A long time ago....back when all things MB were hated by many...including the inks; Racing Green a murky ink...was the most hated ink on the com.The advice to 'noobies' like me was to buy the bottle and dump the ink.

 

I have an Masada MX-5 in metal flake Racing Green...(got some sort of funny name in the States, like the Moth that Ate Tokyo.)

I had a bottle of Racing Green in my hand at my B&M....but in I was going to toss the ink down the sink...decided to buy the Sepia, in I'd never tried a brown ink. I could toss it just as well as that very hated murky ink.

 

Then they discontinued it....and it suddenly became the most beloved in in the world!

 

My B&M was out of it, when my next yearly pilgrimage happened. (Did manage to buy a second bottle of Sepia on Ebay for only 1/3 more than original cost plus mailing.)

 

There was a big rush in the back room laboratories of the Fountain Pen Network; Racing Green joining Penmann Sapphire in searching for the Holy Grail Clones.

 

Some thought Vert Empire might fake it well...but was given a no , just like MB Seaweed.

 

Some fine poster did a post with some 35-45 murky green inks. At the time Racing Green I did not understand murky....as an ink color even if it shaded .... on the right paper. I saw lots of Racing Green back when it was so hated on papers that didn't shade.

There certainly were many more murky greens than I ever expected.

 

I have a pen with Vert Empire and an other with Seaweed inked. Murky was wished. Can't murk on one leg.

Vert Empire shades for me better than Seaweed.

I chase shading inks.

 

I wouldn't be against buying it again...but a little bit of murky goes a long way.