Jacques Herbin Vert Cactus

[yazeh]

Jacques Herbin Vert Cactus

 

Ink Review # 219

 

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🧾 Description

 Jacques Herbin Vert Cactus is part of a new series of five inks, available in classic 10 ml and 30 ml J. Herbin bottles.

 

The ink is wet and has lovely lubrication. The colour varies from a yellowish, murky green to a dark murky green, depending on the wetness of the pen and the nib size.

 

If you want a darker version of R&K Alt-Goldgrün, this can be a good candidate.

 

The ink has often surprised me with its dark green colour.

 

For artists, this ink offers a wide range, from dark green to yellow-green, and one can achieve lovely golden greens when diluted.

 

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🧪 Chroma

 

 

 

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✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

1. “A cactus is just a really aggressive cucumber.” — Matthew Inman, American cartoonist.

2. “The whole world is a cactus. It’s impossible to sit down.” — Jacques Dutronc, French singer.

3. “What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer.

4. “The desert tells a different story every time one ventures into it.” — Paulo Coelho, Brazilian novelist.

5. “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” — Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter.

Rhodia  / Iroful

 

 

 

Midori  /Tomoe River 68gsm

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

 

 

 

 📸 Photo

Rhodia/ Iroful

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill 20 lb copy paper

 

 

 

 

Close-up Iroful paper. 

 

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

Col-O-ring. Scans are approximative. 

 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

Cow-Cat and Cow-Mouse!

Cat & Mouse went to play cowboys in the desert. They should have stayed home and kept their illusions intact.

 

An étude exploring Vert Cactus, White clouds added with a Uni-ball Signo gel pen. Talens Mixed Media Notebook.

 

 

INKTOBER52 PROMPT NO.49 : GATOR

Sheriff Kitty was standing off with Bad Green Gator. Mouse was tired of the posturing and was worried of having a sun stroke. 

 

Tintenlabor Basalt, Jacques Herbin Vert Cactus, De Atramentis Document Cyan, Uniball Signo White pe., Talens Mixed Media Notebook.

 

 

My Favourite Gift!

 

 

Jacques Herbin Vert Cactus & Gris Galet, Noodler's Eel Red Rattler's Red, Apache Sunset, Tintenlabor Mystery ink, Pēbēo Silver marker, Talens Mixed Media Notebook.

 

 

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- Pens Used: Pilot F3A EF, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1) , 

- What I Liked: Lovely dark green. Darker version of Alt-Goldgrün. Price, small bottles.

- What I Did Not Like: Lack of water resistance. 

- Writing Experience: Excellent. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading:  Subtle, depending on paper and pen. 

- Ghosting: Yes on copy paper. 

- Bleed Through: With some pens and nib. 

- Flow Rate: Wet.

- Lubrication: Excellent. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.

- Start-up: Ok. 

- Saturation: Dark. 

- Sheen: No. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen): No. 

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: Easy. 

- Water Resistance: None. 

 

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 🛒 Availability

 

- Available in  10/30 ml J Herbin bottles.

 

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 💬 Closing

 

This is a lovely dark murky green ink with excellent lubrication. IF you want a darker version of R&K Alt-Goldgrün this one will fit the bill. 

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review.  

 

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.   

 

 

 

[LizEF]

5 hours ago, yazeh said:

If you want a darker version of R&K Alt-Goldgrün, this can be a good candidate.

I was wondering this after scrolling the pictures (which I do before reading).

 

Great review, @yazeh!  The color in that Iroful close-up is gorgeous!  Some of the scans make it look too bright and yellow, but that could also be the Midori shining through.  

 

Good quotes, though I do not want to know what was going on with Jacques Dutronc when he spoke his quote.

 

Fun swatches!  Who would have expected rain in the water-test desert!?   I can hear Ennio Morricone in the background of those drawings!  If I'd had an inkling and been clever enough, I could have sent you a sample of Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish to use for those buttes in the background. (Below are the Monitor and Merrimack buttes, named for the Civil War ironclad ships; I've mountain biked around their base.)

 

But your drawings don't need it - they're wonderful as is.  Great job on the cacti, and I absolutely adore that last one with its various Christmas trees!

 

Thanks for sharing your talents and hard work with us!

[AmandaW]

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

A cactus is just a really aggressive cucumber.

 

The ink is cool too.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love the artwork!  A fine contrast of sunbaked desert adventures to my locale's snowstormy night (9” expected). ❄️

 

Interesting chroma, too.  I do have Alt Goldrun, and this post makes me want to see what its color elements are.  Thanks also for the many comparison inks and quotes.

 

Please keep 'em coming, @yazeh!  👏🏻

[inkstainedruth]

@yazeh -- Not really a color for me, but thanks as usual for the comprehensive review & fun artwork.  

And am looking forward to the reviews of the other inks in that new line (my wallet, maybe not so much, of course... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[InkyProf]

Thanks, @yazeh! It's funny, on the swatch cards, Alt-Goldgrün looks darker than the Vert Cactus to me, but I see why you put it the other way around when I look at the writing samples. In any case, I like it a lot. More murky greens, yay!

[Lithium466]

Lovely review @yazeh, thank you! I did love the Christmas cactus, Arizona style  And best of the best, I believe I have a package somewhere with some of that Cactus ink...now to find the appropriate pen to pair!

[yazeh]

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I was wondering this after scrolling the pictures (which I do before reading).

 

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Great review, @yazeh!  The color in that Iroful close-up is gorgeous!  Some of the scans make it look too bright and yellow, but that could also be the Midori shining through.  

We all know how scanners accentuate, brighten or deform some inks.  The ink is quite dark, especially after a month in my pen.  It's almost black when it comes out. 

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Good quotes, though I do not want to know what was going on with Jacques Dutronc when he spoke his quote.

Well it seems to be as relevant in 1967 as it's now. Where everyone is prickly, when every word has been to verified 10 times, before spoken.  

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Fun swatches!  Who would have expected rain in the water-test desert!?  

Who would have thought! But it happens.  ☔

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

But your drawings don't need it - they're wonderful as is.  Great job on the cacti, and I absolutely adore that last one with its various Christmas trees!

Thanks! That was the only one done with the help of imagination only.  

52 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Thanks for sharing your talents and hard work with us!

You're most welcome.

 

[yazeh]

12 hours ago, AmandaW said:

I thought we need some laughter.  

12 hours ago, AmandaW said:

The ink is cool too.

But not as cool as cucumber. 

[yazeh]

12 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I love the artwork!  

🙏😊

12 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

A fine contrast of sunbaked desert adventures to my locale's snowstormy night (9” expected). ❄️

9" wow!  I don't mind the snow, it protects the plants. But I don't like it when we have snow, frigid temperature and rain on top of that in the same week.  

12 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Interesting chroma, too.  I do have Alt Goldrun, and this post makes me want to see what its color elements are.  Thanks also for the many comparison inks and quotes.

Most welcome! I'm not sure if I have Alt-GoldGrün anymore. If I'll have I can do a chroma. Otherwise drop a few drops on a paper towel and let it slight touch a glass of water.  

12 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Please keep 'em coming, @yazeh!  👏🏻

I'm trying to slow down. But I'll do my best.  

[yazeh]

12 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@yazeh -- Not really a color for me, but thanks as usual for the comprehensive review & fun artwork.  

Most welcome. 🙏 Glad it was enjoyable and made your wallet happy.   

12 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

And am looking forward to the reviews of the other inks in that new line (my wallet, maybe not so much, of course... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I'm doing the grey now. It's lovely colour for drawing.  

[yazeh]

11 hours ago, InkyProf said:

Thanks, @yazeh!

 

11 hours ago, InkyProf said:

It's funny, on the swatch cards, Alt-Goldgrün looks darker than the Vert Cactus to me, but I see why you put it the other way around when I look at the writing samples. In any case, I like it a lot. More murky greens, yay!

Yes, you're right they look almost the same. I had to double check my writings all the time. But it's quite dark . In the Cactus étude drawing (the first artwork), the backlines on the cactus stems are the real colour.

[yazeh]

50 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Lovely review @yazeh, thank you!

 

50 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

I did love the Christmas cactus, Arizona style  

 

50 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

And best of the best, I believe I have a package somewhere with some of that Cactus ink...now to find the appropriate pen to pair!

You must have been on the nice list. 🎅  Enjoy!

[Lithium466]

2 minutes ago, yazeh said:

 

 

You must have been on the nice list. 🎅  Enjoy!

☺️ 🙏

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

☺️ 🙏

 

 

[knarflj]

Thanks for another great review, @yazeh!  I usually don't like murky greens (yeah, I know, please throw no tomatoes), but this one might be an exception--it really looks lovely.  And of course I love the artwork, especially that Christmas cactus!

[yazeh]

35 minutes ago, knarflj said:

Thanks for another great review, @yazeh!  

Most welcome. 🙏

35 minutes ago, knarflj said:

I usually don't like murky greens (yeah, I know, please throw no tomatoes),

Not even fried green tomatoes?  I thought we're more tolerant than that.  

35 minutes ago, knarflj said:

 

but this one might be an exception--it really looks lovely.

Welcome to Murkdom! 

35 minutes ago, knarflj said:

 And of course I love the artwork, especially that Christmas cactus!

Glad you enjoyed them.

[knarflj]

On 12/27/2025 at 5:45 PM, yazeh said:

 

Not even fried green tomatoes?