Jacques Herbin Vert Forêt (Forest Green)

[yazeh]

Jacques Herbin Vert Forêt (Forest Green)

 

Ink Review # 230

 

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🧾 Description

 

This is the last ink in the new Jacques Herbin lineup. Here are the swatches of the whole series:

 

 

 

It is a dark teal with F and finer nibs; with M to stub nibs it becomes a brighter teal. The wetter and finer the nib, the darker the ink. 

It is not suited for copy paper and will ghost, bleed through, feather and have some woolly lines. 

 

Shading is subtle and paper dependent; lubrication is below average with the Safari, but surprisingly nice with the Pilot F3A, a 1970s pen with a semi-flex nib. 

 

The ink has no water resistance. 

 

While I’m not a fan of dark greens, I appreciated using it for ink washes, extracting subtle sea-glass shades from the initial dark base colour. 

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🧪 Chroma

 

 

 

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✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Quotes: 

Translations from the original French are done by ChatGPT.

 

1.     Jules Renard (French writer and diarist)
“The forest precedes man; the desert follows him.”

2.     Gaston Bachelard (French philosopher)
“The forest is a place where one learns slowness.”

3.     Jean Giono (French novelist)
“Trees have a slow, patient life, foreign to our human restlessness.”

4.     François-René de Chateaubriand (French writer)
“Forests are man’s first temples, and their voices are older than the gods.”

5.     Maurice Genevoix (French writer)
“The forest teaches man what he has forgotten: duration, humility, and patience.”

 

Rhodia / Iroful

JEF corresponds to Japanese EF or EEF if you prefer. 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Closeup

 

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

Col-O-ring. Scans are approximative. 

 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

Cat and Mouse Forest

I had fun with some fountain pen ink to draw a forest with my cat & mouse theme. Good luck finding the mouse. 

 

Jacques Herbin Vert Forêt, Bleu Diamant, Inkebara Sand, Titnelabor Lärchegold, Uniball Signo White gel, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook. 

 

 

 

Iris

Cat & mouse testing new inks.  

Tintenlabor Lärchengold, Jacques Herbin Iris Sagesse, Vert Forêt, Talens Mixed Media Square Notebook.

 

 

 

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

- What I Liked: Drawing with. Ink washes. 

- What I Did Not Like: Color, lack of lubrication and water-resistance. 

- Writing Experience: I’ve had better. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

- Shading: Subtle and paper/nib dependant. 

- Ghosting: Yes, on copy paper. 

- Bleed Through: Same as above. 

- Flow Rate: Wet

- Lubrication: Depends on pens. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

- Start-up: Did not notice.

- Saturation: Yes.

- Sheen: No. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Yes on copy paper.  

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen):

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: Needs a bit more effort. It’s a saturated green. 

- Water Resistance: Nope.

 

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 🛒 Availability

 - Available in   10/30 ml bottles worldwide. 

 

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  💬 Closing

This is my least favorite ink in this series, so I'm biased. I’m neither a fan of the colour nor the lubrication with the Lamy Safari. If I were to choose one green ink from Herbin, it would be Vert Métropolitaine for its lubrication and more vibrant colour.

 

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.  

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I do like the chroma, @yazeh, and even the color, but I'm with you on lack of lubrication.  
 

Interesting quotes!  Artwork excellent as usual.  Kitteh is practically the entire forest.  Could not find Mousie.  Alas!

 

Thanks for the review.  They always read like adventures.

[Ceilidh]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

If I were to choose one green ink from Herbin, it would be Vert Métropolitaine for its lubrication and more vibrant colour.

My favorite among Herbin greens as well.

[LizEF]

Interesting that you describe it as teal - sure looks like a forest green to me.  <later> Oh, in some photos, it does look slightly teal-leaning.  From what I see, I can appreciate the color, but have no interest in having it for myself.  The shading looks nice in the M, B, and stub nibs, though.

 

Reactions to the quotes:

1. Oh, snap! 

2-4. 

 

 

Yay! Swatch cards!   Of them, I like the color in the first the best.

 

Water-test: Whoa! Flood inbound!

 

Cat and Mouse Forest: I am so up for this! (I love hidden object puzzles.) ...🎶...🎶... Ha! Found him!  Stealthy little mousey!

 

And Iris is lovely.  The colors go together very well.

 

Thanks, Yazeh, for another wonderful review and completion of this ink series.  

[PAKMAN]

Nice review. I haven't found many Forrest Greens that I liked but I may have to give this one a try!

 

[inkstainedruth]

@yazeh Took me a couple of seconds but I found Mousie!  

As for the ink, I'm trying to make up my mind about it.  In some cases it seems to look a lot bluer leaning than in others.  And I'm not overly enamored of the very little water resistance.  But at the same time?  This one is sort of intriguing me.  So I'd call it a "maybe" -- as in "maybe I'll try a sample of it at some point....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

11 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I do like the chroma, @yazeh, and even the color, but I'm with you on lack of lubrication.  

I was surprised too. Especially since they have made strides with their other inks.  

11 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Interesting quotes!  Artwork excellent as usual.  Kitteh is practically the entire forest.

Thanks!

11 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 Could not find Mousie.  Alas!

Close to the interior left ear. You'll see it when your glasses arrive.  

11 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks for the review.  They always read like adventures.

Most welcome. Thanks for your kind words and encouragements. 🙏

[yazeh]

10 hours ago, Ceilidh said:

My favorite among Herbin greens as well.

 

[yazeh]

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Interesting that you describe it as teal - sure looks like a forest green to me.  <later> Oh, in some photos, it does look slightly teal-leaning.  From what I see, I can appreciate the color, but have no interest in having it for myself.  The shading looks nice in the M, B, and stub nibs, though.

I would say it's a dark teal due to the blue dye in the chroma. Also it changes character (as you said) with wider nibs. And finally, when I did inkwashes the colour llightened up considerably making it even more confusing.  

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Reactions to the quotes:

1. Oh, snap! 

 

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

2-4. 

 

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Yay! Swatch cards!   Of them, I like the color in the first the best.

It's a great ink too.  

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Water-test: Whoa! Flood inbound!

 

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Cat and Mouse Forest: I am so up for this! (I love hidden object puzzles.) ...🎶...🎶... Ha! Found him!  Stealthy little mousey!

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

And Iris is lovely.  The colors go together very well.

Thanks!

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks, Yazeh, for another wonderful review and completion of this ink series.  

Most welcome! Yay.  

I have 7 inks to finish reviewing the whole Herbin classic inks.  

It seems I missed the memo when they rebranded the whole line. I always thought Jacques Herbin was the overpriced luxury bottles and J Herbin the affordable ones. But it seems that they all have the same name, and the only difference is the bottles.

 

[yazeh]

9 hours ago, PAKMAN said:

Nice review.

Thanks!

9 hours ago, PAKMAN said:

I haven't found many Forrest Greens that I liked but I may have to give this one a try!

 

Let me know if you get one. The good thing about these is the 10 ml bottles.  

[yazeh]

9 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@yazeh Took me a couple of seconds but I found Mousie!  

 

9 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

As for the ink, I'm trying to make up my mind about it.  In some cases it seems to look a lot bluer leaning than in others.  And I'm not overly enamored of the very little water resistance.  But at the same time?  This one is sort of intriguing me.  So I'd call it a "maybe" -- as in "maybe I'll try a sample of it at some point....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

It's a nib dependant ink. With wider nibs and drier pens like Lamy, it looks mintier and brighter. With wetter pens it'll look much darker.  Wallet say, sigh. I dodged another one.