thINKthursday
J. Herbin Vert de Gris
Gloomy, mysterious, or beautiful? What’s your take on J. Herbin Vert de Gris?
thINKthursday! Herbin Vert de Gris!
Vert de Gris is one of 5 new colors recently released by J. Herbin . The ink is a beautiful verdigris color. Herbin has been making ink since the 1670’s and currently produces a wide array of colors and shimmering inks. Vert de Gris comes in the standard 30ml glass Herbin bottle. It is short and square with an indentation on the top that is meant to serve as a pen rest. The bottle isn’t the best if you have a wide pen, nor if the ink level is getting low. This review was done with a Pilot Metropolitan F, Diplomat Magnum B and on Rhodia blank No.18 paper.
I’m a sucker for grey inks, and Vert de Gris pushes all the right buttons for me. The ink displays the same colors in both a fine and broad nib, with moderate shading in each. At its lightest, the ink is a pewter grey that shades to greenish graphite. From there the ink becomes considerably darker, displaying a dark slate color that has hints of seaweed.
Herbin inks are generally well behaved, with Vert de Gris coming in at the top of that list. Herbin inks are known to be drier writing inks, but I found Vert de Gris had good flow. It is moderately saturated with no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper. Dry times are good at 20-30 seconds and the ink is easy to clean up. The ink does display some water resistance, but just enough to be able to make out what was written after the water test.
Vert de Gris takes one of the top spots of my favorite grey inks, and is probably my favorite new ink of 2018. While it is “only” a grey ink, it is a grey that has so much personality I can’t see myself getting tired of it. Depending on the pen or paper it appears more green or gray or slate – it’s ever changing. It’s also grey enough that you’ll be able to use it in the office!
As with any ink review, the pen, paper and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the color for you.
Ink it Up!
Chris
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