Guide me to a red ink.

[Relentless]

My quest for my minutely feathering, zero shading, deep, dark, saturated black ink is slowly coming to an end. For a water soluble ink I really prefer Aurora black. My water repellent heavy-weight is currently Sailor nano black.

I'm now on the hunt for a red I can appreciate and enjoy using. Waterproof ink is not required; as I use red for my own notes when reviewing contracts. It will likely also be used with double broad nib, and I don't really like all the pretty shading everyone goes goo-goo about.

To get a little info on my recent ink experience:

• Pelikan Topaz and Aventurine are my two favorite inks of the year (so far)
• I have been hugely disappointed by all Diamine inks I've used (5 or 6 different colors)
• I tend to favor the non-waterproof inks for their easy clean-up

Aside from my few experiences with Diamine I really like the looks of their matador, poppy, and dragon reds. I'm just hesitant to try them again. Please help steer me in the right direction.

 

[airmech]

I am currently using SKRIP Permanent RED which I am liking. I have also used Noodler's Dragon Napalm which I sometimes use. The Dragon Napalm is more of an red/orange though, looks like mercurichrome that my mom used to put on cuts and scrapes.

Tom

 

[Snargle]

I have a bottle of Private Reserve Fiesta Red that has worked well for me. In looking at the Goulet "Swab Shop" red samples, it's pretty close to Diamine Red Dragon .

 

[Rockminer]

This is the only red I have currently. It looks pretty close to real life, on my computer screen.

 

[bhorsoft]

More of a fan of a darker, more muted red myself. I'm really liking Noodler's Mandalay Maroon right now.

 

[jzuzphreek]

If you can find some old Waterman's Carnation Red, it's a nice bold kind of dark shade of red. I'll be doing a review one day.

 

[the_edski]

I am currently using SKRIP Permanent RED which I am liking.

I like modern Skrip Red. It has the qualities you are looking for and it is a true red, no shading or tinting to other colors.

 

[RichieRich3902]

I've used noodlers red fox and its about as plain red as I've seen. I have a bottle of diamine Monaco red incoming that I can tell you about when it arrives. I was going to order a bottle of poppy red too, but I read the reviews at Goulet saying it was a very bright red and not subtle at all.

 

[gmgaj]

For a dark red, I like PR black cherry. For a regular red, I'm using scribal work shop xhulong red, and am pretty happy with it. It's just a regular red, and works great for marking up engineering drawings at work.

 

[rickcharles606]

 

[Relentless]

Jeez; my brain. I thought black was difficult. It's all about properties and flow. Red is going to be difficult with all the subtle variations. I would definitely like to hear about the Monaco red RichieRich. It's in my top 5 to try-out in-person so far.

I really wish Pilot would get their act together and release a red Iroshizuku.

 

[mikeschu]

Jeez; my brain. I thought black was difficult. It's all about properties and flow. Red is going to be difficult with all the subtle variations. I would definitely like to hear about the Monaco red RichieRich. It's in my top 5 to try-out in-person so far.

I really wish Pilot would get their act together and release a red Iroshizuku.

Not sure how red it is, but Pilot has Iroshizuku Momiji.

 

[RichieRich3902]

Jeez; my brain. I thought black was difficult. It's all about properties and flow. Red is going to be difficult with all the subtle variations. I would definitely like to hear about the Monaco red RichieRich. It's in my top 5 to try-out in-person so far.

I really wish Pilot would get their act together and release a red Iroshizuku.

It's on the way from Sweden, I'll let you know once it arrives. I bought it and some others from Nordic Pens, you might just buy a bottle to try out my 30ml bottle was around 2 euro.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Jeez; my brain. I thought black was difficult. It's all about properties and flow. Red is going to be difficult with all the subtle variations. I would definitely like to hear about the Monaco red RichieRich. It's in my top 5 to try-out in-person so far.

I really wish Pilot would get their act together and release a red Iroshizuku.

Fuyu-gaki? Maybe a little more orange... but still pretty.

 

[Doc4]

Noodler's Antietam.

(Really, you need a whole whack of samples. But I'd be sure to have Antietam in that pack.)

 

[cursethis]

Sheaffer Skrip Red... especially if you plan on using it in a pen with a sac.

It's Richard Binder's "go-to" red ink, and I tend to listen to him on matters involving all things fountain pen.

http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/care/inks.htm

 

[Relentless]

Fuyu-gaki? Maybe a little more orange... but still pretty.

I actually have a bottle of the fuyu-gaki. It's a beautiful ink but definately not red. It matches my amber colored Vac 700 perfectly after it dries.

 

[TickTock]

I was at the DC pen show a few years ago and tried about 60 red inks at the ink table. The one I liked best was Noodler's Red. Just plain old Red--no evocative, descriptive name or anything. It's not orange, it's not maroon, it's not dark, it's not light, it's just red

I've used it in several pens and it flows very nicely.

 

[cb91710]

This is not an impressionist face... it's an HP scan of a dual battery 12v/24v switching system.
Diamine Red Dragon. I got it because I wanted a bit of a reddish rustic brown and not a pure brown... but I WAS aiming for brown, not red.




And in case anyone wants to build it... without the chicken scratches...

 

[Deacon Frank]

Diamine Red Dragon.

This! It is a true red, dark enough to read easily, unlike some of the pinkish or orangish reds (which are fine in their own right). I don't get any brown at all, just a deeply saturated red. It behaves better than any of the Noodler's inks I have, and even better than a Montblanc ink.