Red Ink

JMJ -

I'm sure this has been asked before, so forgive me for asking again.

I'm just looking for a few quick suggestions for a red ink to go in my pen.

Also, any suggestions on a decent black ink would be nice, I've only tried the black ink that came with my first pen (a gift) and Pelikan Royal blue (which seems a bit watery to me).

Thanks

YBIC
Mike

I enjoy diamine oxblood quite a bit. It's not a bright red, but has a nice rich color to it

Alejandro Salemandro said:

I enjoy diamine oxblood quite a bit. It's not a bright red, but has a nice rich color to it

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+1
I really enjoy this ink!

I am currently using Noodler's Widow Maker to writer Christmas cards. It is a nice red for that.

There is a shot of it over in the Handwritten Thread.

I have only one red ink, Herbin's Rouge Hematite. It is nice. I really have no need for red inks, mostly use black, blue and some violets and dark brown. On the other hand, if I were a teacher....

Astated above, Diamine Oxblood is a rich darker red, it and Diamine Red Dragon are my fovorites so far. I'll be using Red Dragon to sign my cards for the Christmas card exchange.

For a brighter red, I like Levenger Cardinal Red and good old Sheaffer Skrip Red.

Noodler Nikita is a beautiful and deep red. It just doesn't play well with a lot of pens and is always a slow starter for me in all my pens.

I like Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses and Noodler's Antietam.

Reds that I have sampled and/or own:

• Diamine Oxblood - Much like the name. A dark red, resembles the stain on the butcher paper that was wrapped around a thick, juicy steak. I like this ink quite a bit.
• Diamine Poppy Red - Very bright, leaning toward orange and pink. Really jumps off the page, so I use it for markups and editing.
• Levenger Shiraz - Dark wine red, highly saturated. A nice ink and well-behaved.
• Organics Studio Mercury. If you're old enough to remember Mercurochrome, this is it. Currently out of production but there may still be some old stock available.
• Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo - Dark reddish-magenta-purple. Excellent ink but expensive.
• Private Reserve Fiesta Red - Dark, muddy red. I don't care for this one.
• Sheaffer Skrip Persian Rose - A vintage ink, out of production for decades, but a beautiful magenta-red. Good luck finding this one!

BubblesTGB said:

For a brighter red, I like Levenger Cardinal Red and good old Sheaffer Skrip Red.

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+1 to Skrip Red. If you're looking for that particular nostalgia of a "marked-up grade school paper", that's your ticket!

OtherMoe said:

As stated above, Diamine Oxblood is a rich darker red, it and Diamine Red Dragon are my favorites so far. I'll be using Red Dragon to sign my cards for the Christmas card exchange.

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Red Dragon is a true red, and I love it. It's dark/rich enough to easily read, but doesn't have the brown component Oxblood has.

Another vote for Diamine Red Dragon. It's a nice true red.

If you like waterproof inks (which of course may not be the case) then red is one of those colors where most varieties are not waterproof. I don't use much red in any case, but Noodler's Fox is a bright, basic red that's waterproof. Diamine Syrah is not water resistant, but it's an attractive reddish color, sort of a burgundy.

For blacks, I'm not all that picky. I do like Platinum carbon black, which in addition to being indelible has a sort of gloss to it, but I'm also happy with Parker Black Quink. The Platinum is a pigmented ink which may require that you clean your pen out more often; the Quink is pretty much problem free. I use the Platinum ink in an Esterbrook Dip-Less set, a dip pen with a fountain pen nib and feed, so cleaning is less of an issue.

Since not much response to your black inquiry, that's where I will focus.

There are TONS of blacks. In what characteristics are you interested? Waterproof/'Bulletproof'/Permanent/Remain until the next ice age? Noodler's have most of my favorite blacks. Some are as black and shiny as a shark's eyes; some have a gray tint, a touch of green, blue, red, one that even is the shade of used motor oil. A lot (not all) have water resistant/permanent qualities, and are among the most affordable inks around.

Goulet has a gazillion inks, searchable by brand, color, or quality here: http://www.gouletpens.com/bottled-ink/c/14
They also have a chart of Noodlers' properties here: https://www.gouletpens.com/files/s8588/1/noodlers-ink-properties.pdf

Heart of Darkness is my favorite permanent, black-as-the-abyss, black. El Lawrence, Zhivago, and of course, limited edition Badger and Blade '5 O'Clock Shadow' are my favorites for black with a hint of character.

Waterman Red, is a great vibrant red ink.

Nice Black inks that I've tried include Aurora Black, Noodler's Black, Chesterfield Obsidian (rebranded Diamine), Parker Quink Black, Pelikan Edelstein Onyx, and Noodler's Five O'Clock Shadow. All have their pluses and minuses. As danek mentioned, Goulet Pens has a huge selection of inks and some excellent comparison tools. Samples are readily available from them, also.

JMJ -

Thank you everyone for the responses, a lot of good inks to consider.

Danek; as far as black ink goes, I am looking for a nice and dark, waterproof ink.

YBIC
Mike

JMJ -

As a few others mentioned; I don't have much use for red either, but I may start using it to sign things at home.

At work black is what I need to use for most applications, but I can use blue (and red) for my signature.

YBIC
Mike

Red:
Parker Quink Red (vibrant true red)
Montblanc Corn Poppy Red (darkish red)

Black:
Montblanc Permanent Black (very well behaved, absolutely black)


.....with all the YMMV lacunae