Well-Behaved Red Inks

[YPwalt]

I've reviewed the threads on this topic that I've been able to find, (especially "Good Red Inks For Teachers Grading On Awful Paper")

but am still left with a question...

 

I realize there's probably not an ideal solution to this (a la X-Feather or similar in black) but I'm looking for a "darker" red that will show the least possible feathering on poorer-quality paper I sometimes have no choice but to use.

 

I'm currently drawn to:

Noodler's Widowmaker

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses

Noodler's Nikita

Noodler's Cape Cod Cranberry

and possibly, Diamine Matador

 

I understand the variables involving nib size, paper, etc, and may end up seeking some samples but with that said...Any experiences to indicate a best choice out of these for minimal feathering /bleed-through?

 

thanks SO much!!

[MatthewBachman]

For my correctional red, I use Waterman Audacious Red. I know you said dark, so it may not be as dark as you like, but I find that it's a nice bright red that draws attention and stands out without being too jarring.

 

Darker reds seem a little too close to black for me to use for corrections. Having the red be brighter brings attention to it. Find a good balance!

 

That being said, the Watermans are generally very tame (at least in my experience). I write on garbo-paper (paper that makes Five-Star look fancy), and it actually does surprisingly well.

 

Often times, though, one of the most important things for bad paper is simply nib size. Stick to F/EF for bad paper.

[aurore]

Pilot Red is quite nice. So is Cultpens Deep Dark Red

[YPwalt]

thanks to both of you!

[bobs51]

I've been having good luck with Camlin from India.. Scarlet Red.

 

It's well behaved in a Jinhao 15, although I did have trouble with it in a Parker 25. That may have been the pen,not the ink,

[Honeybadgers]

Waterman red and sailor oku yama. Levenger cardinal red is pretty but feathers. Noodlers just released cardinal kestrel and I think it's quite good. As is dragon's napalm.

[grainweevil]

How about Diamine Syrah? Always been a well-behaved ink in my experience.

[JakobS]

I have had luck with Diamine Monaco Red on lower quality paper, used in an extra fine nib shouldn't be an issue...

[eharriett]

KWZ makes the purest red I'm aware of, and it behaves quite well. Called Thief's Red. Most reds are red with a shade of something. To my eyes, it is the only red I've ever found that is a shade of nothing. Not light, not watery, not dark, you look at it and think it is just -- plain -- red.

[tisquinn]

Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji is nice; it goes on pink but dries in a red-ward direction. It's a little pricey though.

[YPwalt]

been on the road....but thanks for the additional responses...will look at a couple of those.

Adding Noodler's red-black and Diamine red dragon for consideration as well

[FLZapped]

"Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses"

 

I would skip this one. The formula varies too much.

You'd better off with Ottoman Rose, which is a soft red, or Red-Black, which is as it says.

[bleair]

Sheaffer's red is a nice bright red and from comments posted here, and my experience is less likely to cause problems. In terms of feathering, on crappy paper it only spreads/feathers a small amount.

[hinky]

I've had good luck with J. Herbin Rouge Grenat. Seems to behave well even in a medium nibbed pen (Faber-Castell Ambition). It's a little on the pricey side, but it's a nice dark red and for a J. Herbin ink, it's quite saturated.

 

I also like Noodler's Tiananmen. I've only ever used it in fine nibs, but it also behaves well (and doesn't cling to the sides of converters so it would look nice in a demonstrator). However, Noodler's inks are known to vary from batch to batch so YMMV.

 

I've also heard good things about Diamine Oxblood and Red Dragon. I've only tried Red Dragon, but I prefer Rouge Grenat over it. As with most Diamine inks (and Red inks in general), they're not water resistant.

 

I would suggest you go to Goulet's swabshop to check and compare red inks though. You can browse by color group. (No affiliation, I just find that it's a great tool to compare inks)

 

https://www.gouletpens.com/pages/swab-shop

 

Good luck with the search! 😁

 

(I hope the link works 😅)

[YPwalt]

thanks for the heads-up about the Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses...the Diamine Syrah sounds interesting...as does the Red-Black...I'm really looking for a very dark red -- slight pink or purple overtones would be ok, as long as the overall effect is dark...think I would prefer those to orange/brown hues.

Have tried Oxblood and Saguaro Wine...like both of those colors a lot, but have had feathering problems with both.

[tisquinn]

I love the color of red dragon but it feather like mad for me in all of my pens, including fine nibs, when it touches copy paper.

[Carrau]

+1 for Noodler’s Tiananmen-beautiful red, and has been well behaved for me.

[amberleadavis]

If I may suggest - SAMPLES. Try a stack of samples and see what works best for you.

 

Also, take Cape Cod Cranberry off the list. I love it - For years I used it as a my signature ink (as in I signed contracts with it) but now I'm using Suffragist Carmine. However, it is really a fussy ink.

 

Tiananmen

Widow Maker

Red-Black

 

and Noodler's Red

 

are really well behaved inks.

[YPwalt]

you folks are great....thanks!!

[Morphling27]

If I may suggest - SAMPLES. Try a stack of samples and see what works best for you.

 

Also, take Cape Cod Cranberry off the list. I love it - For years I used it as a my signature ink (as in I signed contracts with it) but now I'm using Suffragist Carmine. However, it is really a fussy ink.

 

Tiananmen

Widow Maker

Red-Black

 

and Noodler's Red

 

are really well behaved inks.

 

I would say Widow-Maker fits his needs.

 

Except... it feathers like mad for me. I've had it in a couple of my TWSBI pens with different nibs even that I know well and the ink is great, but feathers.

 

Nobody else here seems to think that... maybe I got a bum bottle.

 

But I'd say use that ink, it matches for you otherwise.

 

The Black Swan in Australian Roses isn't what you want. I have an original bottle and it's beautiful, but not red. You want the English Roses - it has a reddish tone and brown to it and is much more consistent, if not more boring. Honestly, this would be my suggestion. It's well behaved, pricing on Noodler's is unheard of, it shades, it's got red in it, it's dark, and so forth. It's very smooth to write with too, I think.

 

Also on the suffragist carmine, it's more pink to me than any red. Also, it can feather but it's been pretty stable (for me).