Sheaffer Skrip Red Bottle

[chromantic]

A while back, I reviewed Sheaffer Skrip Red in cartridge form. It was a lovely, dark cranberry red color that I immediately fell in love with. Some people commented that is looked much darker than their bottle Red and I said I'd order a bottle and see if I found a difference Sorry it's taken so long to get to it, been busy at work. I was also waiting to use up the cart and, then, without thinking, I just rinsed and refilled the cart with the bottle ink - d'oh! So, no side-by-side.

 

The bottle ink is, indeed, bright red, quite different compared to the cartridge color. This is undoubtedly the color people think of when they see the words "Skrip Red".

 

On good paper (BnR), it looks good - bright color, nice defined line, no show- or bleed-, doesn't look quite as 'flat' when it dries and the cart does; unfortunately, the is very little shading, unlike the cart. On cheap copy, however, it's not quite as well-behaved - while the color is good, show- and bleed- is on a par with Skrip Turquoise (bad) and the line is definitely thicker, though I wouldn't call it feather-y per se.

 

Of the two, the dark cranberry color of the cartridge is the definite winner for me and I'm hoping that the pack I got isn't just a one-off batch variation and that future cartridges will be the same color. But if you're looking for a nice, bright 'red' red, Skrip bottle Red is a good choice.

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting review. I had tried a sample of Skrip Red awhile back and I was NOT getting the bright red you seem to be getting -- instead I got a dark, almost blood red. Did not care for the color at all. Wondering now if I somehow got an old batch (don't recall OH where the sample was from), or if it was somehow contaminated. Or that it was the paper -- my ink review journals are cheap Piccadilly sketchbooks from Barnes & Noble, and the paper often does weird things to ink colors (plus I tend to get a lot more bleedthrough sometimes than on better paper like Rhodia).

I've liked some of the other colors, BTW -- and Skrip Purple was the first ink that behaved well in a Snorkel with an EF nib. But the Red? Just disappointing.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mew]

Have both of you considered that colours in carts tend to oversaturate over time because of evaporation and may not give the same colour as a full bottle of same ink would?

[visvamitra]

I think it's one of best reds on the market a little underrated but still great

[inkstainedruth]

Have both of you considered that colours in carts tend to oversaturate over time because of evaporation and may not give the same colour as a full bottle of same ink would?

 

I wasn't using cartridges. I had a sample of (presumably) bottled ink, and I'm also presuming that it had been recently filled by wherever I got it from.

I suppose another possibility would have been cross-contamination of color from whatever had previously been in the pen -- but I doubt it. I tend to be a little OCD (okay, a lot) about flushing -- especially when I'm going to be changing colors.

Okay -- just checked my notes. I had had the ink in one of the Snorkels. On the Piccadilly paper it was definitely more orange/brown tinged than in one of the "made in India" cheap composition books where I keep track of which inks do well (or not) in specific pens. So it was definitely another case of the Piccadilly paper maybe being the problem (apparently I forgot to do a writing sample in one of the two little Rhodia # 10 pads I also use because they're more portable and live in my purse).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chromantic]

Both carts and bottle appear new, although I suppose they could have been sitting for a while.

While my carts say made in Slovenia, my bottle says made in Slovakia on the label.

 

Here's a snip from a review of the bottle red from the Gentleman's Pen site, it seems pretty close to what I'm getting from my bottle.

[Slider20]

Picking This one up, need a good Red

[mmg122]

I agree with Vis...I think it's the best true red on the market.

[TSherbs]

I agree with Vis...I think it's the best true red on the market.

and I agree with both of you

[Bookman]

I don't use a lot of red. But when I need real red I use Sheaffer Skrip Red. It's Christmas-card red. Red-letter-date red. Emergency red. Red red.

[ac12]

This is my Christmas red.

 

You might try a WET pen. I got my Sheaffer turquoise to shade, out of my Esterbrook. The shading surprised me.