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Deep Dark Rich Reds


sombrueil

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Looking for a red that is not bright, not pinky, not orangey, not winey, not brownish. RED. But deep, like a dark red rose. 

My best match for this is Birmingham Pens Fred Rogers Cardigan, but they don't make it anymore.  

Suggestions? I am also hoping for ease of cleaning, big time shading, and no bleed-through, but I know I'm wishing for the moon here. 

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Sheaffer Skrip Red. 
 

Montblanc Corn Poppy is also good, but no longer available and often pricey. Modena Red is not a good substitute 

AEF82650-816A-4312-AC6D-2C2EBEEAB08D.jpeg

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KWZ Red might fit the bill and they make other nice reds, too.

I recently discovered Diamine Monaco, it's the dark red I'd been looking for. Some say it leans a bit brown but I don't see it myself.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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37 minutes ago, chromantic said:

KWZ Red might fit the bill and they make other nice reds, too.

I recently discovered Diamine Monaco, it's the dark red I'd been looking for. Some say it leans a bit brown but I don't see it myself.

I have Monaco. It's a winey browny red in my pens. 

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I have, and like KWZ Red and Kobe #4 Ijinkan, but  not dark enough.  I gave up and went towards brick - Diamine Ancient Copper, Monteverde Copper Noir, and Athena Maruzen Renga. 

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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6 minutes ago, Dione said:

Diamine Writer's Blood is the darkest richest red I can think of. It might be saturated enough to show through on cheap paper....

My monitor shows quite a bit of purple in the writing. I have not used the ink but it seems more of a purple-red when dry.

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I have Birmingham’s Fred Rogers, and I’d say it’s bright, and really nothing like a dark red rose.  If the rose you have in mind is something like the color of Chrysler Imperial, Mr. Lincoln, or Don Juan roses, then you might look at Pennonia Sour Cherry (available at Vanness and Shigure Inks).  I have this ink, and it’s a dark red-the description on Vanness’ site describes it as burgundy, but my bottle is definitely not that, and is a deep red.  Diamine 150th Carnival is another deep red I like, as are Kobe #4 Kitano Ijinkan Red, and Noodler’s Tiananmen.  The Kobe and Diamine are a little lighter than the Pennonia and the Noodler’s.  I don’t think any are in the maroon or burgundy range.  Blackstone’s Red Cashmere (unfortunately unobtainable at this time, I believe) may be another candidate if brought back in production.  Some online reviews of this show it leaning maroon/burgundy, but I haven’t found this to be the case on person:  it’s just a dark red.  These may be worth a look.

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Yes, Pennonia Sour Cherry looks worth trying a sample of.  So does Noodler's Tiananmen. Anyone ever tried Robert Oster Rubine? 

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Crahptacular has a great review of Birmingham Fred Rogers that has comparison smears with

Kyo-Iro Flaming Red of Fushimi

Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji

KWZ Grapefruit

Diamine Wild Strawberry

R&K Morinda

If any of those appeal, you might check out reviews. To me, they all seem less dark than Fred Rogers.

I especially like his use of Fred Rogers' statements as writing samples (and video). 

 

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39 minutes ago, WalterC said:

Crahptacular has a great review of Birmingham Fred Rogers that has comparison smears with

Kyo-Iro Flaming Red of Fushimi

Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji

KWZ Grapefruit

Diamine Wild Strawberry

R&K Morinda

If any of those appeal, you might check out reviews. To me, they all seem less dark than Fred Rogers.

I especially like his use of Fred Rogers' statements as writing samples (and video). 

 


That review was what made me go out and buy BP Fred Rogers in the first place! And I have Momiji -- it is a bright red with a pink lean. 

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Let me also give a vote for Noodler's Tianamen and it's brighter red siblings Noodler's Nikita and Nodler's Widow Maker. Noodler's Antitetam has slightly more of an orangish brown cast, but it's still nice. Noodler's Eel Rattler Red is a good match, and I quite like the lubricating properties and flow of this line. Noodler's Eternal Fox Red might be a little too light for you, but it's permanent, which is nice.

 

Diamine Monoco Red is nice and that line is a pretty easy care ink, Oxblood is a great ink, but maybe a little more brownish than you'd like.

 

Just adding a drop or so of black to a sample of Sheaffer red, Levenger's Cardinal Red, or Parker Quink Red might get you the color you'd like as well.

 

I don't own J.Herbin Rouge Grenant, but it also looks like a good choice for your criteria.

 

Everything else I own is a little too pink or purple to work. Good luck!

 

Edited to add:  Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses is another option, plus it has lovely shading. It's much more red than its Australian cousin. (I own a lot of Noodlers, as you can probably tell, and yes this line can be problematic especially in pens with ink sacs.)

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I don't know how widely available it is, but Leonardo Rosso Passione is perhaps the most saturated pure red I have seen. The only thing I have which would come close would be Skrip Red if you dried out maybe 30% of the water.

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17 hours ago, IlikeInksandIcannotlie said:

My monitor shows quite a bit of purple in the writing. I have not used the ink but it seems more of a purple-red when dry.

For slightly less purple then Diamine Blue Series Noel or Burgundy Royale. Also KWZ Maroon & Cult Pens Deep Dark Red may be possibilities.

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1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

Noodler's Red Black looks like a dark red rose to me, if that's what you are looking for. I have a sample and, although it's a nice color, it's not really my kind of color for ink. 

I have an old bottle, so maybe the formula has changed, but mine has a distinct brown color on white paper.

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24 minutes ago, Dione said:

For slightly less purple then Diamine Blue Series Noel or Burgundy Royale. Also KWZ Maroon & Cult Pens Deep Dark Red may be possibilities.

I quite like the Diamine Deep Dark Red, but it has some maroon/ slightly purple undertones instead of a true red on cheap white paper.I do love that line, though. I splurged and bought them all. It’s more of a dark red on decent cream paper. I love it on blue paper as well.
 

I absolutely love the Cult Pens Iridescink line. The Robert is a nice red/purple with a green sheen on good paper like Tomroe River. I don’t think it’s what OP is looking for, but it’s a lovely ink.

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6 hours ago, DilettanteG said:

 

Edited to add:  Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses is another option, plus it has lovely shading. It's much more red than its Australian cousin. (I own a lot of Noodlers, as you can probably tell, and yes this line can be problematic especially in pens with ink sacs.)

 

I started to include that one above when I pulled swabs. I really like that ink, and in fact I use it quite a bit more than Australian roses(which seems far more popular).


With that said, it seems very paper dependent to me. Looking back at some samples I wrote on Clairefontaine Triomphe 90gsm, it's definitely a dark scarlet/crimson with some black tinges. On my Colodex card of it(same maker/same card stock as Col-O-Ring that a lot of folks use), it's very much a burgundy ink and in fact not a lot different on there than Montblanc Burgundy Red.

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