Some red inks

[mhosea]

Just for reference, really. I appreciate scans that show me how colors compare because they help me select new inks that are different from what I have in this way or that. This was all written with the same fountain pen, a Pilot Celemo with 14K Medium nib.

(edit: I don't remember Sailor Nagasawa Kobe #4 Ijinkan Red being that dark! I will have to see what's up with that.)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3889/14879806154_764cf6a61a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oESTXY)Red inks on Tomoe River (https://flic.kr/p/oESTXY)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3910/14695613519_f075b5c4d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ooARUT)Red inks on Clairefontaine (https://flic.kr/p/ooARUT)

[Lady Onogaro]

That Sailor Kobe ink is my favorite, I think. :)

[Jeph]

That is a great comparison! Diamine Red Dragon is still my favorite red.

[mhosea]

There is something strange going on, though. Kobe #4 does not look darker than Red Dragon to my eyes but it does in the scan. I'll try scanning it at work and see what that scanner does with it.

[mhosea]

I like these scans better!

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3900/14907959083_b51000818e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oHnbRi)Reds on Tomoe River (https://flic.kr/p/oHnbRi)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5557/14885044621_3a4ffffc8e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oFkKbn)Reds on Clairefontaine (https://flic.kr/p/oFkKbn)

[mhosea]

That Sailor Kobe ink is my favorite, I think. :)

These are the reds I have in bottles already. I have a couple of Stipula reds in samples that I could have included if I had not run out of vertical space on the Clairefontaine. Because I wrote with a fountain pen and not a dip pen, it took weeks to finish this. I don't think the Stipula inks would have changed your mind.

If I tried to pick one favorite, I'd change my mind in a month, anyway. I count (Sailor) Nagasawa Kobe #20, (Sailor) Nagasawa Kobe #4, J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite, Diamine Red Dragon, and Diamine Wild Strawberry among my favorites here, but every ink has its place. Noodler's Nikita is growing on me again. Do you know it actually as a little bit of sheen on Tomoe River? This is pretty unusual for a Noodler's ink. Noodler's Ottoman Rose gives me a red rose color, and Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji gives me the color of azaleas. I have never been able to get excited about Sheaffer Skrip Red, possibly because it is not as lubricated as most of the others. Sailor Jentle Red cartridges are an interesting color. If they called it Sailor Sunset, they might be able to sell it in bottles, but as "Red" it may disappoint.

I love the Kobe reds, though. You can't go wrong with these.

#4 is a practical, dignified sort of red in the spirit of Red Dragon but a little lighter and with the complexity and variability of Iroshizuku Yama Budo. Just getting it to scan right is non-trivial! :)

#20 is much brighter, more vibrant. It's a fairly simple-looking bright, slightly pink red on Clairefontaine, but on Tomoe River it has an over-the-top gold (perhaps slightly green) sheen. The scan can't do it justice. The script seems alive with motion as I look at it while holding the paper.