Best Ink for Dried Blood?

[Beardy]

Hey, a lot of red inks are said to resemble blood, or dried blood. Some people are repelled by this, but that's exactly the effect I'm looking for! However, I've noticed some of those inks are pretty light, leaning towards pink or orange. I'm not sure what dried blood actually looks like, but I imagine it as similar to or darker than fresh blood. ...Ok, so this is a little grim, but hey! It's almost Halloween. So, whether it's accurate or not, I'm picturing the color as a kind of a darker, crustier (but not actually) shade.

 

Any opinions on the best ink for that?

Edited October 30, 2008 by Beardy

[MinasTirithScribe]

PR Fiesta Red is a dark brownish-maroon shade. Diamine Monaco Red is a little lighter/brighter, but in the same general range. I've been taking notes all evening with Monaco Red in a Taccia Premier whose previous cartridge was PR Velvet Black, so the red has shaded through a variegation of black-reds and red-browns to the pure Monaco Red shade on about page 4. This may be close to the color envelope you're looking for.

[Renzhe]

If you can use a dip pen or pump pen, consider going to a butcher, asking for their leftover blood, adding EDTA, and using it as ink.

 

Oh, check the ink reviews too. :ph34r:

Edited October 30, 2008 by Renzhe

[CasmiUK]

My vote goes to Noodler's Antietam.

I second Noodler's Antietam. I traded my bottle away exactly because it looked like dried blood to me!

[menick]

My vote goes to Noodler's Antietam.

I second Noodler's Antietam. I traded my bottle away exactly because it looked like dried blood to me!

I don't know... antietam is for me way too orangy...

 

I'd rather say noodlers red-black

[cmeisenzahl]

This reminds me of the map from The Count of Monte Cristo. ;-)

[Jared]

A Halloween topic!

 

Maybe you are trying to match the color of coagulated blood--a very dark red. Dried blood does not much look like what comes out of your body. I cut my finger at the office the other day, and smeared some blood on a piece of scrap paper. Next to it I scribbled some of Noodler's Red-Black that I was using at the time. When both were wet they looked somewhat similar (blood was more bright red), although I think that Red-Black is really just another name for burgundy. However, when they dried, the colors were very different. The blood looked more like a rust-red sepia. I'm guessing it's because of the iron in our blood. If blood was an ink, I'd guess it's more of an iron gall.

 

Jared

[PenTieRun]

Sometimes Montblanc Sepia will resemble dried blood, depends on the nib.

 

[hamadryad11]

In my experience, dried blood, if there's enough of it, is much darker than fresh blood and it's more brown. It's not a very attractive colour. Fresh blood looks much nicer.

 

Yes, I am accident prone. Why do you ask?

[Ernst Bitterman]

Last year I posted this recipe. I caveated it then as untested, but in the weeks afterward nothing untoward happened to the pen it was in, so it's as safe as can reasonably be hoped for when speaking of bodily fluids. It ends up looking like blood on its way to drying. before it gets all manky.

 

...and I'm not telling how I know these things.

[penmanila]

yes, or pelikan brilliant brown.

 

Sometimes Montblanc Sepia will resemble dried blood, depends on the nib.

 

[lapis]

Already checked this out (Richard's fun with blood)?

 

Mike

[m00t]

I third the recommendation for Noodler's Antietam - I purchased a bottle as it looked in the reviews the most like dried blood: a dark red, with brown overtones - exactly what I was going for. It doesn't dry quite as brown as blood, but the dark red-brown effect sure does suggest it came from something living. It works especially nicely in a wet writer. Drier lines are more uniformly colored, not nearly as red, nor as exciting.

 

Today one of my pens leaked a little around the nib, so I had some fun and transferred it to the back of my notes via a finger. Let's just say that my calculus for today was rather gruesome, after I found I liked the effect :embarrassed_smile:

 

It's also an oddly well behaved ink. I left a splotch on the paper for a couple minutes... it was still wet, and barely bled through my notebook paper, with no feathering at all. I couldn't test further as I'd smeared the splotch everywhere, in true Halloween spirit.

[Edgar Allan Bo]

I'd also say Noodlers Antietam, nothing looks more like dried blood than that, not even real blood!

[Pippin60]

Levenger Cardinal Red, has that reddish brown color of dried blood.

[GardenWeasel]

 

I've not tried Antietam, but I'm impressed with Tiananmen for resembling dried blood..

[tankahn]

My vote also for Noodlers Tiananmen.

 

I've not tried Antietam, but I'm impressed with Tiananmen for resembling dried blood..

 

[EyeZ]

Take a look at Sailor Red-Brown.

[Philip1209]

My brother has Antietam, and it looks very blood-like. To make his point, my brother threw a few drops on a kleenex and it looked like he was having a bloody nose.

[GreenVelvet]

My vote is for both Noodler's Tianamen and Red-Black. They each look like different sorts of dried blood... and incidentally are two of my favorite inks.