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I've been searching high and low for a replacement for Leonardo Red Chalk. Unfortunately I did not get into the color when the bottles were readily available. I have Montblanc Carlo Collodi brown, which is close, but it is more brown. Other inks that were suggested-- like Diamine Ancient Copper-- just didn't seem to be the same to me in terms of dramatic shading or capturing the red hue. Has anyone found a good replacement? Thanks in advance for your help to this ink nut

Here's a unique brick red ink from Montblanc. It does have a chalky look to it, but it works well. http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/NzuexB.jpg

Hi all, First, let my say my flickr photo-stream is a mess of photos from work trips, random street abstract things and ink reviews. I like it, but it must confuse people from 'the real world'. Packaging is the now standard 30ml bottles (same as Winterglow, ink of XXX, Hitchcock, Einstein and Diamond), I do like them, they are deep and quite nice to fill from. The box is grey with a da Vinci illustration of a wing on the front, with rose gold and silver embossing. Ident number 109357. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6863503337_0770c4000a_z.jpgMontblanc ink bottles by Bigeddie100, on Flickr(2 of the 30ml bottles pictured on the left) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7393/10680101854_3ea09959fe_z.jpgMontblanc Red Chalk by Bigeddie100, on Flickr The performance is good, it's a little on the dry side. There is no bleed even on the cheapest of paper, although it does spread on pulp as expected. Lubrication is a little below average, probably owing to the lower flow, this is only really noticeable on the more textured Conqueror Bamboo. The colour is a red brown, no chalky tones. It's very similar to Carlo Collodi with just a little more red. On the cream coloured paper there is very little visible difference. It remains a brown though, it lacks the punch of a red - to me this makes it a contender for writing as well as note making where I find reds too distracting for anything more than a sentence. Samples attached: Rhodia Bloc Pad http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3775/10680061535_f78538e5ba_z.jpgMontblanc Red Chalk by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Conqueror Bamboo http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/10680123914_90684f7eca_z.jpgMontblanc Red Chalk by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Copy paper (pulp) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/10680117816_242197c671_z.jpgMontblanc Red Chalk by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Ink on a tissue after filling (the difference in colour is more evident here) Collodi on the left, Leonardo on the right. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/10680280335_169750db5a_z.jpgMontblanc Leonardo Red Chalk by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Comparison Swabs: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3738/10680943043_d250078ecc_z.jpgMB ink comparison - Red browns by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Looking at the blotches on the tissue it looks like the Leonardo has more saturation, but this seems to be compensated for with the reduced flow to achieve a similar appearance. Conclusion: I liked Collodi, and I regret not buying a couple more bottles, so this tweak is a good result for me. This ink is very similar to Collodi and I would be hard pressed to tell them apart on tinted paper. Performance is good and the colour is going to make it suitable for my drafting and personal writing, but also of use as an alternate to more established blues and blacks. I like it, although I would like something a little different from the quite recent offering. (Also, MB, please bring back Ink of Joy!)