Recommend a red ink that shades from about Dragon's Blood to Oxblood?

[Horseflesh]

I really like the color of Diamine Red Dragon, but I am hoping to find an ink that shades between a similar bright saturated shade and a much darker shade of red, maybe in the ballpark of Diamine Oxblood. Doesn't have to be exact of course, but those are good stakes in the ground. 

 

Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks!

 

 

[USG]

5 hours ago, Horseflesh said:

I really like the color of Diamine Red Dragon, but I am hoping to find an ink that shades between a similar bright saturated shade and a much darker shade of red, maybe in the ballpark of Diamine Oxblood. Doesn't have to be exact of course, but those are good stakes in the ground. 

 

Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks!

 

 

 

Monteverde Fire Opal is in the deep red range.  On Tomoe River paper it shades to a dark blood red color.  On Cosmo Snow paper it not only shades to a dark color but picks up a silver sheen.  Jinhao x-159 [F].  It doesn't look anything like the orange-y samples online.

It's hard to capture it with a cellphone but here goes.....

 

 

 

[Horseflesh]

Thanks for the reply! I actually have Fire Opal and I like it a lot, but I like it because to me it does have an orange-brown hue, which is one of my favorites. However, I have not tried it in one of my wetter pens and my writings have not been as saturated as your samples. I'll give that a shot. 

 

[USG]

I can see a

2 hours ago, Horseflesh said:

Thanks for the reply! I actually have Fire Opal and I like it a lot, but I like it because to me it does have an orange-brown hue, which is one of my favorites. However, I have not tried it in one of my wetter pens and my writings have not been as saturated as your samples. I'll give that a shot. 

 

 

I can see what you mean by orange-brown when I write on Ivory paper, but when I look at it on a sheet of white paper it looks like I was writing with thick dark red blood, especially in the areas where it pools.  I've come to the same conclusion as Bo Bo Olson, that the paper is a very important factor.  Let me know if you pick up the silver sheen.👍😀

[ErrantSmudge]

Diamine Red Dragon is a blue/purple-leaning red, whereas Oxblood is an orange/brown-leaning red - I think you might have a problem finding an ink that shades specifically between those two hues. Have you tried Oxblood in a variety of nibs (wet and dry) to see if it will shade, or perhaps even dilute Oxblood slightly to make it shade more?

[Horseflesh]

I don't have Oxblood so I have been relying on review pics... perhaps explaining my misapprehension of the hue. Red Dragon I have in sample size and so I have at least seen it in person. 

 

Frankly I like both of them from what I have seen; my main goal is finding a red that shades from a bright red (not pink or brick red) down to a very dark red. It could be a more bluish or brownish red if the shading range is good. 

 

I feel like this kind of shading is easy to find in other colors like green but somehow I have not seen a red reviewed that does the same thing. 

 

[USG]

On 6/13/2023 at 1:55 PM, ErrantSmudge said:

Diamine Red Dragon is a blue/purple-leaning red, whereas Oxblood is an orange/brown-leaning red -

 

Hard to tell them apart in some pics,

 

 

Not hard in others.