Ink Review - Diamine Red Dragon

 Today I will be reviewing my current favorite ink! I bought this sample a while ago, but hadn't gotten a chance to try it till last week. It exceeded my expectations, and is a absolute keeper!

Read on to find out more about Diamine Red Dragon!

"It takes no effort for me to give this ink a 97/100! It's just amazing!"

Overview:

Diamine Red Dragon is a stunning red ink with dark undertones, and great shading. It behaves well, and is the best looking red I've ever used. I find it hard to stop saying good things about this ink!

The Good:

• Gorgeous color
• Great shading
• Not to "loud" of a red - perfect for letters
• Very well behaved

The Bad:

• Umm.... Let me get back to you on this, in about 100 years.... :)
• I really can't find anything I dislike about this ink. If I was forced to say something bad about it, I would say that it's not water-resistant, but then, that's still a plus for me. 

The Ugly:

• There's nothing ugly about an ink this beautiful!

Onto the written review:

Ink review: Diamine Red Dragon

Pen and nib: Pilot Vanishing Point - F nib

Color: The perfect shade of red

Dry Time: 5 seconds - very good!

Smear when dry: NO

Shading: Yes, a very small amount, but then I'm using a very small nib. In larger nibs, this ink produced gorgeous shading! With my F nib, it's still beautiful, albeit a bit understated.

Lubrication: Normal - Not great and not bad.

bleed-through: A very small amount on this paper. for reference, this is just Wal-Mart composition notebook paper. Nothing fancy, and a bit prone to bleed-through.

Feathering: None that I can see

This scan is fairly accurate, but the photos below show the color even better.

Here's a photo of the swab.

Here you can really see the deep blood-red color showing off.

This ink is an absolute keeper for me, and a full bottle (or two) will accompany my next ink order. Yup, I like it that much. :)  

I tried Diamine Oxblood, but never really loved it. This ink is a lot like it, but in my eyes, better in many ways.

If you haven't tried Diamine Red Dragon yet, believe me when I say that you need too, right now. If you're a lover of red inks, or you're interested in beautifully colored/shading inks, this one is worth your time. I'll leave you with that. :)

I hope you've enjoyed this review! Please, do me a favor, leave me a comment, and let me know what you think. I say this every time I post something, not because I have to, but because I really do want to hear your opinion. Criticism is more than welcome too. I can't run a good blog without feedback. If you've got something to say, don't be shy - put it out there so we can all benefit from the discussion!

That's it for now folks. Coming up soon - Stipula Passporto VS. Kaweco Sport!. :)