Diamine Writer's Blood: Fountain Pen Ink Review

Bottles of Diamine Writers Blood Fountain Pen Ink and writing samples on wooden background

Diamine Writer's Blood is a lovely dark red fountain pen ink that was the r/fountainpens Reddit sub-community choice for a new ink in 2021. Each year, the members of the forum come together to discuss and vote on special edition inks. Check out the review for more information on this special color!

Diamine Writer's Blood fountain pen ink writing sample on Rhodia white dot grid paper

Diamine Writer's Blood Fountain pen ink on white Tomoe River paper

Diamine Writer's Blood fountain pen ink writing sample on cream Leuchtturm1917 paper

Ink Review

Supplies Used:

LAMY AL-star with medium steel nib
Rhodia No. 16 dot pad, 80g white paper
Tomoé River 52 gsm white paper
Leuchtturm1917 80g notebook

Smear Test (Dry Time):

20-25 second – Diamine Writer's Blood fountain pen ink dries pretty quickly for a fast flowing Diamine ink but it's on the slow end of things. With such a wet flow and longer dry time, you may need to pay more attention to hand placement!

Drip Test (Water Resistance):

Low – Not water resistant at all! The water didn't totally wash away the line though.

Saturation:

High – Writer's Blood is one of Diamine's Darkest red colors. It even overshadows Diamine Oxblood. The coloration is closer to a wine red like Diamine's Syrah

Ease of Cleaning:

Easy – It's not water resistant at all so it will clean easily. This is a very saturated ink, so don't let it dry out or you'll be "seeing red" for quite a while.

Shading:

Low to Medium – In larger nib sizes like medium, you get a very saturated coloration with little to no shading. In smaller nibs on less absorbent paper you can see a bit of color variation, but it's subtle.

Flow:

Wet – This is one of Diamine's wettest flowing inks — it almost jumps out of the pen! It's a great choice for that dry writer in your collection, or for when you want a steady flow from your daily writer.

Packaging and Aesthetics:

30ml plastic and 80ml glass bottles.
The bottles are easy to fill.

Bottles of Diamine Writers Blood Fountain Pen Ink and writing samples with charcoal LAMY safari on wooden background

If you're interested in similar colors, check out our Swab Shop where you can compare colors side by side.

Summary:

A luxurious dark and saturated red tone awaits with a bottle of Writer's Blood. The wet flow and dark color yield a rich red line with little shading variation from broader nibs. Diamine and the Reddit community did a great job in picking this color — I have a feeling it will be here to stay!