Ink Review #290: Sheaffer Skrip Permanent Red

Today we are looking at a vintage ink, Sheaffer Skrip Permanent Red. This ink was popular in the 50's and 60's. A sample of this ink was provided by Fountain Pen Love, who has an amazing collection of vintage ink.

The color:

Permanent red is a bright, dark pink.

In large swabs there is a little bit of bright greenish gold sheen around the edges. After looking at some online pictures of this ink from previous years (there are lots of pictures of the bottles but not many pictures of the ink itself), it looks like the ink is currently a lot more pink than it originally was. My guess is that it has degraded some over time, turning a lighter color. The consistency is still good, and there is no noticeable smell.

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Medium-some of the ink washed away but you would probably still be able to figure out what it said.

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: no shading, low sheen, and no shimmer. 

On 20 pound copy paper the ink performed well, no issues that I noticed.

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile RSS): Krishna Myrtle, Skrip Permanent Red, and Diamine Scarlet. Scarlet is a little lighter than Permanent Red. Click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing: 

I used a medium Pelikan M605 White Transparent on Tomoe River paper. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it's really more of a pink than a red, and the name is a little misleading since it's not permanent. I think this is one of the inks that degrades over time. If you want a modern equivalent for what the ink looks like now, take a look at Diamine Scarlet. Give it a try, you might love it.

Disclaimer: A sample of this ink was donated for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.