Wearingeul - A Study in Scarlet

Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet - Ink drop

I’m always looking for a new favorite red. Red inks float adrift somewhere between four shores of pinkish, purplish, brownish and orangish influence, with the reddest reds circling at the very center, equidistant from them all.

Personally, my favorite reds would look perfectly natural in a murder mystery, as the drop that gives away the location of the crime. Wearingeul’s A Study in Scarlet is exactly that. It’s a beautiful blood red.

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

A Study in Scarlet is a gorgeous, medium deep red, with very little lean in terms of pink, purple, or brown. Shading occasionally gives the illusion of hints of yellow as the ink thins, and the white of the paper becomes an accomplice to the crime. However, as the swatches show, this red sticks to its scarlet alibi with remarkable consistency. In terms of color, this red is exactly what I like.

Ink Swatches on Iroful and Takasago Bank papers

If it weren’t for one piece of evidence, this would be the perfect crime in terms of performance. Written strokes were crisp and sharp. There were almost no instances of feather or spread. Drying was just a touch beyond average, but perfectly respectable and acceptable. All of this fell apart, however, when it came to the consistently reliable Iroful paper. My sample page was fresh and untouched, but this ink erupted in disapproval. Feathering was a mess, and it spread within the paper creating blurs and wispy extensions. On the six other papers tested, performance was outstanding, but on Iroful the results speak for themselves.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

I can forgive the problems found on Iroful, and I have continued using this ink. It remains enjoyable and attractive on everything else I regularly use. If you can overlook the mismatch with Iroful, Wearingeul’s A Study in Scarlet is an ink you’ll almost certainly enjoy, too. The 5 ml bottle in my image is only available at Wearingeul pop-up shops (maybe only in Korea), but it normally comes in Wearingeul’s standard 30 ml bottles and their top-quality packaging. If scarlet is your kind of red, don’t hesitate!

Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet ink writing samples

Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet - Swatch Card

Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet - Comparisons

Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet 5 ml bottle