Montblanc The Legend of Zodiacs Red Chine Review

Moving right along the world of MB LE Inks, I received my The Legend of Zodiacs Red Chine in the mail yesterday ^_^.  Pen mail is always epic, but first let me congratulate the winner of the Montblanc Saint-Exupery ink, Mishelle Reine!

I am typically not overly enthusiastic about red inks, I’m not sure why.  I have quite a few of them in my collection but never reach for them, except for my favorite, which is more a red/pink Mitsukoshi Hikaru.  Despite this, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try another MB LE.

This comes in the same 50ML size and bottle as Saint-Exupery, which suits me because I love larger bottles of ink.  No fear of running out in the forseeable future.  Especially with my ink habit…but that is another story!

For this review I decided to ink up my red tone Montblanc Rouge et Noir Coral.  Seemed like a perfect match!

InkJournal Entry:

Ink Blob:

Time-Lapse:

Ink Swab:

This ink surprised me, I was expecting a rich red color when I looked at the ink, but instead got a lighter, medium saturated red.  While in the bottle, on the nib, on my hands, it was indeed a deeper red, but drying on paper reveals its lighter shade.

It does have nice shading though, and it dried relatively fast, which are both fantastic traits.  I considered getting multiple bottles of this ink, but I might have to pass this time.  There is a lack of discernable shine/sheen, except for a frosty type sheen in the wettest parts of the blob.  This ink just doesn’t compete with Sailor Irori, Bungubox Lycoris Red, and Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji, at least not for a sheen lover like me.  On the other hand if shading is your #1 pick, this might be a contender.

I leave you now with this photo of my doggo, tired from the doggo park ^_^ .  Thought it was fitting since theres a doggo on the box for this ink.