KWZ Ink - Thief’s Red

KWZ Ink Thief’s Red - ink swatch card

This is KWZ Thief’s Red. Konrad & Agnieszka Zurawska are the founders and operators of KWZ, Poland’s highly regarded boutique ink manufacturer. In a 2016 interview, Konrad said that the name Thief’s Red comes from the historic practice of punishing thieves by dressing them in red and putting them on public display to shame them. I hadn’t heard of this practice before, but it reminds me of the famous “scarlet letter”.

Thief’s Red is very close to a true middle red. It has the slightest hint of pink, but generally comes across as a soft, cool, powdery mid-red. In the swatch, there’s a tiny edge of gold sheen in the wettest areas, but this doesn’t carry through in writing. It’s a wet, smooth flowing ink, very comfortable on the page. Depending on the paper, drying times range from fairly quick (15-20 seconds) to slightly slower than average (40-45 seconds).

KWZ Ink Thief’s Red - ink splatter

At its best, Thief’s Red is a clean, crisp writing ink with well-defined stroke profiles. This can be seen both on the swatch card, and next to the splatter (Rhodia, 80g). I found similar results on Mnemosyne (80g), as well. However, there was slight feathering on Kokuyo (70g), and more significant feathering on Apica (70g). As expected, it didn’t handle cheap office copy paper very well.

If you typically use coated papers, KWZ Thief’s Red is a great choice. It’s a beautiful red that’s vibrant, yet soft. With the right nib and paper, this is a very nice ink. I often mention Thief’s Red as beautiful choice for those looking for a real red.

October 2020