Posts filed under Robert Oster

Robert Oster Signature Austrialian Opal Blue Ink Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Every time I think that Robert Oster has made an ink for every shade of blue possible, he comes out with another blue! All of them are different and lovely in their own way. Austrialian Opal Blue is simpler and less flashy than some of them, so perhaps not one of the Oster rock stars, but it's a lovely shade of summer blue.

This is a very pale, soft color that may not be practical for everyday writing. It's a delicate shade that's difficult to see in dim light, but really dazzles in sunshine. It does have some nice shading, though, and where it pools, it has a beautiful, bold sky tone to it. The shading is even visible with a fine nib, which bodes well for its character in a firehose of a pen.

It has no water resistance, and washes away completely, not even leaving a washed-out droplet behind. It dries very quickly for liquid ink, between 15 and 20 seconds. This might be a great light blue for lefties. It does feel a bit dry when writing with it, but not to an unpleasant degree.

Chromatography shows a blue to aqua fade, very soft colors that are difficult to see at all unless the paper is on a white background. There's not a lot of complexity to this color.

I don't see any sheen with this ink. There is almost a hint of a purple sheen at the edges of where I pooled the ink and let it dry, but it's not visible in any writing I've done. My guess is that you'd only see a sheen from this ink if you spilled it on some fancy paper and let it dry.

This is a very different tone from my other blues. It almost comes close to Iroshizuku Kon Peki, but it's much more subtle and pale than that in writing. It's not like any other blue I've used, and I love that no matter how many colors there are, there are always new colors.

I've never met an Oster ink I didn't like. This one is perfect for celebrating the arrival of spring. But it's definitely one of the low-impact colors of the line. It's simultaneously not wild and not practical. It's too plain to be exciting, and too pale to be utilitarian--so I think it falls between purposes a bit. Despite that, it is a unique blue, so maybe it's the exact color you've been waiting for.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on April 9, 2020 by Sarah Read and filed under Robert Oster, Ink Reviews.

Robert Oster Bishop to King Fountain Pen Ink Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

Robert Oster is one of my favorite ink brands. I love the wide range of colors, the way they are inspired from nature in Australia, the eco-friendly production of the ink and bottles. It's all good to me--and this is another great color in a winning lineup.

Bishop to King is a complex purple. It's very rich and royal, but violet enough to pass for blue under certain light, so it's a great ink if you want something with character but that you can still use in professional settings. It's purple with deniability. The chromatography shows a pretty even split between purple and blue, and the blue element has a slight touch of water resistance, too. On the water drop tests, standing water that was blotted dry left a hint of blue line behind. But when water is wiped up, it did wash all trace away.

The most noticeable element of this ink is a distinct dryness. It feels dry when writing or swabbing, and its dry time is so fast, I had to do it twice to make sure I hadn't imagined it. Despite this dryness, it does show some shading on Clairefontaine paper, but I could not get it to sheen, even when I let it pool.

I prefer wet inks, so this dry one isn't for me, but I highly recommend it for lefties, or for quick notes that must be jotted down on swiftly-turning pages. I think this makes it ideal for school or meeting notes, or for when you need to write a hasty note in your planner, slam the book shut, and hit the road.

The ink comes in a 50ml plastic bottle which is manufactured in a carbon-neutral plant. The bottles are fully recyclable. They're also a good shape for filling--narrow enough to allow for nib submersion even when the ink is running low, but sturdy enough that they don't tip over. The bottles aren't as glam as the handblown glass ones, but they also don't have the glam price tag. This bottle sells for about $17. In our world of climbing ink prices, I'll take that deal all day.

I think this is a solid, practical ink that fits some specific, practical needs. It's not one I'm likely to reach for often for my own needs, but I think it's an essential player on the field.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 11, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Robert Oster, Ink Reviews.

TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm Stub and Robert Oster Barossa Gilt Ink Review

What more can I say about the TWSBI ECO that I haven't said already? It is the best fountain pen for beginners in my book, and it provides experienced users with a fun, high-quality writing experience at a nice price.

The one difference for me this time around - aside from the transparent orange pen parts - is the 1.1 stub nib.

I love how fine and firm TWSBI’s extra fine steel nibs are, which is why they are my preferred nib for this pen. But sometimes I need to sling ink on the page, and that's where stub nibs come into play.

What this nib provides for me is character. Wide vertical strokes combined with thin horizontal strokes make my handwriting pop. This stub nib has enough variation to make that work for me, and an ultra-smooth feel from it's slightly rounded edges.

All of those things add up to be the perfect ink testing pen and nib for me. And what better to show off the shake and shimmy of Robert Oster Barossa Gilt.

I have a hard time not calling this ink Barossa Grape, because that is an ink color, too. But the “Gilt” nomenclature alludes to what is so special about this ink: The gold shimmer found within. And it shimmers a lot.

That’s one thing Robert Oster has made perfectly clear with his Shake ’N’ Shimmy ink lineup. There is no lack of shimmery particles on the page. When shimmer inks first became a thing, I found the shimmer-to-ink ratio inconsistent. Over time, manufacturers have figured out whatever magic it takes to give every stroke a full compliment of shine.

As hard as it is to describe an ink like this in words, it is even harder to show in pictures unless you angle the page just so in the light. Most of my straight-on pictures make the ink look flat, and maybe even boring. But if you get the light angled just right, you wonder where purple color is for all of the gold.

The underlying purple color reminds me of grape juice. More accurately, spilled grape juice where the color and shade changes depending on how much you now have on the paper towel you used to clean it up with. There is even a hint of blue around the edges.

When writing in my Yoseka Notebook for this review, I did run into a dry spot seven lines into it. I hadn’t picked up the pen for about two days at the point I started, and hit a hard stop where you see the word “flooding” show up lightly on the page. I wonder if that was a bit of clogging from the shimmer? I wouldn’t put it past that happening. A few taps of the nib and scribbles on a different page got it going again, and I had no more troubles. This is always a possiblility with shimmer ink.

This is a fantastic ink in a fantastic pen. Will I use this combination a lot? Not likely. I love the purple ink color, but I like my shimmer like I like my pen furniture: Silver in color. Plus, I think this will be my new ink testing pen, so it will be seeing many different inks pass through its feed in the future. That said, Barossa Gilt really does it’s job well, and makes for an impressive look.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!