Posts filed under Robert Oster

Robert Oster Sushi Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Robert Oster Sushi is a pink shade that definitely evokes the color of salmon or raw tuna you might find in sushi. The ink offers good shading in flex and wide nibs, but has no sheen, as you can see on the Col-o-dex card.

In my ink tests, I found the color to be a bit too light for use in extra fine and fine nibs, but in wider nibs it is readable and exhibits good shading. The ink dries very quickly which means you won’t have difficulty with smearing. The ink is not waterproof.

Chromatography shows little variation--just light and darker pink tones.

The beauty of this ink really comes through in wide nibs. I used my Handwritmic Ruling Pen on Midori Cotton paper and love the shading and pooling exhibited.

Unless you’re using a dip pen, flex nib, or broader nibs, you may find this ink too light for every-day writing. Still, it’s such a unique color, I think it’s worth having in your collection, especially for ink washes, italic, flex, and large lettering, and for drawing/art. (In the photos below, Vanness White Lightning Ink Additive was added to the ink before writing.)

When I started inking my mandala (below) with Robert Oster Sushi, the ink was so dry that I feared I was going to scratch through the paper. I wound up adding Vanness White Lightning for better flow in my TWSBI 580 with an EF nib and was able to complete the mandala without any more dryness problems. I was pleased with the results.

I am quite taken with this beautiful shade of pink. It reminds me of well-worn ballet shoes or a ripe grapefruit cut in half. You can purchase Robert Oster Sushi from Vanness Pens for $17.00 for a 50 ml bottle.

(The Pen Addict purchased this ink at a discount from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on June 19, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under Robert Oster, Ink Reviews.

Robert Oster Cosmic Swirl 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!)

There's yet another lovely shade from our Australian rainbow of inks! Robert Oster Cosmic Swirl is a charming shade of purple that is somehow different from the alarming number of purples I already have in my swab collection.

This is a lovely cool violet with blue undertones that come out in the chromatography. It's not a complex color, but it's a really nice tone that feels very fresh and nicely seasonal as we move from spring into summer.

This ink shows some pretty shading, from a very soft purple, to a more saturated tone, then showing its blue features where it pools, giving it a 3-color shade that is super difficult to photograph. There is a touch of bronze sheen, but only where I literally dumped ink on the page. I did not see any come out in writing.

It doesn't feel dry when writing, but it isn't a wet ink, either. It's a nice happy medium. It does have a fast dry time, though, between 15 and 20 seconds.

In the water drop test, it does show a slight resistance to water. It's not impervious at all, but I can still see my lines even where the water sat for a bit before I wiped it away.

While I'd consider this a fairly pale color, it's saturated enough that I don't have any trouble reading text in it, even in dim light. That hits a nice sweet spot for me, as I enjoy the soft colored inks, but I'm often writing at night, or trying to type my manuscripts in low light.

I think this is a great staple purple for people who are looking for a shade that isn't too pink. While it definitely has some blue tones, it isn't too blue, either. As far as comparisons go, I think it is closest to Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, but doesn't layer as dark. This color stays fairly soft even where it's concentrated, which is unique in my purple universe.

I think Robert Oster offers some of the best purples out there (and probably also the most purples out there). This is another great one that I think will excite a lot of people looking for the perfect purple.

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

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Posted on May 7, 2020 by Sarah Read and filed under Robert Oster, Ink Reviews.

Robert Oster Signature Austrialian Opal Blue Ink Review

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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