Robert Oster Thunderstorm 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 an ink wizard. Thunderstom is a newer offering in his lineup of enchanted and enchanting inks. At first glance, it looks black. Just plain old black. But when the light hits it, Ah! Maybe it's navy! Then, do I see teal? Purple? What is happening???

If I had to classify the color, I'd call it a blue-black. It's subtle enough to be a good work ink, but has the complexity to bring some fun to your desk. Fine layers of it show up as a smoky grey-blue and concentrated areas look anywhere from navy blue to black. The color is almost impossible to photograph. Its closest color relatives that I've encountered are Aurora Blue-Black and Kobe 7, though both of those have crazy sheen and Thunderstom has none. Even where it pools it looks like it has a matte finish, which adds to its deep color complexity.

It's very well lubricated and flows out of the pen nicely, but also dries quickly. It has no water resistance--the drip test pretty much erased it all. It doesn't bleed or feather on Rhodia paper or on the ink sample card. It does on regular printer paper, but that's expected.

The most surprising thing about this ink was the chromatography test. I mean... Pink? I did not see that coming! How does blue and grey come from pink? With magic, I guess. But the colors that split were cobalt blue and pink, and somehow they make this awesome, subtle color.

This isn't one of those colors that leaps out at you from first sight, but it gradually makes its character known the more you see it. If you're looking for an ink that can subtly liven up some boring paperwork that still has to appear businesslike, this is a great choice. It's $17 for 50 ml at JetPens, which is fantastic value for ink these days. It's one color I'll always have a use for.

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

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Zebra Sparky-2 Highlighter Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Highlighters are one of those stationery items that many people keep on hand without fussing about the features and quality of the ink, tips, and other items. Even though highlighters aren't an exciting genre of our world, they are something you expect to work well when you need them. When it's time to mark up a book or some notes, it's good to have options. The Zebra Sparky-2 highlighters are great at both making marks and providing a great amount of variety in color and tip size.

Double-sided highlighters aren't a new invention, and you could even argue that they're the new baseline these days. Who doesn't want the option of a thick or thin line from the same pen? Even so, manufacturers have to tick several products and offer a compelling product. The Sparky-2 is a well-performing highlighter with a couple of nice features to set it apart from the pack.

The liquid ink is resistant to both light and water, making it a great option for annotating notes and textbooks. Your marks will stand the test of time and play nicely with most inks and papers. Fountain pen inks can sometimes bleed and smear under a highlighter, but this is a problem that impacts any highlighter. With gel pens, ballpoints, and pencils, you'll never deal with any smearing or bluring.

The ink is also very bright and fluorescent without being too dark. I've used highlighters in the past that made it difficult to read the text or notes that they covered. This is not the case with the Zebra Sparky-2 highlighters, and I'd even prefer the green highlighter to be a bit darker.

Another great trick that the Spark-2 pens offer is a protective covering around the tip. The purpose of this small sleeve is two-fold: one, it adds rigidity to the tip so that it doesn't collapse over time, and it also prevents ink from getting on a ruler or straightedge if you run the highlighter alongside it. It's not something I've ever wished for, but now I wish that all highlighters were made this way!

As an added bonus, both caps can post to their sibling cap, meaning you don't have to keep trck of these small, clear caps. Losing a cap is a death sentence for the liquid ink tip!

Finally, the number of color options available in this line is astounding. At a total of ten (10!) colors, you should be able to differentiate your notes and research with no problem. Add in the fact that each pen has two sizes of tip, and that's effectively 20 highlighters.

The three-pack of yellow, green, and pink that I'm using comes in at just $6, which is a great deal for such a great and useful product. If you spring for the 10-pack of all colors, they'll come in just under $16, which is also an incredible value.

Pick up a set for yourself or the industrious student in your life!

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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

Tuesday Toolset, It’s A Lake Edition

With all of the moving and shaking in my daily carry, there has been one consistent product in my lineup in 2019. And, because of that product, two more products. Confused yet? Read on ...

1. Nock Co. Seed A5 Iris/Electric Blue. While it may not leave the house every day with me like a pocket notebook does, it is ready when called upon. It could be at my desk, on the road, or in my lap at any hour of the day. But with this case, it’s only as useful as the products inside, and I have two good ones.
2. Soumkine A5 Weekly Planner. I took a flyer on a brand I had never heard of before and won. Why choose this planner? It’s all in the layout. The two page per week format with defined days on the left and blank space on the right has fit my style since I first saw Midori do it with the Traveler’s Notebook. Luckily, it plays nice with fountain pens, too. JetPens, where mine came from, only has the B5 model left in stock, but Soumkine does have the A5 model available directly.
3. Nock Co. A5 DotDash Notebook. One of the other features I like about the Soumkine planner is that it comes in two volumes - one for the first six months of the year, and one for the second. This allows me to slide the Nock soft cover A5 notebook between them in my Seed case, Midori-style. I’m a big fan of this setup.
4. Sailor Pro Gear Ocean Fountain Pen. I covered this on Monday, and see it being regularly featured in my Tuesday Toolset posts. I like it that much.
5. Ryan Krusac Legend in Antler, Damascus Steel grip section. This is one of those “Oh my, insta-buy.” pens for me. Nabbed at last years Baltimore pen show, and still one of my favorites. I’m not sure I want to see what Ryan has in store in a couple of weeks.