(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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