Robert Oster Signature Inks - Chocolate, Sky Blue And Emerald

[mariom]

Robert Oster is a new Australian player in the ink market, selling only on the bay of fleas as far as I can tell (under the user name osteralia). He has an interesting range of inks, at prices which are an absolute bargain compared to most available here down under ($8 for 50ml). Curiously, he's also offering a Jinhao Safari clone with each bottle. In fact, I ordered 3 bottles and he sent me 5 fountain pens in different colours, and a Jinhao ballpoint with a couple of Parker compatible refills - all for around $30 shipped.The pens don't do much for me to be honest, but it's a nice thought.

 

I tried the inks with the supplied fountain pens at first, and to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed. But as the pens were extremely fine with a miserly ink flow, I decided to reserve judgement till I had a chance to ink up something a bit more juicy.

 

I tried the inks in my standard test pens (a trio of Jinhao 159s), and what a difference. With more ink being laid down, the inks had a chance to show their true character. They're rich and saturated, well behaved except on the cheapest paper, and they shade nicely. No sheen is evident, but you can't have everything. I think the'll look sensational in my TWSBIs too.

 

No Idea if Mr Oster ships overseas, but he seems a charming gentleman in my communications with him, so there's no harm in asking.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2016 by mariom

[Cyber6]

 

No Idea if Mr Oster ships overseas, but he seems a charming gentleman in my communications with him, so there's no harm in asking.

 

 

Yes, he does ships overseas. And I can also vouch that he seems like a charming gentleman. I am currently waiting on some of his creations.

 

 

Thanks for the quick look to these inks... I am liking that chocolate...

 

 

 

C.

[migo984]

I've got Deep Sea (absolutely gorgeous, lots of sheen - I call it the love child of Verdigris & Yama-dori), Khaki (amazing shading with slight greyish sheen) & Jade (goes on light but dries a richer green; lovely shading).

 

I'm very impressed with these inks in use, so far. And as you say, they are excellent value. Three more colours are already ordered..........

 

[Cyber6]

LOVE the cute bottles...

 

 

I forgot which ones are coming to me... but I definitely need to place an order for those three.... (and the chocolate above) ... they are gorgeous.

 

 

 

C.

 

 

 

I've got Deep Sea (absolutely gorgeous, lots of sheen - I call it the love child of Verdigris & Yama-dori), Khaki (amazing shading with slight greyish sheen) & Jade (goes on light but dries a richer green; lovely shading).

I'm very impressed with these inks in use, so far. And as you say, they are excellent value. Three more colours are already ordered..........

[mariom]

LOVE the cute bottles...

 

 

I forgot which ones are coming to me... but I definitely need to place an order for those three.... (and the chocolate above) ... they are gorgeous.

 

 

 

C.

 

 

 

 

The bottles are good in that they will make filling easier as levels drop, but you need to be careful as it wouldn't take much to tip them over.

[migo984]

LOVE the cute bottles...

 

 

I forgot which ones are coming to me... but I definitely need to place an order for those three.... (and the chocolate above) ... they are gorgeous.

 

 

 

C.

 

The bottles are great; good quality dark-tinted plastic (not sure what type), cap screws on firmly, nice height, wide enough aperture for all but the very fattest pens. They hold a deceptive amount too - 50ml, same as Sailor, Kobe etc.

 

You'll enjoy the inks. Very good quality & excellent value-for-money. :-)

[Cyber6]

The bottles are great; good quality dark-tinted plastic (not sure what type), cap screws on firmly, nice height, wide enough aperture for all but the very fattest pens. They hold a deceptive amount too - 50ml, same as Sailor, Kobe etc.

 

You'll enjoy the inks. Very good quality & excellent value-for-money. :-)

 

 

The bottles are good in that they will make filling easier as levels drop, but you need to be careful as it wouldn't take much to tip them over.

I can see that. As much as I enjoy broad base bottles for stability..... I do like the small form factor on these ones, easy to storage.

 

 

C.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Cyber6

[visvamitra]

Khaki looks interesting.

[fountainpagan]

 

Yes, he does ships overseas. And I can also vouch that he seems like a charming gentleman. I am currently waiting on some of his creations.

 

 

Thanks for the quick look to these inks... I am liking that chocolate...

 

 

 

C.

 

I absolutely agree with Cyber6. Mr Oster is a pleasure to deal with.

 

I am waiting for some of his inks, too. Can't wait.

[haruka337]

Chocolate and Khaki are calling my name!

 

Thanks for the heads-up, Mariom.

[DrDebG]

Very nice inks. I may have to check into them more and get a bottle or two.

[skinny_tie]

They're rich and saturated, well behaved except on the cheapest paper, and they shade nicely. No sheen is evident, but you can't have everything. I think the'll look sensational in my TWSBIs too.

 

Thanks for your post Mario! I've been wondering about these inks for a while but I hadn't been able to find any information on them.

 

I'm thrilled to hear they're saturated. How would you rate wetness and flow? Perhaps on a scale Toucan to Blackstone - which is pretty much all I have to compare them to.

[saskia_madding]

Consider me convinced. I put an email in to him to ask about combined shipping and how many bottles I can get for $25. Thanks for the heads up!

[mariom]

 

Thanks for your post Mario! I've been wondering about these inks for a while but I hadn't been able to find any information on them.

 

I'm thrilled to hear they're saturated. How would you rate wetness and flow? Perhaps on a scale Toucan to Blackstone - which is pretty much all I have to compare them to.

 

In my very limited experience so far, I'd say chocolate and emerald provide good flow and lubrication. Sky blue is a bit less saturated and seems a little on the drier side based on how it behaves in one of the supplied Jinhao Safari clones. I didn't notice the dryness so much in my J159 test pen which is broader and wetter in any case.

 

The 3 Safari clones have been sitting on my desk unused for a couple of days and all started without a skip, so no signs of clogging problems either.

Edited April 29, 2016 by mariom

[dcwaites]

I have done a review elsewhere on Bondi Blue and Blue Denim. Both inks I will have to use more. On the basis of those two, and the fact that he had a special on over the Anzac Day long weekend, I ordered four more.

Unfortunately eBay mucked up his shipping, so he graciously added a couple more bottles in compensation.

As others have said, a true gentleman.

 

I have left a gentle hint that he should join the FPN, but I think he needs more encouragement...

[migo984]

Heads up: I wrote extensively with Deep Sea today. It's been loaded in a TWSBI 580, with an 18k F nib, for 2 days. It is a really beautiful colour, with lots of purple-ish sheen but boy, is it saturated! So much so that it bled through Tomoe River paper. The ink showed on the back of the sheet in numerous places, rendering the reverse side unusable.

 

But it looks so gorgeous I'll forgive it :-)

 

I wouldn't like to try it on more porous paper though.............

 

NB No such bleed-through of Khaki or Jade.

[migo984]

Update: according to his eBay shop all his prices are going up this week.

[inkstainedruth]

The Emerald looks particularly nice. I'm also liking the Sky Blue (maybe it's a replacement for the discontinued Sailor Sky High...).

Thanks for the review. I may have to look into these. My husband will not be thanking you, BTW....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dcwaites]

The number of inks available is now up to 31.

[malang]

I've just ordered three from him, black, fire engine red, and a cactus green. I'm really hoping I cam use them in my notebook without too much bleedthrough. Wish me luck! Otherwise I've got some boring Parker Quink in a dark blue which I've used before. You guys have reminded me I didn't get a blue so I might do that now!