Robert Oster Signature Inks - Part 2

[Cyber6]

Robert Oster Signature Inks - Quick review of 7 lovely inks

 

You can find Part 1 here.
You can find Part 3 here.
You can find Part 4 here.

 

 

 

So I am back with some more Robert Oster Signature Inks !!!..

 

Yeah, Yeah.. I can’t seem to get enough of his inks… Those lucky Ozzies.. between Robert Oster and BlackStone… why would you buy anything else….

 

If this is the first time you are reading about Robert Oster Signature Inks, he is a lovely Australian gentleman and produces high quality Fountain Pen Ink. You can find it in eBay-AU: http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/osteralia

 

For international orders, please use his email: Signature@RobertOster.com

 

 

Ok so… this time I got:

 

• Blue Black
• School Blue
• Moss
• Copper
• Orange
• Claret

Yeah, I totally forgot about Barossa Grape… but that one is currently on its way…

 

 

Without further delay:

 

BLACK nRED

 

These inks flowed quite well on this paper… They get along quite well… no bleed thru, no show thru and no feathering whatsoever.. I use a wet flex broad, my pen dumps a bunch of ink and the behavior was flawless.

 

Blue Black: This is a GORGEOUS Blue Black… Goes down wet and shiny and dries with a high saturation.. Lovely color

 

School Blue: I like blues… I am NOT crazy about blues as most people seemed to be. I do LOVE dark blues. But Blues in general are just “Fine” by me. School Blue, is a “regular” blue that looks AMAZING on paper. The shading is quite dramatic.. and I don’t think it shows too well because of my wet pen. If you maximize the pic, you will see it goes from very light turquoise to a very dark blue (almost Blue Black). Really amazing looking color. And don’t forget the sheen. Robert Oster must have a very sheeny blue dye. All his blues sheen wonderfully.

 

 

 

Moss Green: If you know anything about me, you know I like my greens very much. Especially the darker, mossy type… (the murkier the better). Moss green is not murky, but is a lovely “moss” green… lol. The name is quite right. I do love it. I also love that it does shift the hue depending on paper. It looks more olive on cram paper (Muji paper below)

 

Copper: Now, this is a very interesting color. I think this is what people call “Puce”… Is brownish/pinkish.. very hard to describe. I do like it. It flows well and unless my eyes need adjusting (which I believe they do by the way.. I got my first pair of reading glasses three weeks ago) it seems to leave a “border” on each stroke. Not really sheen, but a darker border. I find this color very vintage looking and handsome. Not sure if copper is the correct name thou.

 

 

 

Orange: NOW.. this IS ORANGE !!!... I think sometimes we think what orange is, and then this one comes an SMACK you in the face and says..” HEY .. I am the real ORANGE”.. Lol.. Honestly, I love my oranges, and this is a beautiful orange.. BRIGHT, but not NEON.. (which I dislike).

 

Royal Red: This is a nice “subdue” red. I wish it was darker. Beside the Fire Engine Red it looks orangey. Robert.. if you are reading, we need a dark-blood-type red.

 

 

 

Claret: OH WOW!!.. This goes down almost BLACK!!.. and dries to a WONDERFUL purplish /mauve color.. but is quite intriguing.. You need to see when is drying, it seems to change to grey/plum/purple/mauve.. Is almost like a chameleon… Amazing looking ink.

 

 

 

RHODIA DOT PAD

No bleed thru, no show thru and no feathering

 

 

 

TOMOE RIVER

No bleed thru, no show thru and no feathering

 

 

 

MUJI Notebook

No bleed thru, no show thru and no feathering. Please note, not all MUJI paper is fountain pen friendly. This one is the “black cover” notebook. They do quite well with ink, wet pens and they do show sheen.

 

 

 

 

All the inks flowed well, and they seem quite wet. I am sure some are wetter than others, but in general.. they are on the wet side.

 

 

 

While writing this, I went to his eBay site to grab the link, I just found out some newly release inks.. Blue Sea, Viola and Direct Sun !!!.. Should I go for more?... Is my birthday coming up?.. Well, yes.. in 2017.. LOL.. http://i.myniceprofile.com/478/47831.gif

 

I guess is time to make a Toronto Posse Group Buy !!.

 

 

 

C.

Edited March 2, 2017 by TheGreatRoe

[visvamitra]

Orange, Moss Green and Claret look promissing

[migo984]

I have Blue Sea and it's fabulous. It's up there with the fabled Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue for super-sheen. Feels like baby oil on the page it's so sleek :-) That ink, with Deep Sea, are stand-out colours & right up my street.

 

Cyber6, I think that your use of very wet, broad nibs generally flatters the inks. In my 'standard' writing medium nibs some Oster inks look very different to your pics. For example, Royal Red is sadly a bit weak, and the unsaturated Copper ink is very pale, almost pink, & writes quite dry. It could be a great ink - just needs more 'punch'.

 

Edited to add:

I forgot to mention that everyone should buy a few Oster inks. The range is pretty comprehensive, and getting bigger by the day (Viola looks intriguing), and Rob is just the loveliest guy. A true gentleman.

Edited June 15, 2016 by migo984

[Cyber6]

Hi Migo.. Yes, I believe that using broad wet pens will generally flatters any ink. The way I see it, using fine and drier medium nibs is like having a handicap.

 

 

But those are the pens I use. I can't stand dry ink writing, or scratchy fine nibs. But because of my choice of nibs, I need to be careful with my choice of paper.

 

In any case, I do agree with you... wrt Royal Red, is not a very saturated red. I think I will play with that red and make it darker ..

 

 

 

C.

[visvamitra]

The way I see it, using fine and drier medium nibs is like having a handicap.

 

I couldn't agree more. C - I'll quote you

[dcwaites]

 

 

Royal Red: This is a nice “subdue” red. I wish it was darker. Beside the Fire Engine Red it looks orangey. Robert.. if you are reading, we need Claudia needs a dark-blood-type red.

 

There, fixed that for you...

 

I use School Blue and Bondi Blue regularly now, in a pair of Jinhao 601s. I find that the School Blue is a bit wetter than the BB.

 

And now he has New INKS???

I turn away for a moment and he comes up with new inks. Is there no stopping the man?

[migo984]

Hi Migo.. Yes, I believe that using broad wet pens will generally flatters any ink. The way I see it, using fine and drier medium nibs is like having a handicap.

 

 

But those are the pens I use. I can't stand dry ink writing, or scratchy fine nibs. But because of my choice of nibs, I need to be careful with my choice of paper.

 

In any case, I do agree with you... wrt Royal Red, is not a very saturated red. I think I will play with that red and make it darker ..

 

 

 

C.

I was by no means criticising your choice of pen/nib. My choice is equally valid, no? :-| But on that point, I really dislike fat nibs. Writing from fine nibs is elegant and refined and look a lot less like someone's used a crayon ;-)

 

Anyway, my point was that someone reading your post and looking for an ink recommendation, may not be aware of your preference, as you didn't say. And that those pens and nibs can distort the result. Copper is one of the examples I gave because it would take a very wet nib to get anywhere near your writing example. It's a dry-feeling, watery ink & it didn't even look good from one of my partner's broad stub pens, that is by no means a dry writer.

 

A good ink should write well in nearly any gauge of nib. I have plenty that shade, sheen and are generously saturated, even from a Japanese EF. A few Osters don't write at all well in such pens, which to me is the handicap.

 

As you say, paper is a whole other issue. My current favourite is Graphilo and being from Japan is great with finer nibs. Oster Copper, Burgundy and the reds are some of just a very few inks that don't work well on it.

[Cyber6]

I was by no means criticising your choice of pen/nib. My choice is equally valid, no? :-| But on that point, I really dislike fat nibs. Writing from fine nibs is elegant and refined and look a lot less like someone's used a crayon ;-)

 

 

Are you calling me fat!! :bawl: ...

 

 

Lol.. just joking.. I never took your comment as a criticism.. Your choice is quite valid too. Thank goodness we all different and like different things. I will expect that anyone reading ANY reviews, will take the time to look at several reviews before deciding to purchase an ink.

 

 

 

C.

[penultress]

I love all these colors and probably because you do use those broad nibs! The orange and claret are jumping out at me. I'm going to order some more!

[dcwaites]

Looking at his eBay offerings, I noticed a number of familiar-looking swatches and other samples.

 

Anyway, I extracted the list of inks in the eBay listing, sorted them, et voila -

 

01 Aqua

02 Australian Sky Blue

03 Barossa Grape

04 Black

05 Blue Black

06 Blue Denim

07 Blue Night

08 Bondi Blue

09 Burgundy

10 Chocolate

11 Claret

12 Copper Brown

13 Dark Chocolate

14 Direct Sun

15 Emerald Green

16 Fire Engine Red

17 Graphite

18 Green Green

19 Green Lime

20 Green Olive

21 Jade

22 Khakhi

23 Light Green

24 Marine

25 Orange

26 Peach

27 Purple Rock.

28 Red Orange

29 Royal Red

30 Ruby Red

31 Spearmint

32 Turquoise

33 Viola

34 Yellow Sunrise

35 Yellow Sunset

Not on that list are --

36 Pinky Ink

37 Blue Sea

Any others I have missed???

[Cyber6]

Yellow Sunrise and Yellow Sunset??.. Where is the Sunrise??

 

I see Blue Sea and Pinky Ink on his eBay page.

 

 

C.

[dcwaites]

Yellow Sunrise and Yellow Sunset??.. Where is the Sunrise??

 

I see Blue Sea and Pinky Ink on his eBay page.

 

 

C.

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fountain-Pen-Ink-Bottle-50ml-YELLOW-SUNSET-INK-/262471008418?hash=item3d1c7dc0a2:g:yMEAAOSwjMJXCCm~

 

Can't see the sunrise yet

 

Maybe he's putting them up as we watch...

You are going to ebay.com.au???

[Cyber6]

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fountain-Pen-Ink-Bottle-50ml-YELLOW-SUNSET-INK-/262471008418?hash=item3d1c7dc0a2:g:yMEAAOSwjMJXCCm~

 

Can't see the sunrise yet

 

Maybe he's putting them up as we watch...

You are going to ebay.com.au???

 

I ask for Sunrise...

 

And yes.. I do check the ozzy site.

 

 

C.

[dcwaites]

 

I ask for Sunrise...

 

And yes.. I do check the ozzy site.

 

 

C.

 

Actually, I see the sunrise as I travel to work in my nice, warm comfy train, with a 350kg Samoan squishing me into a quarter of my side of the seat...

[Tas]

Oooo . . .

Stirling work as usual Cyber6.

 

(Adore your writing style)

[mariom]

Is it just me, or does the School Blue have a more than passing resemblance to PPS?

[Cyber6]

Is it just me, or does the School Blue have a more than passing resemblance to PPS?

 

I should let David answer this.. he is the PPS expert...

 

Honestly... I find that most bright blues (with not purple tones) have a strong resemblance to PPS... So, Yes.. I will say you are right.

 

I can find and post my swatches of PPS vs School Blue if you want..

 

 

C.

[mariom]

 

I should let David answer this.. he is the PPS expert...

 

Honestly... I find that most bright blues (with not purple tones) have a strong resemblance to PPS... So, Yes.. I will say you are right.

 

I can find and post my swatches of PPS vs School Blue if you want..

 

 

C.

Thanks, that would be great if it's not too much trouble.

[Cyber6]

Thanks, that would be great if it's not too much trouble.

 

 

Looks like PPS is brighter... Forgot what a nice color is..

 

School Blue has incredible shading thou.. and honestly... with the right paper, they could be almost indistinguishable... (Unless you are DavidW.. )

 

 

 

 

C.

[dcwaites]

 

 

Looks like PPS is brighter... Forgot what a nice color is..

 

School Blue has incredible shading thou.. and honestly... with the right paper, they could be almost indistinguishable... (Unless you are DavidW.. )

 

 

 

 

C.

 

PPS is a brighter, more pure blue, as you can see above. School Blue is more of a mild Blue-Black.

It can, though, depend on the pen, paper, angle of the sun, whether you've forgotten to take your sunnies off when you came inside, etc, etc.

At one stage I thought that Visconti Blue was a clone of PPS, so I wouldn't trust my word on anything.