Robert Oster Ink safety (Thunderstorm)

[williamthewolf]

Hi FPN, 

 

I've messaged a couple very informed members here on the forum about safe inks to use with minimal long term issues in pens. I've gotten some great advice so far. I'd like to cast a wider net after searching the forum for a couple days regarding the safety of long term use with Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink. It's the blue black color I'd been in search of for a while and it's working very well so far in a modern Pelikan M800. 

 

Digging through threads in search of this answer, I came across references to PH, acidity, alkaline and I'm a little lost.

 

Has anyone had any issues with the RO inks in general and more specific to Thunderstorm? 

 

Forgive me if I'm being a little paranoid about what seems like a great ink so far. I've typically stuck to the tried and true inks like Aurora black or Diamine Blue-Black for a long time and have just now dipped my toes in more boutique inks with the RO. 

 

Thanks so much for your time and I apologize if this post is in the wrong section. If so, please move to the correct sub-forum. 

[dachin]

Richard Binder has a good writeup here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/care/inks.htm

Low pH means acidic - any exposed metal that isn't stainless steel (high chromium) or gold will have corrosion issues. This is rust.

High pH means basic - vintage plastics and rubber parts such as pen sacs may have problems. Think how gangster movies the bad guys pour caustic soda/lye onto bodies as they bury them to dissolve biological remains. Meat tenderizer is basic - baking soda breaks down protein - think how a strong base can eat away organic materials such as rubber.

 

Your modern Pelikan is composed of modern synthetic materials with modern stainless/gold trim which results in a pen quite resistant to a wide range of pH. Please be aware that pens made of other materials may not are not as resistant to chemical exposure.

 

Boutique / specialty inks are often very saturated with dye and often contain surfactants (like soap) to help improve flow. The likeliest risk you will likely face is staining from your presumably awesome colored ink. The second most likely risk is accidentally mixing inks that are incompatible in your pen which may cause a range of problems. When changing between high maintenance inks, the advice is to do a good flush.

 

I for one have never had mold problems, but some users here have faced this challenge. Boutique brands might have less biocide in the ink so keep this in mind regarding ink hygene.

 

Good luck

[williamthewolf]

24 minutes ago, dachin said:

Richard Binder has a good writeup here: http://www.richardspens.com/ref/care/inks.htm

Low pH means acidic - any exposed metal that isn't stainless steel (high chromium) or gold will have corrosion issues. This is rust.

High pH means basic - vintage plastics and rubber parts such as pen sacs may have problems. Think how gangster movies the bad guys pour caustic soda/lye onto bodies as they bury them to dissolve biological remains. Meat tenderizer is basic - baking soda breaks down protein - think how a strong base can eat away organic materials such as rubber.

 

Your modern Pelikan is composed of modern synthetic materials with modern stainless/gold trim which results in a pen quite resistant to a wide range of pH. Please be aware that pens made of other materials may not are not as resistant to chemical exposure.

 

Boutique / specialty inks are often very saturated with dye and often contain surfactants (like soap) to help improve flow. The likeliest risk you will likely face is staining from your presumably awesome colored ink. The second most likely risk is accidentally mixing inks that are incompatible in your pen which may cause a range of problems. When changing between high maintenance inks, the advice is to do a good flush.

 

I for one have never had mold problems, but some users here have faced this challenge. Boutique brands might have less biocide in the ink so keep this in mind regarding ink hygene.

 

Good luck

Thanks so much for the reply. All this has me rethinking my choice here, especially now with the potential staining. Once the doubt sets in, hard to get past it. I guess back to Aurora black or blue black it is! 

[InesF]

Hi @williamthewolf.

I'm using three different Robert Oster inks, none of them caused any problem. The most recent acquisition was Thunder Sky (a more pale and dual colour shading variant) which has extremely low surface tension and runs a bit wet with a high tendency to feather.

No problem with staining or clogging or corrosion or anything else to be expected with a Pelikan M800. Especially Robert Oster seems to know very well what to do and what not to do when creating an ink.

Stop the fear, start the joy!  

[williamthewolf]

5 minutes ago, InesF said:

Hi @williamthewolf.

I'm using three different Robert Oster inks, none of them caused any problem. The most recent acquisition was Thunder Sky (a more pale and dual colour shading variant) which has extremely low surface tension and runs a bit wet with a high tendency to feather.

No problem with staining or clogging or corrosion or anything else to be expected with a Pelikan M800. Especially Robert Oster seems to know very well what to do and what not to do when creating an ink.

Stop the fear, start the joy!  

I appreciate the reply. In my search for info, nothing came up about RO being problematic I guess because nothing bad to report! It's an awfully nice ink and performs really well. 

[BigJess]

I've been using RO Thunderstorm for several years, and have had it in pens for weeks/months at a time.

 

I can't speak to the pH but I can say I've never had any trouble with the ink in any of the pens I've used it in.

[ErrantSmudge]

I've had Robert Oster Thunderstorm in my Lamy 2000 for over a year now with absolutely no issues whatsoever.  I've never had any troubles with RO inks.

[williamthewolf]

2 hours ago, BigJess said:

I've been using RO Thunderstorm for several years, and have had it in pens for weeks/months at a time.

 

I can't speak to the pH but I can say I've never had any trouble with the ink in any of the pens I've used it in.

This is great news to hear. It's my favorite ink so I'll keep using it! 

 

1 hour ago, ErrantSmudge said:

I've had Robert Oster Thunderstorm in my Lamy 2000 for over a year now with absolutely no issues whatsoever.  I've never had any troubles with RO inks.

Thank you for the reply! Now I can start looking at other RO inks as well. All my worries have been put to rest!

[mhphoto]

No issues for me with any RO inks. In fact, in my 100+ bottle ink collection I’ve only experienced nasty stuff growing in three. 
 

All three were Organics Studio, and they refused to compensate me. 

[inkstainedruth]

That's a bummer, mhphoto.  I'd tried a few of the OS inks in the past and was mostly underwhelmed by them.  But didn't have SITB issues with them.  The ONLY ink I ever had trouble with was a bottle of vintage Sanford Pen-it Blue Black (probably an IG ink) which destroyed the sac in a Pilot Con-B converter.... 

Oh and I LOVE your sig. file image!  That just made me laugh when I saw it.  Just like a button I saw on eBay yesterday did: it was the image of the penny farthing cycle image from The Prisoner, but instead of having a number it had the image of the muted horn from The Crying of Lot 49 and I sent the seller a message saying how amused I was by it (I read that book when I think I was in high school, maybe even middle school) and said "We Await Silent Tristero's Empire!"  And the seller sent back mail saying the idea of #6 trying to undermine the postal system in The Village amused HIM....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth