Robert Oster inks, generally

[stub]

I have been intrigued by these and last year got my hands on some samples of them, but those small 2ml samples were all I could get. And living here, in the land that fountain pens forgot, all I could do was read internet reviews and sigh. I recently picked up my first 2 full bottles (expensively from overseas) but both were winners. I have tried about 10 so far but mostly samples.


The bottles
I have heard nothing but badmouthing about them. They indeed would be easy to tip, and I have heard 2 retailers say they wouldn’t carry the RO line because the bottles were boring. Here are my thoughts about that.

1. A good functional bottle is a bonus but a bad bottle isn’t going to stop me from buying the ink. I don’t love Sailor bottles and J Herbin, etc.
2. A pretty bottle is nice, but I also feel like I am paying to much for packaging.

I honestly don’t care that much about the bottle. I’ll decant. Whatever. But what I was hearing at 2 pen shops is not that they objected to the bottles but that the bottles were not sexy and would therefor not sell. I feel like the buzz on these inks is such that they would sell in nearly any bottle. Each time when I handed someone a pen already filled with RO ink, they were impressed and enthused more than when they were presented with the bottle. Something about the bottles seems to tun folks off. I find that odd.


Inks
There are some 50 or so inks so far I believe. You can’t really generalize across a whole line, but but so far the inks seem somewhat free flowing many sheen, and some sheen dramatically (Bondi Blue, School Blue, Fire and Ice, Spearmint, Emerald). He has a lot of blues with green in them. Teals, Turquoise. I love Green. I love Blue. I hate Teal. Even School Blue, which looks on line like a good medium blue, has quite bit of green in it in meatspace. So I have yet to find a Blue that pleases me despite the sheen and flow. I have to like the base color no matter what all else it does. But there are some unique colors here too. The greens seem to standout. Lemon Grass, Green Lime, Forest Green, Emerald, Jade … etc. There is a lot here and the ones I had gave me no problems, cleaned out easily and non clogged. I even threw some Midnight Sapphire in a couple vintage pens. All seemed safe, though further experience is surely needed to confirm.

Price
In the US, not bad really for 50mls.

Smell
I like traditional ink smells. No problems with phenol and Sailor inks. But some inks don’t smell great and sometimes your honker is close to the paper and you really get a noseful of ink smell. I definitely did not like the smell of some of the KWZ inks. Enough that I couldn’t finish one pen full of KWZ Blue Black and had to clean it out and then fill it with a phenol ink to try to cover up the lingering smell. So far, no problems with Oster inks.


The standout ink thus far
I know folks love the amped up MSG loaded flashy sheen monsters like Fire and Ice and Bondi Blue. For me, the ink that really made stop and go “ooh, yeah, wow” was Jade. Can’t say I have ever seen a green like that. Instant favorite. No sparkles. No flashing lights, no freaky color shifts, just a great well behaved pretty green ink, bright enough to be fun but still dark enough to be useable for real writing and appear crisp on the page.

Lost of buzz about Robert Oster inks this past year and change, yet fpgeeks is pretty quiet on the topic. What are your thoughts on RO inks, which ones do you dig?

In the last couple years ink had become was a pretty croweded field. All manner of Montblanc limiteds, Sailor of many stripes (+Kobe, Bungbox, Maruzen, etc), KWZ, Bookbinder's, Blackstone, Papier Plume, etc. but Robert Oster inks are all the rage showing up in my instagram feed a lot in the last year or so.

Thoughts?

[TropicalPenGal]

I appreciated reading your thoughts on these inks stub. At first, the bottles put me off slightly, but certainly wouldn't keep me from buying them. I was given a bottle of Denim for Christmas, but since I luuuuve good blues/turquoises/greens, I know I'm going to buy more of them. The more I look at the colors, the better they look.

Gonna go check out that Jade now....

[datainadequate]

I was going to grumble that they weren't available in the UK, but in fact http://izods.ink/ stocks them. One to investigate once I've got my current obsession with Japanese inks under control ;)

[migo984]

I was going to grumble that they weren't available in the UK, but in fact http://izods.ink/ stocks them. One to investigate once I've got my current obsession with Japanese inks under control ;)

I have a lot of Oster inks. Most are wonderful. I'm not especially keen on the reds, although the darker ones are good. Blues, greens & murky shades are really excellent, as are greys like Purple Rock & Graphite. Fire & Ice is stunning. There are a few colour swabs on FPG - I've posted some myself.

Don't buy from IZods. Very expensive, overcharge for shipping & very very limited choice from the +65 colour range. Actually cheaper to buy from EU sellers, or even from Aus, especially if you want a few bottles.

If you want to buy from UK seller I'd wait until Bureau Direct get their stocks - should be available soon.

[Rollo the Cat]

Is the Midnight Sapphire greenish as well? Looks like it might lean violet.

[Jon Szanto]

What I've used I think are great. Slamming the bottle is plain stupid. I'm asking Vanness to put aside a couple more for the LA show for me to make sure they don't sell out. I find them to be some of the best-behaved, lovely-colored, and reasonably-priced inks available today. If they had been available a few years ago, some of the other ink lines wouldn't have stood a chance.

[stub]

Is the Midnight Sapphire greenish as well? Looks like it might lean violet.

Yes, some Green. Accidental Chromatography (inside of pen case, ouch) confirms it.

[KKay]

I have one bottle, and it is a recent purchase. I bought Deep Sea. The ink is good on the paper I've tried it on. I found it looks quite lovely on Tomoe River paper though. I don't like plastic bottles for a full size bottle of ink. I think he should explore the idea of a decent glass bottle. At least you can fill from the current bottle with most pens I think.

[Jon Szanto]

I think he should explore the idea of a decent glass bottle.

Why?

[datainadequate]

Accidental Chromatography

That would make a great album name :D

[migo984]

I think he should explore the idea of a decent glass bottle.

I find the plastic bottles perfectly acceptable & very useable and can't see a reason to change them. Switching to glass would likely increase shipping costs, and consequentky ink price, considerably, both nationally & internationally.

[FredRydr]

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/visconti/visconti_vangogh_ink.jpg

I used to favor the plastic Visconti bottles for travel, and would decant various inks into them. Unfortunately, the plastic became brittle (from the contents or from age?) and the full bottles would crack with any pressure. What a mess!

Fred

:focus:

[stub]

I do get nervous trying to fill from them with some of the filling systems that require more excursion (such as vacuum fillers). I feel like i could tip the bottle over pretty easily. I see a potential product here. Solid block with a Robert Oster shaped hole in it to hold it steady.

My wife doesn't share my love of fountain pens and we have a dangerously white table and countertop.

;)

I travelled with my bottle of Jade (cling wrapped, taped and double zip locked) and had no issue. 6 flights. 2 trains. No spills.

[sgtstretch]

I have one bottle of RO ink, Torquay. Yes, the bottle isn't the most beautiful artistic piece I've ever seen, but it functions as a bottle, and in the end, that is what really matters.

I do really like the ink. It is a beautiful color, and very well behaved. I plan on picking up several more RO inks over the year.

[kevmid]

There are also other retailers in the UK coming soon like The Writing Desk. Curent resellers for different countries are listed at
https://www.robertoster.com.au/global-resellers.html

I have only tried samples so far and like migo984 am not a huge fan of the reds, a bit glary, but generally have been very impressed. Purples are very nice and new ones like Purple Soul and Kada Kada (Oz only I think) look very cool

[stonerman33]

I'm up to 5 bottles of RO on my shelf. (Tranquility, fire and ice, astorquiza rot, peppermint, and maroon 1789.) I haven't been disappointed in one yet. A bottle is just a bottle. If I can get the ink $3-5 cheaper in a plastic bottle, that's fine by me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KKay]

1. I don't like plastic bottles.
2. Plastic seems like it would degrade your ink over time. (I guess it would depend on the type used.)
3. I will reuse a glass bottle, but not a plastic one. I will give it away with a sample of ink to a friend though.
4. Doesn't plastic make your ink evaporate over time? I know it does in cartridges. In the short term maybe not. Long term, it probably does.

These are just my thoughts. You asked, and I answered.



I think he should explore the idea of a decent glass bottle.

Why?

[Jon Szanto]

These are just my thoughts. You asked, and I answered.

Indeed, and it was curiosity, not an admonishment. Plastic is not one thing, and the porosity of the various formulas varies widely, so the fact that carts evaporate - and this is over many, many years - doesn't mean the bottles will. Likewise, I don't think it would (necessarily) have any degrading effect. Of course, the "I" answers are truly personal, and everyone can have those kind of responses.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that Oster is a small operation, and the choice of bottles most likely keeps down the cost, not to mention that, except for the small-ish AU market, everything is shipped out of the country. Just for grins, I might ask him how much deliberation went into the bottle choice.

[KKay]

Yes, I understand there are many types of plastic. :) That is why I said <<< (I guess it would depend on the type used.) >>>
I do not know the kind of plastic Oster uses of course. I still would prefer glass, but that is a personal preference. I have glass ink bottles from different countries in the world. I must admit I have a deep fondness for beautiful and often heavier glass bottles. They just add to the joy of a beautiful ink, in my opinion. It didn't stop me from buying Oster's ink. I did enjoy the Deep Sea color very much. I have it in one of my pens right now.

[Jon Szanto]

Yes, I understand there are many types of plastic. :) That is why I said <<< (I guess it would depend on the type used.) >>>

Yep, yep! I know, I was going in reverse order, and mainly was thinking about the evaporation from plastic carts vs. the bottle. When I saw (and was reminded) of your first comment, I simply forgot to go back and edit.

Man, I have my fair share of glass bottles, too, and I love them. One of the things we've left out of the discussion, and this would also be contained in how a person stores their inks, is how much sunlight can weaken an ink in the bottle, and maybe this is another small plus for the darker plastics. Well, it's the fluid that counts, but just like pens, the ephemeral nature of the look and feel always plays an important role, too.

[KKay]

;) I store my ink in an old stereo cabinet with glass doors on the front. The sun never comes in far enough to reach that cabinet. Most of my ink is also kept in the box as well. If you are going to use plastic, the darker bottles are a better choice, I agree. I found the Oster bottle easy enough to draw ink from. Sadly the 30ml bottles of Diamine have a narrow opening. So some of my pens won't fit through. The ink is what matters the most of course. I am sure Deep Sea will not be my only ink from Oster. I will probably try more in the future.

[Jon Szanto]

;) I store my ink in an old stereo cabinet with glass doors on the front.

Do you have two bottles of each ink, one for the left and one for the right? http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb204/EnvoyC/emotes/drinker.gif

[sgtstretch]

I do not know the kind of plastic Oster uses of course.

I believe it is PET plastic (Polyethylene terephthalate), the same plastic as you'd find from a soda bottle.

[KKay]

How did you know? :haha:



;) I store my ink in an old stereo cabinet with glass doors on the front.

Do you have two bottles of each ink, one for the left and one for the right? http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb204/EnvoyC/emotes/drinker.gif

Thanks sgtstretch. :-)

[Woody]

Thanks for posting Stub. I plan to order some Oster ink and I won't think twice about the bottle. I decant anyway. I think in the future youll see more plastic bottles with players thinking about transport costs and not the glass bottles. Noodlers used plastic for a short time, Blackstone from Australia are using plastic. Glass bottles are available if one wants to use them. Empty Iroshizuku bottles are available for a nominal fee, I've got a couple of those that I use, and there's always Diamine bottles for a dime a dozen. From a movie somewhere, "plastics are the future".

[stub]

I have really disliked a lot of the teal leaning blues (like half his line up, Fire & lice, School Blue, Denim, Lake o' Fire) He really can't seem to manage (or doesn't want) to make a medium blue that has no green in it. Holy lord does he like teal. Literally half the inks I got in my 14 pack that were "blue" are really dry teals. Bone Dry, Tons of shading and sheen but I hate teal. H A T E. I thnk he is up to 92771910028189 inks now. 92771910028181 of them are Teals. </hyperbole> Also this is down to taste so not a slam on some fine inks that I also notice, clean out pretty darned easily.


But the Greens .... oh the greens... Jade is a huge winner for me color-wise. A bit dry on the nib but a great color and I also have been really taken with the Verde De Rio, which is fantastic.

Blue Night has also been a winner for me a nice useful conservative work appropriate ink with a little bit of a pastel-y vibe like Kyonooto Aonibi. But a good one.

I actually still have inks I haven't gotten to yet. A couple funky ones like Grün-Schwarz which looks a little like green tinted motor oil.

Blue-black was a disappointment. It is really just purple. But RO joins a long list of ink makers who can't get Blue-black right. (Platinum's is blue, Diamine is teal, etc.)

[stub]

But please Bobby Oyster. SLOW DOWN. 18 new inks a week is too much.

[stub]

Oh and Caffe Crema is great too. Really does give off a coffee & milk vibe, a kind of creamy sepia. But the edges get dark, almost black. A really rich and complex brown.

[AzJon]

These are just my thoughts. You asked, and I answered.

Indeed, and it was curiosity, not an admonishment. Plastic is not one thing, and the porosity of the various formulas varies widely, so the fact that carts evaporate - and this is over many, many years - doesn't mean the bottles will. Likewise, I don't think it would (necessarily) have any degrading effect. Of course, the "I" answers are truly personal, and everyone can have those kind of responses.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that Oster is a small operation, and the choice of bottles most likely keeps down the cost, not to mention that, except for the small-ish AU market, everything is shipped out of the country. Just for grins, I might ask him how much deliberation went into the bottle choice.

Two things. First, I now use glass bottles for a number of concoctions that are intended for medicinal use. My patients feel better about it and I don't mind the added cost. That said, I don't have to ship the little bastards, either.

Second thing: I used to work in a warehouse that moved lots of glass bottles (wine and beer bottles, as well as glass carboys) and they are an absolute pain in the butt. Fragile and heavy, they require extra care while packing and more insurance when shipping. We had at least one shattered carboy or handful of bottles a month. Nevermind filling them with liquid and handing them off to UPS/USPS/FedEx/DHL. To top all that off: the glass bottles themselves aren't cheap. Well, the glass is inexpensive, but the price of lids can add up fast.

The glass will be chemically more stable, I suppose, but there is a good chance those chemicals came to the manufacturer (Robert Oster, in this case) in plastic containers, so.

[VertOlive]

I see some ink names here I hadn't heard of yet, and now have to try. So far I love the Eucalyptus Leaf and the Bronze, and my samples of Purple Soul and Blue Night.

I do prefer glass bottles for aesthetic reasons and don't mind the extra cost.

[KKay]

I don't mind the cost either. Drop the cost if they want to use plastic. I have two Noodler's bottles that are plastic, and I absolutely HATE the bottles. They are a good size, and they have a wide mouth. But they are cheap looking. I am keeping all of my glass bottles. If they go to plastic, I will pour the new plastic bottles into glass ones. I have poured two Diamine 30ml bottles into a glass bottle. You can peel the sticker off of them, and it will stick to your glass bottle. The Noodler's stickers are paper, and if it peels wrong you've lost it. The artwork is part of the appeal for me. I think having a signature glass bottle is fantastic, especially if they make it easy to draw from.

[jmccarty3]

No one has mentioned the oranges. I like Orange Zest.

[jodylud]

I really like Robert Oster's "Ng Special 2016". It's shading is very close to Noodler's "Apache Sunset", only much better behaved.