Robert Oster Summer Storm

[visvamitra]

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many.

Sample of Summer Storm was sent to me by Akszugor. I think that the ink name is great, color not so much. The ink lacks saturation and lubrication. It's not really pleasant to use. I'm rather disappointed with this one.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Color range

Oxford Optic, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Rhodia, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Water resistance

[namrehsnoom]

Looks a bit pale, but I kinda like the way it looks on the yellow paper. I've got a sample of it, and will try it myself in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for showing.

[Ghost Plane]

Ugh. Poor performance takes it off my interest as much as the lack of color.

[lgsoltek]

I've come to expect dry and no lubrication from RO inks...

[dannystr78]

I've come to expect dry and no lubrication from RO inks...

Agree. And I'm not a huge fan of their colors either, but that's just me.

[ENewton]

I've come to expect dry and no lubrication from RO inks...

 

I had this experience with Barossa Grape, which I thought might be a wetter alternative to Scabiosa but which is actually drier.

 

However, I have not found Purple Rock to be dry. Wasn't there a thread in which somebody listed various Robert Oster inks with a scale indicating the relative dryness or wetness of each?

 

Summer Storm does look quite pale, but there was another review in which someone had painted with it. Barossa Grape also looks very nice when applied with a brush.

[lgsoltek]

 

I had this experience with Barossa Grape, which I thought might be a wetter alternative to Scabiosa but which is actually drier.

 

However, I have not found Purple Rock to be dry. Wasn't there a thread in which somebody listed various Robert Oster inks with a scale indicating the relative dryness or wetness of each?

 

Summer Storm does look quite pale, but there was another review in which someone had painted with it. Barossa Grape also looks very nice when applied with a brush.

 

Oh is there? I didn't know that!

[ENewton]

 

Oh is there? I didn't know that!

 

See the second post in this thread.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/311788-how-wet-are-robert-oster-inks/

[lgsoltek]

 

See the second post in this thread.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/311788-how-wet-are-robert-oster-inks/

 

Thanks! That's really helpful (and thanks to Vis too of course!)

[crahptacular]

Interesting! I have a sample of this ink that I've swabbed but haven't done much writing with, and it appears to be a completely different color. Mine is more of a purple-grey, rather than a pale blue. Similar to Kyo-Iro Soft Snow of Ohara if heavily diluted. The other ink properties sound similar (low saturation, relatively dry), but the hue itself doesn't seem to match. Perhaps it's just my eyes or my monitor. I've attached a picture of my swatch card and some writing with a glass pen for comparison, because I don't have it inked up in a real pen at the moment.

 

 

I wonder if my sample is mislabeled. I recall reading other reviews that all identified the ink as a blue or blue-grey, so it seems possible that my sample is not the correct ink, or that I am gradually going color-blind.

[visvamitra]

The one you have ressembles me Purple Rock - another of his colors.

[ENewton]

The one you have ressembles me Purple Rock - another of his colors.

 

But Purple Rock is more saturated, I think. Could this be Barossa Grape? My sample is a pale, purple-gray on Tomoe River.

[DrDebG]

Thank you for the great review, Vis! I agree, I don't care for the color. It is kind of lifeless.

 

Is it my imagination, or is there a lack of consistency in the Robert Oster line of inks? Both in terms of color and formulation?

[visvamitra]

I don't know them well enough to say, but they do lack lubrication.

[visvamitra]

Here are my Rober Oster purplish samples and Summer Storm:

 

[DrDebG]

I just inked up my Lamy Studio with Purple Jazz, and my Montblanc 144 with Australian Opal Mauve. I have to say that I am underwhelmed with the purple/pink inks from Robert Oster. I do like the colors of Peppermint, River of Ice, Fire and Ice, and a few others. But you are correct, they have little lubrication.

[crahptacular]

Hmm, thanks for the comparison shot. My sample definitely looks more like Purple Rock based on its hue. I think in general, the more vibrant and saturated RO inks have also had better flow/lubrication, although I've only tried a small number of RO inks.

[Carrau]

Thanks for the review, Vis. I tried it anyway, and in every pen I’ve used it in, it was dry, and unpleasant to write with, and really even less color than in your samples. I have one or two more pens to try, but I think your assessment is spot on.

[Tas]

I would like to come to this ink's defence

I really like it.

It's my first RO ink and I'm intrigued by its "changeling" abilities. Sometimes pinky purply grey, sometimes a dusty blue and partly because of that I've really enjoyed using it.

It has been in my Faber Castell Ondoro EF since early October and I've no intention of swapping it out.

 

It's a very "pretty" ink. I can almost imagine it coming out of a Japanese bottle and being called Mount Fuji Rain or something . . .

I missed your review first time round. Apologies visvamitra.

[IndigoBOB]

The color is beautiful, but I agree that it does look like it needs a lot more saturation, at least for me.

 

I definitely wouldn't mind finding an ink with a comparable color, but much more saturation.