Robert Oster Thunderstorm Ink is a fairly new ink color released in 2018 by the Robert Oster Ink Company. Each Robert Oster ink color originates from Australia’s vast and diverse world of color that this amazing continent produces. Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink has come out at the perfect time of year as Pen Chalet, located in the great state of Arizona, is in the midst of its own annual monsoon season/ These storms produce amazing dust storms and violent but quick lightning and thunderstorms, just like Australia. A typical thunderstorm turns the sky a deep dark blue-black color, with streaks of lightning brightening the horizon in a flash for a fraction of a second. Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is similar color to a typical thunderstorm on the horizon with it’s very dark blue-black color. The ink also shades to a flash of a brighter color as well.
Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is darker than most blue-black colors we have reviewed such as Lamy blue-black, Kaweco blue-black and Platinum blue-black. Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is as dark as Aurora blue-black ink, but has more of a grey tint color. Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink, with its dark color and great characteristics discussed below may just become your everyday blue-black color for use at home or in the office.
Continuing reading for a chance to win the bottle of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink we used for this review.
Robert Oster Thunderstorm Ink Review
During our review of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink we found the following traits, which you may find helpful when choosing your next ink color:
Testing Factors
We used a French manufactured J. Herbin glass dip pen on Rhodia dot pad paper for our review of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink. The glass dip pen has a tip that is similar to a fine fountain pen nib.
Bottle Sizes
Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink comes in a standard 50 ml. environmentally friendly plastic bottle. Each bottle has a Robert Oster Signature ink label on the side with a second white label on the lid with the printed name of the ink color and a small color swab using the actual ink. The lid is an easy to open ribbed lid, which although small is large enough for any sized fountain pen nib.
Cost
Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is imported directly from Australia and retails for $17.00. Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is therefore a mid priced ink option and a reasonable value as it is being imported from the land down under.
Dry Time
Surprisingly, we found a super quick dry time of 3-4 seconds during our review of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink. Obviously, the paper and pen used in addition to your writing style may produce different results.
Bleed Through
We found no bleeding during our review of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink. However, due to its dark color, we did notice some slight color show through, but no actual ink bleeding using Rhodia paper.
Feathering
Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink showed no feathering during normal use with the glass dip pen on Rhodia paper. During our water test, at the wettest portions of the test, water did cause the top lines of the test to distort and feather.
Water Test
Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink is not waterproof. However it held up reasonably well except for the wettest portions of the test. There was significant color smearing, which is to be expected with a dark colored non-waterproof ink, but the lines remained quite legible for the majority of the water test.
Shading
We found that Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink will produce some shading with the right pen and penmanship. The majority of the lines show up very dark, but then a slight lighter blue ink variation will show up periodically, which makes for a very nice contrast.
Conclusion about the Robert Oster Thunderstorm Ink
Robert Oster Thunderstorm is a great blue-black ink. It dries super fast, making it a perfect everyday ink for use at home or in the office. It is probably darker than other blue-black inks you may have tried, closer to black than blue. It can shade with the right touch making the lighter streaks of blue come through in the pen stroke. Robert Oster Signature inks in general are very user friendly, they flow well and clean easily and are reasonably priced. The array of ink colors produced by Robert Oster continues to boggle the mind, as each one is unique and interesting to use. Happy writing from Australia!
Enter to Win
Enter to win the actual bottle of Robert Oster Thunderstorm ink that we used in this ink review:
