Ink Review #107: Robert Oster Frankly Blue

Robert Oster Frankly Blue was made for Federalist Pens. (I have noticed that other retailers have recently started carrying this ink as well). This ink was to celebrate the first anniversary of Robert Oster inks being sold in the United States, since Federalist Pens was the first US Retailer to sell the ink. It debuted at the DC Pen Show in 2017. 

I appreciate that Robert Oster creates inks for retailers that have been supportive of his work, such as Federalist Pens, Vanness Pens, etc. He also creates exclusive inks to go with new companies or products, such as the Serendipity Pen, the Hippo Noto notebook, and the Darkstar Collection.

The color...

Frankly Blue is a medium blue with sheen.

Robert Oster does sheeny blues really well, but there are a lot of them. 

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Medium shading, medium sheen

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for RSS): Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue, Robert Oster Frankly Blue, and Robert Oster Lake of Fire. Soda Pop is more of a straight blue, while Frankly Blue has just a little bit of green in it. Lake of Fire is darker than Frankly Blue, but also seems to be just a bit more true blue. To see the Robert Oster ink swabs together, click here.

Diamine Asa Blue, Blackstone Sydney Harbour Blue, and Papier Plume Calle Real. I think Sydney Harbour Blue is probably the closest, but it looks like it has more sheen than Frankly Blue does. To see the blue inks together, click here. 

Longer writing:

I started off with a Pilot 912 FA and then switched to a Twilight Vanishing Point, broad nib. The ink flowed really well in the broad, but there was a little bit of railroading in the flex nib. 

Overall, this is another well behaved Robert Oster blue. Take a look at the page of Robert Oster ink swabs to see the Robert Oster blue inks together. There are small differences between them. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Robert Oster blues.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.