(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
I’ve reviewed several Robert Oster inks (Torquay, Tranquility, Astorquiza Rot, and Claret and Verde de Rio), but I’ve been looking forward to this review for a while. The first time I saw a swatch of Fire and Ice, I knew I must have it. Usually I order a sample first, but, nope. I ordered an entire bottle. This ink has two characteristics I love: it’s blue and it has amazing red sheen, thus the name “Fire and Ice.”
I loaded it up in my Visconti London Fog with a fine palladium nib. This nib has a little bit of flex to it, so I figured I would see some shading and sheen. I was correct. When I did my usual ink tests on Maruman paper, I noticed sheen in the writing and wherever the ink pooled. The ink is wet, as you can see from the dry times test. It is also not waterproof. It’s a gorgeous turquoise-ish blue with distinct red sheen.
The sheen shows up best in the ink splats, of course. Just look at that delicious color!
My Pilot Parallel 2.4mm really shows off the shading and sheen.
The chromatography test revealed pink, green and blue in the ink.
Fire and Ice is a spectacular color. You can see the fire (red) even with a fine nib.
I prefer this ink to J. Herbin’s Emerald of Chivor (review here), which is also a blue-teal with red sheen, plus sparkles. They are both beautiful inks, but, honestly, I don’t like sparkly ink anymore. It’s too high maintenance, and I don’t like having to constantly shake the pen to get the gold sparkles to appear.
Robert Oster Fire and Ice top; J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor bottom.
You can buy Fire and Ice at Vanness Pens for $16.00 for 50ml.
(I purchased Robert Oster Fire and Ice ink with my own funds.)
