(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
There are many Robert Oster inks that pay homage to a city or location, but Atlas Stationers have an exclusive ink that is named after a cold weather event in early 2019 that set a lot of temperature records in the area. The cold wave, which originated from the polar vortex further north, caused temperatures in the Chicago area to dip to −23 °F (−31 °C), with a windchill of −52 °F (−47 °C). There's nothing like crazy weather that bands together a community!
Dubbed Polar Vortex, this gray ink with blue and purple tones is offered exclusively by Atlas Stationers and made by Robert Oster. As Atlas describe on the product page, the ink color matches the winter sky. I'm just glad I'm enjoying it from the comfort of my heated home instead of the frigid conditions that it borrows its name from.
Polar Vortex is definitely a gray ink, but there's a delightful amount of purple and blue hues that come through in different light and depending on the amount of ink on the page. Heavy/thick strokes are undeniably dark gray, but there's plenty of medium-gray and gray-purple in the shaded areas. One of the things I enjoy most about Robert Oster inks is the amount of shading, and this one is no slouch. The cold gray tone is definitely a perfect fit for these short winter months.
Despite being a dark ink, there isn't any significant show-through on the back side of Rhodia paper with a wet medium cursive italic nib. On thinner paper, this might be a bit of an issue, but (for my tastes at least) still totally possible to use both sides of the page. The ink also lays down a crisp, sharp line. I haven't noticed any feathering or bleeding. In terms of performance, it behaves just as I expect a Robert Oster ink to behave (meaning, it behaves very well).
Dry time leaves a little to be desired, but it's not terrible. The ink dries in as little as 20 seconds and up to 45 seconds depending on the speed of the stroke and how wide or wet the nib is. I wouldn't recommend this ink for any left-handed writers.
At $18 for a 50ml bottle, the price is similar to what you'll find for any bottle of Robert Oster ink. It's great ink, and the price fits the quality. It's a beautiful gray ink with subtle purple and blue tones, and also a reminder of a rare weather event for the upper mid-west! If it looks interesting to you, you won't be disappointed in how this ink works in your pen or in how it looks on the page.
(Brad bought this ink at a discount from Atlas Stationers during the 2023 Fountain Pen Day event.)
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