Pen and Ink Highlight: Rob's Penworks Autumn Leaves and Robert Oster African Gold

Now that autumn is officially here in the northern hemisphere, I inked up my Autumn Leaves pen from Rob's Penworks. 🍁 I did an ink sample swap recently, in which one of the samples was Robert Oster's African Gold, a rich golden yellow-brown ink, so appropriate for fall.

When I first saw this pen on Instagram, I knew I had to have it. This was my first custom pen commission, which was a cool experience. Rob Sanchez (Meet Your Maker post on The Pen Addict, Instagram) was great to work with and communicated each step of the way. He has lots of other pen designs to choose from; I'm eyeing the wintry snowflake design as my possible next future purchase. ❄️ His IG profile mentions that his commissions are all booked up through 2026, but if you're interested in a custom pen, definitely reach out to him there. He's also previously attended pen shows like the SF Pen Show, so keep an eye out for his next outing.

As for the ink, Robert Oster African Gold is a rich, warm golden yellow-brown. It reminds me of the golden yellow that gingko leaves turn, but with more brown, perhaps later in the gingko leaves' life cycle, as they drift off the branches.

Another ink sample I got in the same batch was Diamine Golden Brown, which is very similar to African Gold, as far as the swatches go.

In the writing sample, especially the squiggle under the label, African Gold has more golden yellow tones than Golden Brown.

Another very close ink I have in my library is KWZ Honey.

I think Honey looks closer to African Gold, thanks to its stronger yellow undertones.

Some other similar inks:

Three Kings and Ambre de Baltique don't have as much brown, while Cinnabun leans a little bit more brown (and feathers like crazy). Salted Caramel also leans more brown (though a little less saturated), and has some golden shimmer, if that's your thing.

I chose a F Bock nib for the Autumn Leaves pen, but as you can see in the writing sample below, it is more of a Western F that I would call more of a M compared to Japanese nibs. But I wanted to see African gold's shading, so I am okay with this broader F line.

I love the color and shading of this ink. Even though it doesn't quite match the Autumn Leaves pen body color (not enough red), I'm quite happy with this as one of my fall ink colors.

If you have a fall ink palette, what inks are you currently using and recommend? I really shouldn't acquire any more inks, but I can't help it. 😅

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