Greetings! To my surprise, I have come upon a brand new Expert II at a price I can actually afford. I have noticed that folks have opinions about how to prep -- or not prep at all -- a new Expert II out of the box. Would any out there like to comment? Please feel free! Am hoping to learn about any techniques that might help.

Thanks to all!

I have two Expert IIs. The nib itself does not require any preparation. I bought the second one because I loved the first nib (and because I dropped the first Expert II on its nib). I do seem to recall that I initially had an ink flow problem with my first Expert II, but I'm almost positive that the problem occurred with cartridges (I never bought bottled ink in those days). These days, I rarely use cartridges, because I rarely have ink flow problems when I fill the pen from a bottle. In any event, I have no problems with either pen. I don't believe I even flushed the second Expert II before I began using it, which is a bit unusual for me. The most prep I ever perform on a new pen is flush with water, allow the pen to air dry (disassembled) overnight, fill and flush several times with ink, and then fill again.