To fill, the piston knob is wound out as far as it will go, the nib then dipped about three-quarters of the way into the ink and the knob wound fully back in. Six to eight drops are then allowed to run back into the bottle, so as to flush surplus ink out of the feed. Only then is the pen lifted out of the bottle, nib upwards.
A distinct drop left standing in the hollow at the beak-shaped end of the feed is normal and no sign that the filling went wrong. Anyone bothered by it dabs nib and feed from above and below with an absorbent, lint-free paper tissue. Wiping the nib on the rim of the ink bottle is not the done thing among collectors: it tends to spread the ink rather than take it up, and needlessly brings the soft gold nib into contact with a hard glass edge. On a two-tone nib, polishing leather should be avoided as well, since it can gradually rub through the light platinum plating.