As an aside, a little tip my father taught me was to always carry a handkerchief/towelette sort of thing in your pocket to clean the nib of your pen before you

As an aside, a little tip my father taught me was to always carry a handkerchief/towelette sort of thing in your pocket to clean the nib of your pen before you write. That'll take away the smear of leftover ink that collects at the tip, and makes your writing generally turn out neater/ with less mess.