Coffee Appreciation

I'm using a bottomless portafilter with my lever machine and never get a nice central stream of coffee.

Instead I get 3 or 4 smaller streams in various places (rarely any in the centre of the basket) and a lot of the time some of the coffee runs towards the portafilter handle and on occasion all the way along the handle (which is messy and annoying).

Any tips/recommended reading on how I can sort it? I don't think I'm getting channeling or cracks in the puck but something isn't right.

How many weeks post-roast is the coffee?

Are you confident that your grind is in the right ballpark for fineness?

Make sure your tamp is reasonable; fill basket, level, press evenly, stop pressing and then twist with no additional pressure. Some say that levers prefer a lighter tamp and a finer grind.

If the coffee drips towards the handle, then it sounds like the machine is uneven as you pull. Try to stop it from leaning by supporting the portafilter handle.

Also, do you pre-infuse at all?