Thread: TI Problem

My first brand new razor arrived today; a TI 5/8 with Kingwood handle.

All of the pins are mounted evenly...

except one.

It's pretty far off, too. Other than closing a little off center, it doesn't interfere with the function of the razor (the razor edge doesn't contact wood). However, cosmetically it just looks bad. The scales are obviously crooked (off by about 1/8 inch or so at the tang end). Similar to the pit that showed up on the blade of another SRP member's brand new TI recently, looking at this flaw is gonna bug me to death.

I've gotta say I'm pretty disappointed. I paid $160 for this razor (plus shipping and honing) and was not expecting to see sub par workmanship when I opened the package. I haven't shaved with it yet, which is disappointing in itself, because I'm sure it's honed beautifully. I'm waiting until I figure out how I should handle this.

As I'm a newbie, I would really appreciate some advice. Is this type of flaw common and/or acceptable to most customers (at least for TI)? Should I be able to return/exchange this razor considering it is already honed (honing was purchased and performed through the retailer)? Do I just chalk it up to newbie inexperience and refrain from buying TIs in the future?

Thanks!

-Andrew

PS The good news is that the re-scaled vintage razor I purchased for $60 from zman showed up today. It is beautiful (and pinned perfectly I might add).

The first thing I would do is contact the vendor. And include pictures.

RT

Contact the vendor ASAP. The honing shouldn't matter - thats not the reason the pin is screwed. For that kind of money - and TI's reputation - call.

I finally got a call back on mine, but I missed the call. They gave me a RA number, but she said in the message she wants to speak to me... and she didn't really read my E-mail, because she referred to the defect as a chip...

At this point I'm pretty turned off by TI's I don't care how good they might shave. It shouldn't be a gamble when buying a razor. especially when spending hundreds of dollars.
You expect crap when you spend $20 on a new razor, it's not upsetting... but a $200+ new razor should be flawless.
of course when your labor force is as talented as this...


Somebody needs to tell TI to hire people who can do the job right...

As for me, I'm thinking I should ask for a refund, and use the money either for the Livi group buy, or contact Robert Williams.

Yup. That's the pit I was talking about. I got my razor from the same retailer, too.

I'll call them tomorrow and hope for the best.

Thanks, guys.

Even my family who don't use or understand my love of straight razors spotted it...

Was the razor damaged in shipping or is the problem a factory defect. Was the packaging damaged when it arrived.

The packaging for my razor was perfect. It was clearly drilled off center at the time of manufacture.

I'll be sure to post what the retailer says.

OK. I just called Classic Shaving and they issued an RA # with no questions asked. The pre-honing presented no problem. They were very polite and expressed surprise that nobody caught the defect, but I would imagine that it was easy for that to slip by during the holiday rush. After all, it should have been TI that caught it in the first place.

I'll be sure to post again when I receive my new one, hopefully defect free (keeping fingers crossed).

-Andrew

Thanks for keeping us updated.... This is especially important to me as I am getting ready to order my TI through Classic......