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).