I have a s/h King Headset that I’ve tried to put on my Inbred.
Problem is the “cone” part (the upper part that rotates) always sits wonky, as in the gap bewteen the “cone” part & the bearing cup is un-equal & it even rubs on one side.
First instinct tells me to get the races faced, & I’ll get this done as soon as I can. A Cane Creek S3 goes with no issues whatsoever.

I’m just curious how critical it is with King headsets ?
Has anyone else had this kind of issue ?

i have that with one of my bikes – i assume it’s because the headtube faces are not flat/parallel. but i may be wrong, i’ll see how a different headset sits, i expected the king to be so accurate that it would show up any inperfections in teh headtube. it runs smooth anyway so i’ve not worried about it really.

Let’s see some pictures so we can have a real good look.

Head tube needs facing. It’s just a lot more obvious with a King than most other headsets.

Unless your steerer is bent, but that’s very unlikely.

Would there be a gap between the top of the head and the bottom of the cup , one side would be touching and a gap opposite,if it needed facing? Might be the inside of the head tube is slightly out and it’s sitting a bit p!$$ed?