Is this normal? (another valve question)

[IowaCaveDiver]

here is a valve of mine... came with a tank purchased a few years ago... I've never had it apart until now. I noticed a steady bubble trickle coming from the valve knob, went to replace the stem oring and packing and noticed this... is this a normal production quality or is it some sort of defect in the manufacturing process?

The picture is looking down into the valve from the knob side... if you can see, there is a small hole entering the valve at about a 45degree angle from the knob. Normally this would be hidden when the knob is in place...

curious as to if this is a normal blue steel thing or if i have a wack valve.

[chilldive]

I just happen to have purchased some of those Blue Steel valves recently and while I was O2 cleaning them, I noticed the same thing. I don't think it's a defect, but have no idea what it's purpose could be.