This has actually happened to me twice since I moved here. The first was on a second-hand teapot, so it didn’t owe me anything. The one two days ago was a nearly-new but really cheap and crappy pot I got from Amazon. The “this” in question was the knob breaking right off the lid.
Anyway, shortly after the first time this happened, which was like 13 years ago, I was at the Lowes in the big town about 50 miles away. I happened to be in the aisle where they sell cabinet parts, don’t remember why, and I was looking at this big display of cabinet door pull knobs and I thought to myself, “self, you know what those look like?”
So yesterday I did it again. Unfortunately the only color the crappy little hardware store in the crappy little town nearest where I live carried was white, but the teapot doesn’t care.
Pro-tip: For reasons that should have been but weren’t perfectly obvious to me 13 years ago, avoid metal knobs no matter how nice you think they’ll look on the pot. Ceramic should work well. Also remember before you leave the hardware that you’re going to need a much shorter bolt than the one that comes with the knob.
You must be twisting the lid some as you lift it. Or did the handler pull loose?
Field expedient repair.
What, no duct tape? I kid, I kid. Your photo proves repurposed hardware can be useful and stylish.
paulb: Things break even with proper usage.
No, it just broke in half and fell off. The material in the break looked sintered, like it wasn’t even solid plastic. We’re talking about a really cheap Chineseum teapot here.
If it’s really cheap Chinesium, did you check if it’s radioactive? They might be recycling Chernobyl in that factory.
Only half kidding. I bought a Geiger counter to check my metallic purchases-and not just from China.
Well that sent me down a rabbit hole. Been married for 28 years; and I’ve lost track how many tea kettles my wife has gone through. Just checked my Amazon account – have had this one for 4 years now, and still in great shape. Unfortunately it is a little pricey for what most people pay for a tea kettle. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DIJ6U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1