I like the idea of the silicone balls as opposed to the cork ones. However, the silicone balls on the steam stopper are too large to go far enough into the neck to keep the neck cool enough to handle when full of boiling water. I was able to peel a little off of one silicone ball (with a vegetable peeler!) to get it to go further in and make it safer to hold the neck further down so to balance the weight when pouring hot water out of the kettle. Not perfect but it works safely now. I am not a person who generally returns ordered items if I can make it work. Also, I have owned the kettle for many years, enjoy having visitors comment about it, and wish to continue using it. I am John's wife. Linda.

Use my Chemex kettle daily. So when the steam stopper fell and broke I was stuck. Eight Ounce was the only resource for replacement with the pandemic going on. Received as expected.