Broken Needle Blues

After "The Brittany Incident", I've been paranoid about my knitting needles. When something breaks and it's my fault, I feel terrible. But when something breaks on its own as a result of the craftsmanship, my anger cauldron overfloweth. I'd been using the Knit Picks interchangeable harmony wood tips recently. I think they'd been in use for perhaps two weeks, when one of the tips slid right out of its setting. I couldn't believe it at all. I've always been happy with Knit Picks needles. I also have a size 10 set going on another project, and one of those tips is beginning to spin freely in its setting. And of course, the cables (which I still love) are not compatible with any other brand of interchangeable tip. I'm glad I didn't spring for the complete set! The other thing that irritated me is the harmony wood itself. I thought that these needles were supposed to be solid wood, but looking closely at the exposed plastic end of the broken tip, my doubts are taking over. Admittedly, I couldn't find anything on the website claiming they are solid wood, but it is still a little misleading. Ugh. Misery loves company, so do you have any knitting needle sob stories? Share them in the comments. I'd be happy to commiserate with you!