Grinder Question

Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
I know it shouldn't matter too much, but I'm having a hard time choosing a grinder. Not necessarily brand, but whether or not I should get one with a screen or not. From what I see, having a screen and being able to save your kief allows you to use it to spice up bowls, make hash, or even having a straight kief bowl. But, as a con, it inherently makes your bud less potent that you grind up as well as the fact that it could clog up your screen.

I'm going to be using a Purple Days so sprinkling kief with my bowl isn't really an option. I could do a straight kief bowl, but it runs the risk of clogging it I believe. Therefore, is a grinder with a screen really necessary?
 
Bairhanz,
Stu

Stu

Maconheiro
Staff member
Kief kickers in a PD stem is really easy, actually. You just poke a loaded stem into a pile of kief, and you're good to go.

I use a 4-pc mostly because I use the screen as temporary storage for whatever I'm vaping at the moment. You're going to lose some trichomes in any grinder, and even those can be reclaimed with an iso wash. So don't worry too much about degrading the quality of your bud in a 4-pc. The difference is negligible if any.
 
Stu,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
That's probably enough to convince me to get a grinder with a screen. And just out of curiosity, how intense is a kief only bowl in a vape?
 
Bairhanz,
Stu

Stu

Maconheiro
Staff member
Very cloudy :brow:

Most vapes aren't really designed to handle kief only. I prefer to just add some do flowers as it wont clog up any screens. I've pressed and smoked it, though and it's pretty damn nice.

:peace:
 
Stu,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
Cool cool. I guess I'll see how it goes when my buddy and I finally get our PD. I guess I could also always grind some bud, vape like half of it, then mix the kief with the remaining bud so it's a bit more potent. Oh the possibilities!
 
Bairhanz,
Nycdeisel

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
A 2 piece will be able to grind finer then a 4 piece usually, but you can also grind not so fine, that the great thing about 2 pieces, it really depends what you want.

I would rather get a 2 piece grinder and a keif box instead of a 4 piece grinder :)
 
Nycdeisel,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
The grinder I was looking at actually is the Mendo Mulcher. Heard nothing but good things about it except that the screen is a little big, but it's not a big deal for me if it grinds up bud wonderfully.

http://www.mendomulchers.com/

As far as not grinding as much, I've heard that if you just grind upside down so the bud doesn't fall through the holes it'll grind up even finer. When you're satisfied you can just flip it over and grind a bit more til it all goes through the holes.
 
Bairhanz,
Nycdeisel

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
But if you do that the keif will fall back through the screen :o :lol:

I think it would be a pain to take it apart every time, plus then more plant matter would be in your keif.

Its much easier IMO to use a keif box and then grind with a 2 piece grinder. MM makes fine 2 pieces too ya know :rolleyes:
 
Nycdeisel,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
I originally thought about just getting a 2 piece from them, especially since it's significantly cheaper. But I don't even know now! :o

Oh, and is a 2.25" grinder alright for grinding up around ~2g at a time or should I go with the 3"?
 
Bairhanz,
Stu

Stu

Maconheiro
Staff member
I have both the Mendo Mulcher 3" 2 pc and 4 pc. The 4 pc is the workhorse as I mentioned before because I like to use the chamber as my current stash area. The 2 piece is mostly used for grinding up something different when my 4 pc is occupied as the on-deck circle.

That being said, the most I've grinded in one turn is probably less than a gram. So for 2 grams or so it would take 3 or 4 loads, but wouldn't take too long.

Either way, the Mendo Mulcher is a quality product with a lifetime warranty and I give them 2 thumbs up.

:peace:
 
Stu,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
I think my friend and I may just pitch in for the 3" 4 piece then, just for the versatility. If we need it finer then we can just start with it upside down and end right side up so the kief doesn't fall back through the screen or whatever. And some plant matter shouldn't be that big of a deal since we aren't making hash or anything anyway :)

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Bairhanz,
G

gobbly

Active Member
I am probably in the minority, but I can't stand anything but a 2 piece grinder. All the 3/4 pieces (the ones with screens) are crappy metal with huge gaps. The kief usually isn't very good, it's quite green, with little melt factor (bear in mind I like grinders that give a very fine grind, a more coarse grind might work better with them). I use a sifter box with a 90 micron silk screen and get fairly light full-melt keif from it. You can get the silk screen a lot finer than that if you want better quality keif (down to around 25 micron), but it will dramatically reduce the amount you get.

Lately I have been using a cheap hamilton beach coffee/spice grinder (I vape a lot). I just tap it on and let it spin down 4-5 times and it usually get's it perfect consistency for me. You have to be careful with coffee grinders because they can grind too fine, but if you just tap it on (like 1/4-1/2 second) and check the consistency each time, you can do a lot of grinding fast, and with a sifter box, you still get the keif from it :)
 
gobbly,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
As great as coffee grinders work, we'd like something that we could take with us. Coupled with the fact that we both live at home still with family who aren't bud-friendly doesn't help. It's kinda risky ordering the vape in the first place, but it's easy to come up with a cover story for it (unlike an odd smelling coffee grinder in my underwear drawer :p).
 
Bairhanz,
G

gobbly

Active Member
yeah, I threw in the coffee grinder part more for others who might be reading it. for 2-3g, it'd be a waste, the grinder is faster and easier (I use the coffee grinder to grind up multiple oz's usually).

I dunno how stealthy the kief boxes are, but they look a lot like jewelry boxes, and might be a good spot to keep your stash anyway if you don't have people poking around too closely. If a kief box isn't viable, I personally would still just get a 2piece. The kief you get from metal screen is just not appealing to me. Lots of people love their 4 pieces though, and still find the lower quality dust to be a bonus, so take what I say as simply my preference after spending years trying many products and different ways to smoke :)
 
gobbly,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
Maybe I'll do the 2 piece + kief box then, not necessarily because I'd use the kief all the time, but it seems like a bit less maintenance and work for what I'm getting. But then again the 4 piece is still decent and it's not like I really need pure kief. Ahhhh, I don't know :(
 
Bairhanz,
WatTyler

WatTyler

Revolting Peasant
:lol: dude, it needn't be stressful buying a grinder. Sometimes forums can lead to information and opinion over load.

I'd recommend perhaps trying one or two cheaper generic 'no-name' grinders till you know what you want, and then jump to make the investment in an expensive one when you are sure- at least you'll know you're investing in one that's right for you, and it might take some of the pressure off this decision. The cheaper ones work just as well and will guide you in your choice. And of course, try and test out any that your friends have.

I myself use both types- larger 4 pieces for at home, and small 2 pieces for portable use.
 
WatTyler,
djonkoman

djonkoman

Well-Known Member
I myself prefer 2piece, sits much more comfortable in your pocket(altough I don't have it in my pocket that often), just simple and functional, less complexicity(kiefscreens etc) less that can go wrong
 
djonkoman,
max

max

Out to lunch
Bairhanz said:
The grinder I was looking at actually is the Mendo Mulcher. Heard nothing but good things about it except that the screen is a little big, but it's not a big deal for me if it grinds up bud wonderfully.

http://www.mendomulchers.com/

As far as not grinding as much, I've heard that if you just grind upside down so the bud doesn't fall through the holes it'll grind up even finer. When you're satisfied you can just flip it over and grind a bit more til it all goes through the holes.
Click to expand...
The Mendo's teeth are designed to 'slice' through bud with little resistance-great if you don't need a fine grind. With the little log vape bowl, you really want a finer grind than for the typical larger bowl, and I'd go with a grinder with more edges to the teeth. You get a better tooth design with the Chromium Crusher or Sharp Crusher, even better than the standard diamond shape you get with Space Case. You'll save money too. Crushers

As far as not grinding as much, I've heard that if you just grind upside down so the bud doesn't fall through the holes it'll grind up even finer. When you're satisfied you can just flip it over and grind a bit more til it all goes through the holes.
Click to expand...
A little messy, but it works.

is a 2.25" grinder alright for grinding up around ~2g at a time or should I go with the 3"?
Click to expand...
2"-2.5" is the popular size range. 3" is harder to find and will push your cost up quite a bit. Kief boxes are nice but can get pricy. Exoticzombie.com makes some quality boxes.
 
max,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
Bairhanz,
Nycdeisel

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
I am also iffy, but I hear from some reputable heads around here that certain cheaper grinders are fine. I would at least get an MM to be safe, but thats just me
 
Nycdeisel,
Bairhanz

Bairhanz

Member
Nycdeisel said:
I am also iffy, but I hear from some reputable heads around here that certain cheaper grinders are fine. I would at least get an MM to be safe, but thats just me
Click to expand...

Well I would like to go off of max's advice, since finer bud is what I'd want for my PD, especially if someone else can back up his claim.
 
Bairhanz,
WatTyler

WatTyler

Revolting Peasant
Bairhanz said:
Nycdeisel said:
I am also iffy, but I hear from some reputable heads around here that certain cheaper grinders are fine. I would at least get an MM to be safe, but thats just me
Click to expand...

Well I would like to go off of max's advice, since finer bud is what I'd want for my PD, especially if someone else can back up his claim.
Click to expand...
I've not owned a Chromium Crusher, but I'll back Max up 110% that you don't need to spend on a top of the line brand to get equivalent results. I seem to have developed a fetish for grinders to feed my vapes and have at least 10 at home, and have lost/been robbed of at least 5 more over the years. Nowadays the metal CNC are much of a muchness IMO (but still I can grind finer with a $5 plastic grinder! Not fun/pleasant to use though)

Chromium Crushers are well regarded here by those that have 'em.
 
WatTyler,
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