Herb Grinders

vapor_cloud, why do you think you're getting metal particles? Some noise and/or resistence when grinding? Not unusual, but normally due to a build up of plant material.

I'd think, if a grinder were poorly designed, you'd be more likely to get a bad fit from the side/rim than from teeth. The only way it makes sense (to me, anyway) to build these things is with a template and a CNC machine. My cheapie is definitely a CNC product. If I can buy a CNC made grinder for $12, why use a cheaper production method? Seems like you'd have so many bad ones right out of the box that people would immediately return them or just not buy at all, if tried in a shop.

I wish we knew more about the different ways these grinders can be made. I guess it's also possible the type of aluminum/metal being used could be a factor. 'Aircraft grade' aluminum is often advertised, but how do you know what you're actually getting? Anodized aluminum, used in other products like cookware and cameras, is also something to look for.

Those Mendo Mulchers look pretty badass, Cali knows what's up. So many teeth, you'd think it'd produce a finer grind. How smooth is the grinding/turning? Do they have a nylon gasket?

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The Mendo, like I said, is a great shredder-lots of sharp teeth. But the holes are 3/16" wide, vs. 1/8" on my smaller no-name. That extra 1/16 of an inch makes a big difference in the consistency of the ground herb. The Mendo grind is great for smoking (unless you want the maximum amount of kief removed), but for vaping, too many larger pieces fall through the bigger holes before the sharp teeth can finish their job. Since my complaint with the no-name was the small size (2 1/8" diameter), the larger Mendo, advertised at 3" but actually 2 7/8", is great for speeding up the initial grind, then the smaller grinder finishes the job (and removes more kief ). Yeah, the Mendo has a nylon gasket, and there's room under the gasket for small particles to hide. The worst feature it has IMO . The no-name screen is tight and has no gasket-great design .

The site you linked (mendo warehouse) is the same (and only) guy that sells on ebay. The price recently went up on both sites, so I used a $10 off ebay coupon to save a little on the auction. There is no other source for this grinder online that I can find. Doesn't seem to be Mendo itself selling either, since it was shipped from Texas. You would think there would be another online seller or two for this fine grinder. And neither Mendo or Space Case has a website of their own. In fact, the only grinder companies I can find with a site are Trueblendz and Mix 'n' Ball. Mix'n'Ball makes an excellent (and safe-anodized) grinder (triple screen available too) and is priced less than Mendo and Space Case. At least they have contact info if you wanted to ask any questions. If anyone is interested in the cheap no-name, but good quality grinder, look for Kelly's Great Products on ebay. He's got an affordable 2 screen grinder.

I'm still curious about the Space Case. I'd like to directly compare it to the Mendo, but I know a guy who has both brands and the SC has even larger holes than the Mendo, so for the fine grind I like there would be no point. Best Space Case price is vapedaddy.com. A large SC (3 1/2") is a little cheaper than the 3" Mendo. Expect a few weeks delivery time from there though.

Back when I was mostly using my Vapolution and herbalAire, I had little need for a grinder. Now that I'm using the SSV and PD, I'm grinding most of my herb. The added benefit to grinding is the pollen screen. I highly recommend the 4 piece (or 5 or 6!) unit to separate your kief. You can always add it back when you want, and in the proportion that suits you.

max said:

vapor_cloud, why do you think you're getting metal particles? Some noise and/or resistence when grinding? Not unusual, but normally due to a build up of plant material.

.

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Probably seems a bit silly now ... but I noticed shiny particles in the ground up herb. My 'no-name' grinder has small holes so I grind it for ages to get most of the herb through the holes and into the screen section. After tipping the herb into my mull up bowl I saw the shiny bits. You have to sort of shake the herb around and tip it up to the light to see em but they are there alright. A wet tipped finger removes them. I tried the dry grind and couldn't find any evidence of the alum lakes so I ground up a few nugs with it last night and once again saw the shiny bits So I vapped that through my water filter system. It could be just the dark shit that sticks to the side of the grinder coz these can have a shiny look when you scrap them off but I must admit I'm a bit paranoid about using it. I still get some pollen from my metal grinder so I'l keep using that it mean time.

I do find it hard to believe its actually parts of the grinder flaking off ... I dunno

Sounds like you got a nice bag of aluminum widow.

You could change your sceen name to Iron Man.

The poor guy is worried enough as it is.

vapor_cloud, stop using that grinder asap and get a good one.

Yeah, shiny bits in ground herb = bad news. It must be flaking off the teeth during the grinding process. I would trash that thing or use it for a paper weight. I'd take a look here-

http://store.mixnball.com/cubecart/index.php


I think they make a quality product-anodized, with a 5 yr. warranty and good prices. A 4 piece is only $30, and their 3 screen grinder (I think I'm gonna have to get one of those) comes with a pollen press. They've got a video showing the manufacturing process too.

"We are using a special organic anodizing procedure on all of our products. keep in mind that we do not add colors to our products, therefore they are the most safe to use products on the planet."

vtac said:

The poor guy is worried enough as it is.

vapor_cloud, stop using that grinder asap and get a good one.

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haha its cool ... but yeah have stopped using the alum one and will use my trusty ol steel one until I can update.

I'm concerned that my aluminum grinder is leaving small metalic flakes in the ground up herb? Could this be possible? Last thing I want is to be inhaling shit like that into my lungs.

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I was idly looking at a packed bong last night and noticed something catch the light. I looked a bit closer and noticed another shiny thing in there. I would have thought nothing of it, but I remembered this post and I think you're right. It looked like aluminium chips or flakes of whatever it was coated in.
Made me think twice.

Luckily, I already had this on the way...

I already have a 3 piece which doesn't seperate the pollen like it should coz the screen is fixed. Most of the pollen falls into my mull-up bowl

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Yeah, me too. Another big prob I have is stray pieces of herb getting stuck between the screen and the holes. I'm looking forward to the separate screen.

What brand do you have, herbalist?

Just a generic one, stickstones.
One of those ones with a flaming 8 ball on the top...

This new one'll be generic, too I'd say. Came free with my Extreme (which should arrive Monday! Yay!).

I gues we've got cheap ass grinders AND cheap as vaporizers that can damage your health coming from China?

Yeah. It appears so...
I never would have thought twice about it before, I just thought a metal grinder was a metal grinder. Let it be said though that I usually whack the fuck out of my grinder with the lid when I empty it. CLANG CLANG CLANG, not gentle, so no wonder flakes are coming off it.

I can now understand though why you'd stretch to buying a brand name for the extra $$$.

Which brings me to...

http://store.mixnball.com/cubecart/index.php

I think they make a quality product-anodized, with a 5 yr. warranty and good prices. A 4 piece is only $30, and their 3 screen grinder (I think I'm gonna have to get one of those) comes with a pollen press. They've got a video showing the manufacturing process too.

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Damn nice grinders, max. I'm seriously considering the 3 screen with pollen press, too.

I love my new grinder. The thing is HUGE!
The advantage of this bigger one is that it means increased torque for those hard to grind buds.
It's so smooth too... You can hardly tell that it has several compartments.
The screen works a treat and I already have a nice build up of trichomes!
I tried to take pics but my camera is crap

Herbalist said:

Yeah. It appears so...
I never would have thought twice about it before, I just thought a metal grinder was a metal grinder. Let it be said though that I usually whack the fuck out of my grinder with the lid when I empty it. CLANG CLANG CLANG, not gentle, so no wonder flakes are coming off it.

I can now understand though why you'd stretch to buying a brand name for the extra $$$.

Which brings me to...

http://store.mixnball.com/cubecart/index.php

I think they make a quality product-anodized, with a 5 yr. warranty and good prices. A 4 piece is only $30, and their 3 screen grinder (I think I'm gonna have to get one of those) comes with a pollen press. They've got a video showing the manufacturing process too.

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Damn nice grinders, max. I'm seriously considering the 3 screen with pollen press, too.

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I ordered the 3 screen job. Don't really think 3 screens are necessary, but I had a $10 off coupon, it comes with the pollen press, and I said 'what the hell'. Shipping seems slow, but I'm not grinderless so I can wait. I've decided to sell the Mendo Mulcher I bought. I'm a little disappointed that it has the grommet in the screen section and room for the kief to hide under it. It has exposed threads that can catch the kief as well, and the Mix'n'Ball has neither of these kief catchers to worry about. Heck, even the ebay grinder I've been using for for years is grommet free and no threads capture any kief.

stickstones said:

Mine is a sharpstone that I have been happy with. However, after daily use for about two months the lid has some black shit along the edges that is kind of gunking it up slightly when I turn it to grind it. I don't know if this is typical...I haven't taken the time to clean it yet.

But grinding is definitely the way to go. I got my grinder in anticipation of getting a vape and it was making me more efficient even when combusitng.

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Sticks, i think you'll find the "black shit" is hash ,vape with weed and enjoy brother, If i'm wrong somebody "stop me"

sorry stick's i thought i was on a different page when i did the qoute thing, iv'e read the whole topic now lol, I'd like to know if a space case improves the vape xperince moreso than a cheap grinder metalic or ther type, Does your vaping lack with a 3 peice grinder cause your saving up the trichromes, or r u losing those same tricromes when using a cheap grinder anyway, Answer's people

I only have experience with one grinder.

Hey folks,

OK, so I'm all new to this. Been smoking just a few times a month for a few months now, mainly I get off on the time dilation. I can make a weekend off work feel like a full week. Love it. A buddy told me about vapes so I bought an Extreme. Should be here tomorrow. Neither of us have ever used one, though, so this will be all new to both of us.

Biggest question I have concerns grinding. Do I have to grind the herb? What are the benefits of grinding vs. not? If I do grind, do I need to dry it out first - how do you grind the wet, sticky goodness? Seems like it would clog any grinder.

So I could use advice on prepping the herb, advice on types of grinders and where to get them and how to use them, etc. If grinding IS necessary, would love it if folks could share two options with me - one I can find local (Wal-Mart, etc) so I can use my new vape tomorrow, and a real good one that I can order for long term use.

Appreciate any advice.

Grinding gives more surface area therefore more of the product is exposed to the warm air. But you dont have to use a commercial grinder if you dont have one. Scissors will do the same thing just will take a little more time. If the product isn't quite dry or very sticky your better off chopping up with scissors or a sharp knife on a wooden chopping board due to the grinder clogging you mentioned. If its so tacky just break up a nug as best you can, throw it in the E ... hit it as few times with the whip and then take it out and grind it up then. It'll be dry and easy to grind up.

Unless your using a vapolution Vaporizer you need to grind / chop your herb.

Welcome to Club Vape marvel. The Extreme is a good choice, especially for new users. You get the 3 main ways to vape- bag, whip, and fan assisted whip- all in one.

You don't need a grinder, but you do need to break up your herb into pretty small pieces so the hot air can penetrate the herb thoroughly. A grinder is easy and most folks like the option of saving a lot of the kief harvested in the grinding process in the pollen section for special sessions. You can also use small scissors or even your fingers. If it's not dry enough to crumble with your fingers it's not going to grind very well either, so it's scissors for me in that case. If you can't get it chopped up small enough due to moisture content, be sure to break it down some more in the bowl after you've gotten it about half vaped.

You can pay too much for a grinder. I made that mistake. But I haven't gotten a bad one either and I also have an inexpensive one. I can recommend Kelly's Great Products on eBay. Very good quality and design at low prices. He's got a 2.5" 4 piece grinder that comes with either 4,5, or 6mm holes. I haven't seen that option on any other grinder. And if you have any problems he's tops in service. You'll save a good $15-20 or more vs. a brand name like Trueblendz. I also got delivery in just a few days. Whatever you get, do get one with a screen.

if ur careful not to overchop, a coffee grinder from walmart will work like a charm, they cost like $12

then u can get a silk screen and make a bunch of kief and also vape the green, and all for less than a commercial screen herb grinder

Unless your using a vapolution Vaporizer you need to grind / chop your herb.

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Or a herbalAire.

I'd agree with the coffee grinder. I've used all types of grinders -- space cases, acrylic, and electric -- and in my opinion a $10 coffee grinder is really the way to go. It will generate the most surface area and is the easiest to get the herb out of.

Ahhhhhhhhhh hahaha.... wow... thanks for the replies. I just broke in my new Extreme.... and man am I baked. This is really one of the best highs I've had. I didn't even grind anything, just tore it into little pieces (got my hands all sticky).. I'm going to enjoy this little thing! The high feels so much cleaner, too. I can already tell my morning "hang over" is going to be pleasant, good feeling, not "ugh" like every other time I've smoked this much.

I filled two bags, and also took a hit off the whip. A buddy and I split the bags. So I got a whole bag and a single whip draw in me... and the herb is still green enough for another session! And the taste, yum. I've never, ever tasted this herb like that. It's a whole new experience. A different level, really, of smoking. I'm never going back. Thank God I got a vaporgenie with it, so when I'm "smoking" with my buddies away from home, I don't have to eat that nasty harshness. This is so smoooooth. Damn!

welcome to the wonderful world of vapping bro.

marvel said:

Ahhhhhhhhhh hahaha.... wow... thanks for the replies. I just broke in my new Extreme.... and man am I baked. This is really one of the best highs I've had. I'm going to enjoy this little thing! The high feels so much cleaner, too. I can already tell my morning "hang over" is going to be pleasant, good feeling, not "ugh" like every other time I've smoked this much.

And the taste, yum. I've never, ever tasted this herb like that. It's a whole new experience. A different level, really, of smoking. I'm never going back. Thank God I got a vaporgenie with it

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I havn't felt brighter in the mourning's ever, i'm up before the sun,on antipsychotics/Barbituates(they kill people 280 per year in OZ) i was sleeping till 9 to 11 am, missing the beauty of the sun rising for a new day.

I used my Genie in the locked car(opportunity to empty bowl if surprised ) today after an apointment,It was a 2 hour drive after all, with a nice hot lrge Latte, i ripped off two bowls in the carpark unnoticed with a couple of stiff's walking past the car, i finished my coffe and enjoyed a nice buzz'n "Safe" drive home.

:bigleag: