Herb Grinders

Thanks max for having my back! I really appreciate the time you put in for an almost complete stranger. I wasn't expecting to see my money back after eight months.

I do agree that the quality of the grinders are superb, it's just the service that isn't up to what people would want.

MoeOnTheMoon said:

aero18 said:

Just got a refund on my Mix'N'Ball order! Dan read the forums and kindly sent the money back. Maybe my emails didn't go in somehow, I don't know... Either way, I'm pretty happy now.

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Glad you got your money back, but it still sounds like a slip-shod operation to me. With all due respect, this still doesn't clear his reputation in my book. What about Ash's order? What about taking months to ship the stuff he did ship? I think these are legitimate concerns under the circumstances.

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update: after more than a month with no communication from mixnball, three unanswered emails and one unanswered phone call (spread out over several weeks), I "disputed the charge" on my credit card. I definitely did not want to do this, but the website says most orders ship in 48 hours and I couldn't even get an email response after a month. I was starting to feel like I was getting ripped off.

All it would have taken to kep me satisfied would have been an update on the website to show the item out of stock with an estimated re-stock date. It also made me uncomfortable that there is a "live chat" customer service feature that is never active. Makes the operation look like it is spinning down the drain of bankruptcy (laid off all the reps?). I generally do not make it a habit to order long-lead time items from financially insolvent companies when payment is required in advance.

To be clear, I am in no way suggesting that mixnball is insolvent. I am just explaining why I felt uncomfortable enough to take the drastic action of contacting my credit card company. I am vey disappointed because I'm sure this is a very good product and now i'm going to have to re-read this thread to try and decide wat to get for my new PD (imminently incoming)

i like my cheap four piece chromium crusher and i use it almost exclusively with my PD.
i think with any grinder, it's very important to dry out the material before you grind it.

Do you have multiple grinders? Anu reason the cromium crusher seems to pair well with the PD? Also, what size is it? Thanks.

no, i don't have multiple grinders - honestly I"m just not that extremely analytical about the grinding process. i have the standard 4 piece grinder in red.
i think i paid 20 bucks for it - it does the job. in general if you dry out your bud before grinding you'll get good results.
you could always just crush the bud up with your fingers a little before putting it into a PD tube if you want a finer grind, so to speak.
that said, i like the idea of the mortar and pestle.

Does anyone mind showing their ground herb? I want to compare the consistency to herb that has been cut up by scissors. Try to get it as fine as you can get (with a manual grinder)!

update - having considered that the PD might like a finer grind, I ground a few buds with my chromium crusher and then snipped away at it for a minute with my manicuring scissors.
the results are slightly better - no question.
loading it is easier and the hits may be more refined and delicious, for lack of a better word.
the difference is subtle but noticeable.

having said that, i'm not sure that other vaporizers like such a fine grind - such as whip based, for example.
i'll have to see to find out.
regardless a very easy and inexpensive and pleasurable solution to the grinder question is to simply snip away at the bud as a second go round if your grinder doesn't grind fine enough.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but does it matter which side you put the herb in to grind up? Should it go in the male side(i guess i mean the side that has the triangle in the middle that inserts into the other side). Or does it not matter?

aero18 said:

Does anyone mind showing their ground herb? I want to compare the consistency to herb that has been cut up by scissors. Try to get it as fine as you can get (with a manual grinder)!

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I took some pix. Will try to get them up for you tomorrow.

Happycamper said:

Sorry if this has been asked before, but does it matter which side you put the herb in to grind up? Should it go in the male side(i guess i mean the side that has the triangle in the middle that inserts into the other side). Or does it not matter?

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I think it's like eating... it all ends up in the same place!

jeffp said:

no, i don't have multiple grinders - honestly I"m just not that extremely analytical about the grinding process. i have the standard 4 piece grinder in red.
i think i paid 20 bucks for it - it does the job. in general if you dry out your bud before grinding you'll get good results.
you could always just crush the bud up with your fingers a little before putting it into a PD tube if you want a finer grind, so to speak.
that said, i like the idea of the mortar and pestle.

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I've had too use a mortar and pestle... my experience is your better off with a ginder, motar and pestles tend too grind too fine and too much product sticks too the pestle.

In my opinion if you want it finer, the best thing is a coffee grinder. It may depend on the coffee grinder. I bought one at Ross for $10 or so, on sale, was originally around $15 there, and I ran some bud through it and it came out fine, but not fine like coffee grounds. It actually came out just about right for vaping. I think ideally it should be even a little finer but basically it came out about the same as with my SpaceCase. Pictures to follow soon.

Moe - if you want it even finer, while you are grinding, shake the coffee grinder up and down so that the plant material has to keep passing by the blades.

There is a point where you get diminishing returns tho, ultra fine herb clogs up screens quite easily.

aero18 said:

Does anyone mind showing their ground herb? I want to compare the consistency to herb that has been cut up by scissors. Try to get it as fine as you can get (with a manual grinder)!

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aero18, here's the pix you asked for, first the herb ground with coffee grinder:

aero18 said:

Does anyone mind showing their ground herb? I want to compare the consistency to herb that has been cut up by scissors. Try to get it as fine as you can get (with a manual grinder)!

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Now with the Space Case (titanium; though I assume the non-titanium would grind the same size):




This photo makes it look silver inside but it's dark just like the outside of the Titanium case. The flash just made it look that way.





I left a small nugget in a couple photos. That did NOT come out of the grinder that way, it was just in the bottle when I dumped it out for the pic.

So, judge for yourself which is better.
Here's the way I see it:
If you are grinding more than just a little bit, the coffee grinder is a clear winner over the Medium sized Space Case. (use a coffee grinder that is dedicated only to herb)

If you are grinding a small quantity and/or want something portable, the Space Case does a great job. For this use you may even want the Small space case as opposed to the Medium..

Hope this helps. I am very happy with the SpaceCase. Much better than the previous generic brand grinder I bought which was basically $20 thrown in to the trash.

Any one have pics of a 4pc Space case for comparison?

Hey all, it's been several months since I bought my 1.25 in 4 piece Cosmic. I've cleaned it a few times, and it continues to stay sharp.

I've noticed that with dense herb, it will sometimes get stuck in the triangle-shaped holes.

What I love most about this grinder is being able to flip it over (herb falls back through the holes), and twist it again to get a finer grind.

I paid $40-$50.

Thanks MoeOnTheMoon! I think I'll go and buy the SpaceCase grinder.

A few questions before I splurge: Is it really made out of titanium?
And, are there any other mechanical grinders that grind finer herb than the SpaceCase?

aero18 said:

Thanks MoeOnTheMoon! I think I'll go and buy the SpaceCase grinder.

A few questions before I splurge: Is it really made out of titanium?
And, are there any other mechanical grinders that grind finer herb than the SpaceCase?

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You're welcome, Aero18.
The web site says it has a titanium coating that makes it stronger and less likely to break if you drop it, etc. I can only go by what they say; they seem like a legit co. to me. I got mine from gratefulbuys.com. There's a coupon here on that Coupon or Discount thread, wherever it is. I went with the Titanium because it was only a few dollars more. I've never used any other name brand grinders, so I don't know if any can grind finer.

aero18 said:

I wasn't expecting to see my money back after eight months.

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Like I said, MixnBall has had long wait times for restocking for at least a year or so, but that wasn't the problem with your order. I can't defend the poor service.

Ash said:

All it would have taken to kep me satisfied would have been an update on the website to show the item out of stock with an estimated re-stock date. It also made me uncomfortable that there is a "live chat" customer service feature that is never active. Makes the operation look like it is spinning down the drain of bankruptcy (laid off all the reps?). I generally do not make it a habit to order long-lead time items from financially insolvent companies when payment is required in advance.

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From what I'm seeing, the site doesn't get updated lately to reflect in stock/out of stock. If you place an item in your cart, you'll get a backorder message if it's not in stock. As for the 'Live Help' link, it's a gimmick used by a lot of sites. In my experience, many sites have the live help available for very limited periods or not at all. As for "laid off all the reps", like I stated previously, it's always been a one man operation. Many on-line companies (vape dealers included) are much smaller, staff wise, than they appear from the viewpoint of web shoppers.

It's too bad the service and response have deteriorated with MixnBall. He makes some great products. If I find out that he's been able to recommit to better service and communication, I'll post to that effect. In his words, "I hope to find a solution soon".

420_Skier said:

Any one have pics of a 4pc Space case for comparison?

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You really don't need pics. I have a 4 piece titanium Space Case (med- 2 3/8"). Doesn't do a better job than a $20 Chromium Crusher, and the 6mm holes aren't great if you want a fine grind. The SC finish is perfection, but that doesn't translate to better performance.

aero18 said:

Thanks MoeOnTheMoon! I think I'll go and buy the SpaceCase grinder.
A few questions before I splurge: Is it really made out of titanium?

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If you want your money's worth with SC, as far as cost vs. performance, get a 4 pc. Scout or a small to medium 2 pc. The Scout has 3mm holes for a finer grind. Even the small 4 pc. has 5 or 6 mm holes. The SC titanium models are just anodized aluminum. They're not made of titanium. The anodized coating is more useful for staying clean longer than anything else.

"The Titanium version offers some non-stick properties, and uses an anodizing process that changes the viscosity of the aluminum, increasing it's strength by about 100% and making it dark in color. The original polished version should last a lifetime though. If you're particularly hard on things or plan to live more than one lifetime go with the titanium. Otherwise it's a matter of aesthetic preference." http://gratefulbuys.com/product_info.php?products_id=291

If you want to pay the premium price for a SC, buy from Greatfulbuys.com. He has the best price and FC members get 15% off with the coupon on our recommended sellers thread.

If you want a fine grind for a vape like the PD, the best bet is to use any good, name brand 4 pc. (assuming you want to collect kief), then grind again in a 2 pc. after screening out the kief. A 2 pc. beats a screen grinder any day for a fine grind. After using about a half dozen different brands, I've found the 4 pc./2pc. sequence to be the quickest and easiest method for the combination of kief screening and fine grind. Even a 4 pc. with 3mm holes (hard to find and they're always small capacity) won't do as well as a 2 pc.

Are there any grinders other than the scout that have 3mm holes? Preferably a 4 piece one. I'm looking for a new grinder and want something that will give a fine grind. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

SmogTown said:

Are there any grinders other than the scout that have 3mm holes? Preferably a 4 piece one. I'm looking for a new grinder and want something that will give a fine grind. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Only if you want to go with a small capacity generic, 1.75" or smaller. The only one I know of is here- http://cgi.ebay.com/1-3-4-Prime-Qua...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45e653db23

Mine has given me good service and the quality is very good for a $10 model, but it's tiresome to use except for grinding very small quantities. The SC Scout is even smaller at 1.25".

You can get a Kelly's 2.5" with 4mm holes, if you specify that size in your comments (otherwise you get 5mm). Not bad for a $15 price. I've used a couple of his generic grinders with good results.

In general, holes smaller than 5mm for a 4 pc. are not in high demand, and not worthwhile for manufacturers to produce. The SC 4 pc. Scout has been on my list for some time, but with my experience with similar size models, vs. using a 4 pc., then a 2 pc. for a fine PD grind, I've lost interest in a $50+ mini grinder. Even 3mm holes don't give me the fine grind I prefer for the PD. For most other vapes hole size isn't that much of an issue IMO.

Thank you for the information max. It was very helpful.

After my lousy experience with Mix'n'Ball I decided that fate just wanted me to keep using scissors. This sentiment lasted about three days. That PD should be arriving in a week or two, and I really want to spend more time with the PD than with those darn scissors.

So, in deciding on another grinder my criteria were good customer service, high quality, and a fine grind (for PD use). I understand that by using the "upside down" technique, or by using the "turn it very fast" technique one can get an extra fine grind from a four piece grinder, but this violates the conditions of the fourth criterium. That is - simple enough for the significant other. Why should I have to do all the work? In the end, the ability to sift out the keif just wasn't that important. Now before anyone starts thinking I have a low opinion of my wife, let me say that I think quite highly of her overall intelligence, just not her mechanical inclination.

Anyway, once I had decided on a small 2 pc grinder, price became much less of an issue. Apparently there is only so much you can charge for one of these. Given that my original self-imposed budget for a four-piece was $30, I would have had to work at it to go over this with a two piece. So I decided on the small 2pc SpaceCase Ti and got it from GratefulBuys.com. With the 15% discount and modest shipping charges that ended up costing me $24.43.

I had a little trouble placing my order. This turned out to be a bad number key on my laptop. But it did cause me to give a call and talk with the owner (Captain Hits here on FC). He didn't mind at all that I was bothering him on a sunday and after I told him I was an FC member we had plenty to talk about besides my new grinder. Needless to say this was in stark contrast to the experience I had with Mix'n'Ball where I could never get anyone on the phone.

Now, even if the PD takes a few more weeks to get here at leasat I'll have a new grinder to play with.

http://www.kannastor.com/ <- I SWEAR by them. I had the Large 4 piece with clear top & 1" Pollen press but wound up giving the grinder to my ex-GF. I MUST invest in another one.They give the best grinds,produce the most kief and if you happen to get crap with seeds in it,it doesnt destroy them & mix em in with the rest of your herbals

Ive noticed that they are a lil pricey for Grinders,but you know the old saying..."You get what you pay for" and its most certainly true here...