Brilliant Cut Grinder

[Dynavaper]

Welcome at your new loving home, BCG...
Too early for any first impressions, the postman just dropped it here, but I am happy that everything worked out well and will do some heavy grinding this evening!

 

[szai]

I haven't received my sapphire one yet, fingers crossed by at the end of the week. But that picture of the hematite. Surprisingly, that would have been my 1st choice had I known that color could be so shiny & sexy, like the shiny brown OG Ghost MV-1 that GV calls black. Normally, nothing makes me deviate from blues.

@Grinders for Life, you must have purple & spice or pumpkin orange (or both!) colors. (And, yes, @Hogni, we know you want bronze & cooper. ) Not only would these be popular colors in their own right, but think of how these colors would interplay with each other on the same grinder. Purple with green or blue. & Spice & or pumpkin orange with either green, purple or hematite. Wow! Imagine a spice orange grinder plate & hematite grinder.

Your purple prototype pics leaned too red, therefore, looked too fuschia pinky purple. You need that perfect purple -- one which falls exactly centered between red & blue hues on the color wheel. So please add this suggestion to your future considerations list.

And I'm curious, did anyone select rose gold?

We just need sugar spice and everything nice! BCG has the most wholesome origin story!

 

[rozroz]

it's fine

 

[Jill NYC]

And I'm curious, did anyone select rose gold?

I think one of my plates is rose gold. It’s not usually a color I’d choose, but for some reason it spoke to me.

I should have received it last week but it has been bouncing around the New York postal system for the past week. My patience is wearing thin, but nothing I can do but wait and drool at all of the great pics everyone has posted here.

 

[pxl_jockey]

My goodness, all the Onyx pics are making me all antsy feeling! Every day I use the GR8TR now, I’m grumbling and fussing while I’m brushing and poking. Cannot wait for mine to arrive! In a good way.

I think all the colours I’ve seen so far are really nice and deeply saturated and it’s great to know GFL is sorting out all the anodising drama. I can’t imagine how badly I would have freaked out to have so much perfectly made product being totally ruined in the last phase. Especially on that launch premier batch that folks are excited about and waiting for. Nothing to do except start all over... Would have lost my mind!

@Grinders for Life Please please tell me/us that Ruby Red is still a future colour consideration! That would have been my first choice and was gutted when the anodiser couldn’t get it right. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough going on right now, but do you plan to rollout additional colours in the future?

Red should def be a priority over the copper and bronze shades that @Hogni always cries about! I’m just saying, the red crayon is ALWAYS way more popular at the kindergarten table than its metallic associates. I think I read in a psychiatric journal that good-hearted and kind people always prefer primary & secondary colours. Or perhaps I just made that up? I can’t remember which and it doesn’t really matter, does it?

 

[lwien]

Ok, here's my impression of this grinder.

First off, I want to say that I haven’t used it yet. I'm a micro-doser and being that I already have enough bud that's ground up, its gonna be awhile but there's already pics here of the grind so I don't think you'll need more of the same from me but I can tell you this. If a grinder was going to win the award for "What is the Sexiest Grinder on the Market Today", this would win by a landslide. It wins not only by it's looks but by how it feels. The machining is impeccable from how the pieces fit together to the machining on the plates. It just feels right, be it just sitting in your hand or when taking it apart, or when going through the grinding motions. It just looks and feels very right and the strength of the magnets just adds to the mystique of this grinder. It oozes quality inside and out and it more than justifies the asking price of admission.

I love the grind that the SCS can provide and I'll leave it up to others to comment if this grinder can produce the same kind of fluffy grind that the SCS can do, but if it can, in my opinion, this grinder just knocked the SCS off of my top grinder pedestal.

 

[LongDraw]

Grinder looks awesome. Once they come out with the 4 piece plan to pick one up myself, i like collecting kief . Keep posting pictures, they all look great.

 

[elykpeace]

Ok, here's my impression of this grinder.

First off, I want to say that I haven’t used it yet. I'm a micro-doser and being that I already have enough bud that's ground up, its gonna be awhile but there's already pics here of the grind so I don't think you'll need more of the same from me but I can tell you this. If a grinder was going to win the award for "What is the Sexiest Grinder on the Market Today", this would win by a landslide. It wins not only by it's looks but by how it feels. The machining is impeccable from how the pieces fit together to the machining on the plates. It just feels right, be it just sitting in your hand or when taking it apart, or when going through the grinding motions. It just looks and feels very right and the strength of the magnets just adds to the mystique of this grinder. It oozes quality inside and out and it more than justifies the asking price of admission.

I love the grind that the SCS can provide and I'll leave it up to others to comment if this grinder can produce the same kind of fluffy grind that the SCS can do, but if it can, in my opinion, this grinder just knocked the SCS off of my top grinder pedestal.

already cleaned and threw my scs on the shelf. i prefer the fluffy the BCG produces- also the BCG hasnt quit. scs would have jammed up by now and i havent been able to jam the BCG ! just chews and chews - big fat fatty

 

[lwien]

already cleaned and threw my scs on the shelf. i prefer the fluffy the BCG produces- also the BCG hasnt quit. scs would have jammed up by now and i havent been able to jam the BCG ! just chews and chews - big fat fatty

Have you been using the fine, medium or coarse plate?

 

[elykpeace]

Have you been using the fine, medium or coarse plate?

med. i might pick up a fine in a different color for my vapcap but med seems to be my happy place

 

[Hogni]

I think all the colours I’ve seen so far are really nice and deeply saturated and it’s great to know GFL is
Red should def be a priority over the copper and bronze shades that @Hogni always cries about! I’m just saying, the red crayon is ALWAYS way more popular at the kindergarten table than its metallic associates. I think I read in a psychiatric journal that good-hearted and kind people always prefer primary & secondary colours. Or perhaps I just made that up? I can’t remember which and it doesn’t really matter, does it?

I only intented to bring some colors to my life asides all shades from grey to black

@pxl_jockey, I believe I don't like your post and you, anymore..............

 

[pxl_jockey]

Everyone knows you don’t mean that. You know you love the brotherly comradeship!

Also:
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being monochrome man, you’re the epitome of European Chic.

 

[Hogni]

Arrogant bastard! ..........Feel hugged

 

[Ramahs]

My postal worker better come through soon!

 

[Dynavaper]

First impression is excellent. I am very, very pleased. This could indeed be the last grinder that I need. It does a fantastic job so far (only used the "medium plate" until now), also and especially compared to all the other high grade grinders that I own. No regrets here, wonderful stuff as it seems!

 

[Summer]

Bud hasn't used it yet, but here's what he said about the build quality. Follow it through until 26:30 where he shows the GFL website.

I think Bud is incorrect concerning the little center elevated nub. I don't think it's so bud doesn't get caught between the magnets, but, rather, for smooth turning - like a pivot. If the little nub was a completely flat magnet, it wouldn't turn as smoothly & it wouldn't pivot when the grinder was stuffed with weed. This magnetic pivoting/rocking takes into account the unevenness of the bud pieces in the grinder, thus allowing for smooth grinding. And, as such, the rattling isn't because of a tolerance being off, but rather because this raised nub is rocking/pivoting when shaken.

Am I right at all, @GrindersForLife? If not, I'd still like a silver star placed on my forehead for a logical thought process & a nicely fabricated theory.

Edited to add: I don't know if I know what the hell I'm talking about, but I'm gonna let it stand for critiquing.

 

[Roth]

Bud hasn't used it yet, but here's what he said about the build quality. Follow it through until 26:30 where he shows the GFL website.

I think Bud is incorrect concerning the little center elevated nub. I don't think it's so bud doesn't get caught between the magnets, but, rather, for smooth turning - like a pivot. If the little nub was a completely flat magnet, it wouldn't turn as smoothly & it wouldn't pivot when the grinder was stuffed with weed. This magnetic pivoting/rocking takes into account the unevenness of the bud pieces in the grinder, thus allowing for smooth grinding. And, as such, the rattling isn't because of a tolerance being off, but rather because this raised nub is rocking/pivoting when shaken.

Am I right at all, @GrindersForLife? If not, I'd still like a silver star placed on my forehead for a logical thought process & a nicely fabricated theory.

Edited to add: I don't know if I know what the hell I'm talking about, but I'm gonna let it stand for critiquing.

I think you are both probably right. On GFL's website, on the homepage, it states:

"It doesn't matter where you load your herb, the Brilliant Cut Herb Grinder will grind and evacuate everything you put into it. With a cutting edge between the magnetic connection, nothing will ever get stuck in the middle, so your grinder will always fully close. And with teeth embedded in the outer rim, the effective grinding area far exceeds conventional grinder designs. All these cutting edges ensure your herb is ground and not crushed. Less crushing means less residue build-up."

So it definitely is a cutting blade, but you might be onto something about the added function of it as well.

I didn't see where he talked about it rattling and the tolerance, do you have a timestamp for that? I tried watching some of the video and couldn't stand him, only lasted a few minutes before closing the video.

If he's talking about the little bit of side to side lateral motion between the top and middle plates, I think that's by design. The grinder doesn't center itself with the outside of the plates like most grinders, but rather with the center cylinder. This allows that little bit of extra space between the outside of the top and middle plates, which then prevents it from sticking and jamming up after prolonged use. At least that's my impression from the website and studying it up close. Could be wrong on that.



I'm still really liking my grinder, still staying nice and smooth.

 

[Summer]

So it definitely is a cutting blade, but you might be onto something about the added function of it as well.

If he's talking about the little bit of side to side lateral motion between the top and middle plates

Yes.

I didn't see where he talked about it rattling and the tolerance, do you have a timestamp for that?

In the 1st 3 min. - 20:37 to 23.30(?). Altogether the clip is a total of 6 min. I think you can bear it.

This allows that little bit of extra space between the top and middle plates, which then prevents it from sticking and jamming up after prolonged use.

Additionally, what I said: this little extra clearance provides for smoother grinding due to buds being irregular in size & prevents smashing.

I feel like Dr. Doolittle, "By George, I think she's (me) got it!"

 

[Jill NYC]

The USPS finally made it to my doorstep (so to speak)
Here are some pics:


Sky Blue & Hematite




Sky Blue All Round



Sky Blue & Rose Gold



The Full Monty

 

[bizwaxzion]

The sky/rose is a nice combo.

 

[Grinders for Life]

Your purple prototype pics leaned too red, therefore, looked too fuschia pinky purple. You need that perfect purple -- one which falls exactly centered between red & blue hues on the color wheel. So please add this suggestion to your future considerations list.

I think all the colours I’ve seen so far are really nice and deeply saturated and it’s great to know GFL is sorting out all the anodising drama. I can’t imagine how badly I would have freaked out to have so much perfectly made product being totally ruined in the last phase. Especially on that launch premier batch that folks are excited about and waiting for. Nothing to do except start all over... Would have lost my mind!

@Grinders for Life Please please tell me/us that Ruby Red is still a future colour consideration! That would have been my first choice and was gutted when the anodiser couldn’t get it right. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough going on right now, but do you plan to rollout additional colours in the future?

Red should def be a priority over the copper and bronze shades that @Hogni always cries about! I’m just saying, the red crayon is ALWAYS way more popular at the kindergarten table than its metallic associates. I think I read in a psychiatric journal that good-hearted and kind people always prefer primary & secondary colours. Or perhaps I just made that up? I can’t remember which and it doesn’t really matter, does it?

@pxl_jockey, I did lose my mind. Haha

Red and purple are in the works. The anodizer said he would try a different brand of red to see if that corrects the problem. We haven't tried it yet though. The purple definitely needs to be darker than that prototype we made.

I'm going to set up an experimental anodizing setup and start playing around with it.

I'll be mixing my own colors. It should be fun. It should give us a deeper understanding of the anodizing process. There's a lot to learn, but it will be worth it.

Bud hasn't used it yet, but here's what he said about the build quality. Follow it through until 26:30 where he shows the GFL website.

I think Bud is incorrect concerning the little center elevated nub. I don't think it's so bud doesn't get caught between the magnets, but, rather, for smooth turning - like a pivot. If the little nub was a completely flat magnet, it wouldn't turn as smoothly & it wouldn't pivot when the grinder was stuffed with weed. This magnetic pivoting/rocking takes into account the unevenness of the bud pieces in the grinder, thus allowing for smooth grinding. And, as such, the rattling isn't because of a tolerance being off, but rather because this raised nub is rocking/pivoting when shaken.

Am I right at all, @GrindersForLife? If not, I'd still like a silver star placed on my forehead for a logical thought process & a nicely fabricated theory.

Edited to add: I don't know if I know what the hell I'm talking about, but I'm gonna let it stand for critiquing.

I think you are both probably right. On GFL's website, on the homepage, it states:

"It doesn't matter where you load your herb, the Brilliant Cut Herb Grinder will grind and evacuate everything you put into it. With a cutting edge between the magnetic connection, nothing will ever get stuck in the middle, so your grinder will always fully close. And with teeth embedded in the outer rim, the effective grinding area far exceeds conventional grinder designs. All these cutting edges ensure your herb is ground and not crushed. Less crushing means less residue build-up."

So it definitely is a cutting blade, but you might be onto something about the added function of it as well.

I didn't see where he talked about it rattling and the tolerance, do you have a timestamp for that? I tried watching some of the video and couldn't stand him, only lasted a few minutes before closing the video.

If he's talking about the little bit of side to side lateral motion between the top and middle plates, I think that's by design. The grinder doesn't center itself with the outside of the plates like most grinders, but rather with the center cylinder. This allows that little bit of extra space between the top and middle plates, which then prevents it from sticking and jamming up after prolonged use. At least that's my impression from the website and studying it up close. Could be wrong on that.



I'm still really liking my grinder, still staying nice and smooth.

@Roth nailed it.

That clearance between the center cylinder on the middle and the teeth on the top is definitely there for functionality and performance. We experimented and tested a bunch of different dimensions. This clearance was as tight as we could get it before you would start feeling restriction from buildup in that area. Any restriction from buildup was unacceptable to us.

The cutting edge on the center cylinder is to clear any herb that finds its way into that area. We were somewhat inspired by end mills and flat bottom drills.

Here's the backstory:

We started this grinder as a side project. We just wanted to make a grinder with a unique exterior for personal use, so my dynavap and I spent a weekend looking at images of geometric patterns on Google. We designed a few different variations and when the first diamond cut pattern emerged from the machine, we knew that this was it, but it still required tweaking. It just didn't look right. The proportions were off. Here are some pictures of those grinders. These were 3" grinders.

Our first grinder prototype

First Diamond Cut Pattern Grinder

The first prototype's mechanical design for grinding was loosely based on a heavily used 15 year-old 3" Space Case. Over the years, we've had some incredible battles trying to open that SC. It would just get jammed shut. With torture testing, the prototype would get jammed shut as well. It was centered conventionally and had tight clearances. This just wasn't going to cut it.

At this point, my brother and I decided to make a go at it and try to solve all the problems we could find in herb grinders and sell them commercially. We moved to a 2" grinder design in order to rapidly-prototype and iterate on the mechanical design.

With our personal experience and by reading the FC herb grinder thread, we decided to solve these problems:

• Jamming and binding caused by buildup
• Herb getting stuck on the magnet

We didn't really even know if these problems could be solved, but it was worth a shot. We decided to try to solve jamming first. After 2.5 weeks of prototyping every day and failing over and over, we made the first prototype that was centered and constrained by a cylinder on the middle plate and the teeth on the top instead of being centered by the outer walls. We torture tested it and we couldn't get it to jam. This idea came up during a discussion with my two brothers and it was the answer.

We then made a bunch of prototypes with the intention to solve the problem of herb getting trapped over the magnet. Eventually, we came to the idea of having a cutting edge over the face of the magnet. We torture tested it and it cleared everything.

The breakthrough for jamming happened with this prototype

Another early, dirty, and ugly prototype. It's washer is 3d printed. It has many of the features that makes our grinder different and better, but they aren't refined.

At this point, we were still just making 2-piece prototypes. We read the FC herb grinder thread some more and quite a few people were looking for a 3-piece grinder, so we started making 3-piece prototypes. We naturally gravitated towards a thread-less design. We also decided to make a fine grinder as well and we moved to a 2.2" medium size design.

The thread-less quick-connect mechanism took the longest to come up with and perfect. We spent months and we made many, many prototypes. It wasn't easy, but we made it happen.

During all this, we were also experimenting with different plastics for the washer. We ended up with a food-grade, low-friction, and abrasion-resistant plastic. It's one reason why it's so buttery smooth. The 3d printed washers were rough and the other plastics we tried just didn't feel as good.

After we felt like we were close to a production model, we posted a few pictures and videos on Instagram. @lazylathe saw our grinder and we started talking. He created this thread and eventually we offered him a beta grinder set to test out. We sent him a fine grinder and a medium grinder. He reviewed it and it created a discussion on here. He became our frontschwein and he was invaluable in the development of this grinder. He really got things going for us on here and gave a lot of feedback.

The medium grinder design we sent lazylathe.

At some point @Hogni suggested that an interchangeable grind plate design would be better. We thought so too. That opened up a . We then spent a few months refining that and all the other features. We did a deep-dive on tooth geometry and hole size and placement trying to perfect the different grinds. Grinders are more nuanced and deep then we ever thought when we started this project.

 

[Roth]

@pxl_jockey, I did lose my mind. Haha

Red and purple are in the works. The anodizer said he would try a different brand of red to see if that corrects the problem. We haven't tried it yet though. The purple definitely needs to be darker than that prototype we made.

I'm going to set up an experimental anodizing setup and start playing around with it.

I'll be mixing my own colors. It should be fun. It should give us a deeper understanding of the anodizing process. There's a lot to learn, but it will be worth it.





@Roth nailed it.

That clearance between the center cylinder on the middle and the teeth on the top is definitely there for functionality and performance. We experimented and tested a bunch of different dimensions. This clearance was as tight as we could get it before you would start feeling restriction from buildup in that area. Any restriction from buildup was unacceptable to us.

The cutting edge on the center cylinder is to clear any herb that finds its way into that area. We were somewhat inspired by end mills and flat bottom drills.

Here's the backstory:

We started this grinder as a side project. We just wanted to make a grinder with a unique exterior for personal use, so my dynavap and I spent a weekend looking at images of geometric patterns on Google. We designed a few different variations and when the first diamond cut pattern emerged from the machine, we knew that this was it, but it still required tweaking. It just didn't look right. The proportions were off. Here are some pictures of those grinders. These were 3" grinders.

Our first grinder prototype

First Diamond Cut Pattern Grinder

The first prototype's mechanical design for grinding was loosely based on a heavily used 15 year-old 3" Space Case. Over the years, we've had some incredible battles trying to open that SC. It would just get jammed shut. With torture testing, the prototype would get jammed shut as well. It was centered conventionally and had tight clearances. This just wasn't going to cut it.

At this point, my brother and I decided to make a go at it and try to solve all the problems we could find in herb grinders and sell them commercially. We moved to a 2" grinder design in order to rapidly-prototype and iterate on the mechanical design.

With our personal experience and by reading the FC herb grinder thread, we decided to solve these problems:

• Jamming and binding caused by buildup
• Herb getting stuck on the magnet

We didn't really even know if these problems could be solved, but it was worth a shot. We decided to try to solve jamming first. After 2.5 weeks of prototyping every day and failing over and over, we made the first prototype that was centered and constrained by a cylinder on the middle plate and the teeth on the top instead of being centered by the outer walls. We torture tested it and we couldn't get it to jam. This idea came up during a discussion with my two brothers and it was the answer.

We then made a bunch of prototypes with the intention to solve the problem of herb getting trapped over the magnet. Eventually, we came to the idea of having a cutting edge over the face of the magnet. We torture tested it and it cleared everything.

The breakthrough for jamming happened with this prototype

Another early, dirty, and ugly prototype. It's washer is 3d printed. It has many of the features that makes our grinder different and better, but they aren't refined.

At this point, we were still just making 2-piece prototypes. We read the FC herb grinder thread some more and quite a few people were looking for a 3-piece grinder, so we started making 3-piece prototypes. We naturally gravitated towards a thread-less design. We also decided to make a fine grinder as well and we moved to a 2.2" medium size design.

The thread-less quick-connect mechanism took the longest to come up with and perfect. We spent months and we made many, many prototypes. It wasn't easy, but we made it happen.

During all this, we were also experimenting with different plastics for the washer. We ended up with a food-grade, low-friction, and abrasion-resistant plastic. It's one reason why it's so buttery smooth. The 3d printed washers were rough and the other plastics we tried just didn't feel as good.

After we felt like we were close to a production model, we posted a few pictures and videos on Instagram. @lazylathe saw our grinder and we started talking. He created this thread and eventually we offered him a beta grinder set to test out. We sent him a fine grinder and a medium grinder. He reviewed it and it created a discussion on here. He became our frontschwein and he was invaluable in the development of this grinder. He really got things going for us on here and gave a lot of feedback.

The medium grinder design we sent lazylathe.

At some point @Hogni suggested that an interchangeable grind plate design would be better. We thought so too. That opened up a . We then spent a few months refining that and all the other features. We did a deep-dive on tooth geometry and hole size and placement trying to perfect the different grinds. Grinders are more nuanced and deep then we ever thought when we started this project.

Absolutely fantastic post, thanks for allowing us a peak behind the curtain!

It's pretty amazing to see how quickly things evolved and became the glorious grinder we now have! I love seeing the community involvement and reacting to requests/critiques.



I haven't cleaned my SCS yet. I've left it on the table just how it was, in order to remind myself what I was dealing with before. I just picked it up and it felt like it was glued shut!

 

[ClearBlueLou]

My postal worker better come through soon!

Where does one purchase a postal worker, anyway?

 

[Ramahs]

Mine arrived today, but I won’t need to grind anything till at least tomorrow. Plus my internet is down till tomorrow so I’m limited to my phone, which is annoying.

I’ll be back after some use

Where does one purchase a postal worker, anyway?

The tax office?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Mine arrived today, but I won’t need to grind anything till at least tomorrow. Plus my internet is down till tomorrow so I’m limited to my phone, which is annoying.

I’ll be back after some use



The tax office?

Waddle they think of next....