Herb Grinders

vtac

vapor junkie
Staff member
I would argue that using your fingers/scissors results in more trichome loss. Think how sticky your fingers are after breaking up some bud-- trichomes stuck under your nails, some lost on the surface you're breaking it up on, especially if there's wind. A grinder is enclosed so pretty much all of them are recoverable.

but I don't really get why you would want to remove just some of the trichomes from a batch of weed and thereby diminish it's quality
If you're gentle when grinding not many trichomes fall through the screen. Probably less than you would lose under your fingernails, etc. If you shake it, purposely trying to sift, that's another story.

Just found a Space Case on my front porch, will try to get some pics tonight!

:D
 
vtac,

max

Out to lunch
partially veiled said:
To be honest, I have been less than pleased with the grind quality from the 2.5" grinder. I don't have the same teeth/milling/consistency problems that Spiral had with his 4" grinder, but my complaint would be that the teeth simply aren't sharp enough. Sometimes it ends up "mashing" the bud more than "chopping" it, and there are large pieces that simply don't fall through the holes. I don't think I've ever been able to grind a full load without having to pick some out, break it a little by hand, put it back in and go at it again.
I have that complaint to a lesser extent with the 2" KGP I bought a couple of years ago. In its defense, it has 3mm holes. OTOH the other Kelly's grinder I have in the lower price range (1 3/4") does a great job. For someone wanting smaller holes I'd definitely recommend it. Hopefully I'll still feel the same in a year or two. In this price range, just under $20, I'd now have to recommend the 2.25" or 2.5" Chromium Crusher on eBay for a larger grinder.

bongoman said:
I can understand specifically setting out to make a batch of kif/hashish from buds as an end in itself, but I don't really get why you would want to remove just some of the trichomes from a batch of weed and thereby diminish it's quality just to have some kif for later. It's a zero sum game.
With mediocre herb, I'm much more likely to just load it in my two piece grinder and leave it at that. With good herb, using a screen gives me the option of having two different strengths. Sometimes, especially earlier in the day, I like to start the high life at low altitude. The later it is the more likely I am to top a bowl off with some kief. And I load a dime on the screen to maximize the sifting-just personal preference.

With a two piece grinder I find it more difficult to keep the kief with the herb. More tends to get left on the grinder vs. a screen grinder. Then it wants to stay on the surface I dump the grinder on (I like to use a slick paper like a magazine). Then it lingers in the pill bottle I use for my ready to use herb. It wants to cling to every surface, especially this time of year.

I like a medium to coarse screen to get more through. I think the bigger herb particles that can pass through a coarser screen help to keep the kief rounded up, like the stuff you sprinkle on a floor before sweeping to keep the dust from flying around.

I really like a good two piece grinder, but I've found that the better the herb, the more likely I am to screen it for the 2 reasons I mentioned. I'm thinking about making a smaller version of Tom's shaky screen to use with the MB two piece. Hell I'm just having fun playing with this stuff. I used my fingers or scissors up until a couple of years ago.

SpiralArchitect said:
Just curious, max, you own several grinders -- which do you use most of the time?
I'm still spreading the work around-evaluating. They all do a good job performance wise. I find I don't like lots of teeth, like on the Mendo and Chromium Crusher. They're too close together for my taste-makes it harder to load. The MB and CNC from Kelly fit my style, and the 1 3/4" gets a lot of use for a finer grind. We'll see how the Space Case fits me. I know quality will be tops. I had to try one, but with what I've already got I'd have to fall in love with it bigtime to not end up selling it after a good test.

vtac said:
Just found a Space Case on my front porch, will try to get some pics tonight!
Mine was supposed to have shipped a week ago. They must have shipped it TTA. :/
 
max,

hazy

combustion fucker
Manufacturer
Thanks for your observations, vtac. Seems like any of the better quality grinders mentioned here should be ok. The Chromium Crusher also looks like a contender, but the fine screen puts me off a bit. I'm leaning towards the mixnball; it's got an irresistable smoothness about it.
 
hazy,

bsandhu

Well-Known Member
space case ftw
PC170115.jpg

PC170116.jpg

PC170117.jpg
 
bsandhu,

vtac

vapor junkie
Staff member
Quick look at the Space Case medium titanium 4 piece grinder. I haven't used it yet so these are just my impressions after a hands on visual inspection.

I really like the anodized finish, it's semi-shiny, smooth, and has a cool gunmetal type of look. I tried to take pictures in a variety of lighting conditions to give an idea of the color.

Here's what gratefulbuys had to say: 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.

I had high expectations for fit and finish and so far it's lived up to the hype; the quality of workmanship is excellent. When assembled, the 3 threaded sections match up perfectly with almost no visible seam. The threads are smooth as glass, though there are more of them than I'm accustomed to. Opening the herb chamber takes a 1080, the kif tray, 810.

The top piece has some grooves in addition to the knurled texture which provides a nice grip and feels good tactilely. The magnets are strong, and dry grinding, the action is nice and smooth. The top feels like it's pretty airtight when closed.

The teeth are quite sharp and there are lots of them. 30 on the top, 24 on the bottom, 69 altogether if you count the ones on the side and around the magnet. I counted 44 holes, and measured them at 5mm.

The screen section is a lot deeper than I'm used to, 17mm walls should hold a lot of ground herb. Screen is tight and flush with the edge, no kif sinks. It, and the ring underneath it are the only pieces that don't have the dark finish.

Compared to the SSV branded grinder (which isn't poorly made) I've been using for the last year or so, everything is of a higher quality--from the teeth, to the threads, and magnets, down to little details like the knurling pattern, everything is machined to a higher tolerance. This is especially visible in the pictures of the undersides of the hole sections.

Cosmetically, my only gripe would be the placement of of the logo which is on the bottom of the kif tray rather than the top of the grinder. Not really a huge deal but I'd imagine most people would like to see it. Maybe not. But even in the enlarged photos I can't find any imperfections, just dust.

Being super OCD I still need to wash it up before use, but swabbing around with an alcohol soaked q-tip, the only visible residue was on the silver ring underneath the screen.

Diameter: 62mm
Height: 49mm
Weight: More than 150g

 
vtac,
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partially veiled

Lo Boob Oscillator
Yaaaah hahahahaha yikes! I got confirmation that mine shipped on the 15th, so hopefully sometime this week...it's :goat: time!

:lol: Thanks for the slew of high-quality pictures and all of the measurements and such vtac, she's a beaut. Do you have a name picked out yet, you cheeky bastard? Make sure you fill us in with the grind quality/size once you've got it washed and...ya know...deflowered. :D Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :brow:
 
partially veiled,

Progress

'Socratic Existentialist, MD'
Creator(V) - Space Case medium titanium 4 piece grinder...
Nice grinder and review and pictures (congratulations as well)! :tup:

I have had the same (edit: Oops, mine is the large, but otherwise the same) Ti SC for years (great minds think alike?), and love it. It still looks like it did the day I got it except I covered to brand name (I am sure you will too ;) ).

When I got it new I remember finding myself grinding and grinding to the point that I had a ridiculous pile just because it worked so smoothly and fit so much more than my metal pocket-sized Sweetleaf :lol:.

Toke it easy :peace:
 
Progress,

SpiralArchitect

? & beyond
GREAT review/pictures vtac. Mucho gracias. God, that grinder looks fucking shmexy. :brow:

Report back after you've used her and let us know if it was worth it and how she grinds. :)
 
SpiralArchitect,

bongoman

Well-Known Member
Anyone in a position to compare the quality of Space Case to MixnBall? I might have to wait for Max to get his SC.
 
bongoman,

hazy

combustion fucker
Manufacturer
Hey bongoman, did I read somewhere that you just got a mixnball? If so, where did you get it from?
 
hazy,

SpiralArchitect

? & beyond
How was the shipping? It is free shipping (amazing, even for Alaska) so my guess is it's pretty slow?
I got a receipt but wasn't giving a tracking order or anything.... I cannot wait to try it out. :D
 
SpiralArchitect,

bongoman

Well-Known Member
Well, I'm in Australia so I paid shipping, but only $6, so I think it's probably going the slow road. I'm not holding my breath waiting for it.
 
bongoman,

ILoveRadiohead!

Well-Known Member
hazy said:
Hey bongoman, did I read somewhere that you just got a mixnball? If so, where did you get it from?
bongoman said:
I've got one on the way from this ebay seller.
Thats the same place I got mine from and I received it 4 days after ordering it. They shipped it 1st class mail (not as fast as priority) but it was still pretty fast shipping to the east coast from the west.

I tried out some more grinding and I'm really happy with the grind and the collection on the mixnball. Plus even though the stuff I used was really sticky the grinding chamber is still clean. Can't beat the value for $27-30.
 
ILoveRadiohead!,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
Awesome! I just got my MixnBall from the ebay seller that Bongoman recommended. I don't have to wait the 8 weeks and it looks pretty damn sweet. I wanted the same Spacecase Ti that Vtac got but I couldn't justify spending the extra $$ for something that might only shred my herb marginally better than the MnB. If you were to rank the vendors in order based on shredding performance/kief collecting, that provide grinders would the order looks something like this?

Spacecase
Cosmic
MixnBall
MendoMulcher
Chromium Crusher
??

Just curious what you guys think, obviously you guys have spent much more time researching this stuff than myself.
 
stonemonkey55,

SpiralArchitect

? & beyond
I'd really have to try them all at once. I only have experience with the Mendo, Chromium, and soon, the MixNBall.

Swap the MixnBall with the Mendo and you have the proper price hierarchy, once again proving, you get what you pay for, as are most things in life. :2c:
 
SpiralArchitect,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
Switch the mixnball with the cosmic or mendo mulcher? Anyways, just reading this thread made me realize my 1 inch, generic shredder is the weakest link in my vapor set up. I'm pretty excited to get this thing, hopefully I'll have it by end of week. Really excited about collecting some kief for the PD too! :D
 
stonemonkey55,

ILoveRadiohead!

Well-Known Member
Just vaped some mixnball ground stuff in my PD and got nice huge hits. THough the herb is of good quality so that helps.
 
ILoveRadiohead!,

SpiralArchitect

? & beyond
Wait, sm55 it arrived or should be here at the end of the week?

Price hierarchy;

Spacecase
Cosmic
MendoMulcher
MixnBall
Chromium Crusher



Also, I think I might recommend people who are interested in a Mendo to order from here. It is the guy that makes them.

pv, have you tried to contact him via ebay? *shrug*
 
SpiralArchitect,

max

Out to lunch
SpiralArchitect said:
max,
You said you could get different size holes from KGP products.... do you just ask him in the request or are they separate auctions? I can't seem to find them. I think I might get a 1.5/2.5 4 piece with the smallest sized holes, which would those be? (I want a super fine grind)
I don't get the "1.5/2.5" spiral. The 2.5" has the choice of hole sizes-but only the 'new style' 2.5, and 4mm is the smallest. You have to specify when you order. I haven't used that one, but I did order it. The actual size and number of teeth were different than advertised though, so Kelly took it back, refunded my return shipping, and sent me a 2.5" CNC that he sells for $40. Not a bad trade for the $14 grinder I ordered, and pv wasn't thrilled with his. If you want the smallest holes get the 1 3/4" Prime Quality model for $10. I have that and I'm very happy with it.
 
max,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
It hasn't arrived yet, I got the shipping notice today and it's within the same state so I am pretty confident that I will get it by Thursday at the latest. I was hesitant to get the mendo because of some of the stuff that I read in this thread and there were enough poistive things written about the Mixnball and the price was right so I figured why not. Do the higher end grinders actually grind better? or are they made of better quality materials? Anyhow, got some nice organic strawberry lemonade that I'd like to collect the crystals of :D
 
stonemonkey55,

SpiralArchitect

? & beyond
They both grind better, of higher craftsmanship and quality materials.

Cool, so if your MixNBall is on the way, mine is too. :) It'll be interesting to hear what you think, it being your first 4 piece grinder and all...
 
SpiralArchitect,
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