Herb Grinders

[vtac]

The kif that is caught in my grinder is the color of the plant matter. I thought it was gonna be just crystals...this is my first grinder. Is it my screen or is it supposed to look this way?

Should be more beige than green. How fine is the mesh on your screen? I guess you could try sifting it through a finer mesh like Clear_Dome said.

The coin trick will also cause more contaminants to be forced into your kif, giving you a greener, less pure product.

Yep, I don't use it myself, just thought I'd add it for posterity. A small stainless steel ball bearing might be better.

Here's the blade configuration.

 

[stickstones]

What's the coin trick and the ball bearing for?

 

[vtac]

A coin is placed in the grinder on the screen section. It moves around, forcing more trichomes through the screen. But as mentioned it also forces more plant matter through.

A stainless ball bearing might be better, but it would have to be large enough not to fit through the holes above it...

I always just shake the grinder side to side and smack the top a few times if I want to collect kif faster.

 

[Bemuse]

Has anyone tried this one yet?

CHROMIUM CRUSHER....I don't know if I will be able to handle it with a name like that!.:/

I guess I'll be the Guinea Pig. Just ordered one from e-bay.

 

[Clear_Dome]

the look nice ,but the guy only accept direct paymant soo this is why I bought the aerospace !!! ...dont forget to review it !

 

[Bemuse]

Well it's been awhile since I received the CHROMIUM CRUSHER. Just wanted to let everyone know what I thought about it. It looks very nice, it's pretty heavy, seems well made, it collects kief and it grinds herb.

Overall I would say it was well worth the money I spent on it.

There ya go, an in depth review of the CHROMIUM CRUSHER!!!!

 

[Clear_Dome]

nice , it is important to tell that chromium crusher is steal made and not aluminium made ! what is good if you keep your grinder at home

 

[vtac]

I like the idea of the 5 piece dual screen grinders on the SSV website, haven't seen them elsewhere yet.

 

[Clear_Dome]

wow I'm sure some we will se some 10 piece grinder LOL ....but I'm sure it work well

 

[vaporcloud]

I have a 3 piece grinder. Cost $30 locally. It does have a screen to catch pollen but I'm finding a lot of pollen in my bowl. Some does pass thru to the screen but certainly not as efficient as a space case or the like.

But it works well as a grinder and I am pressing the loose pollen and putting it back thru the vap. I love the way it crackles

And yeah like you slickstones I'm getting a build up of greeny - black shit on the sides. I just chip it off and biff it.

 

[jeffp]

I find that electric coffee grinders work really well. sure they don't catch kif as well as a screen grinder, but it takes all of 3 seconds to grind up a bag and i can get the kif out of mine easily with my finger and a credit card. oh yeah and they only cost about $15 compared to 50-60 for a space case. ex. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IUZL

First, welcome here darthvapor ,thanks for the link ..I ever own a coffee grinder just like this one but this kind of electric grinder remove too much thc or (kief if your prefer) and make the herb taste wierd....when I grind up my herb my goal is to expose more surface to the heat ,not to rip off all the thc

ps: what kind of vaporizer to you use ?

I use a four piece space case knock off - forgot which brand - for vaping, which works nicely but for eating I use an electric coffee grinder which turns material into fine powder. Spead organic peanut butter on crackers. Apply powder to top of cracker. Join crackers together. Put in toaster oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Eat, wait an hour or so, then see God in colors.

 

[Clear_Dome]

LOLL nice simple reciep !!! LOL pretty funny too

 

[stickstones]

keep it comin, jeffp!

 

[vaporcloud]

Yesterday ordered a 4 piece grinder. 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 so I scrape it out and press it into little balls My 4 piece should be here in the next couple of days so I'm gonna grind me a stack of nugs and then vap up the pollen.

 

[Pitzpon]

hello all.

i dont know about all acrylic grinders but the one that comes with the volcano is said to be very high quality and it is custom made for the pplz that make the volcano.

the idea is that that shape of grinder makes the herb really fine / dusty and that is the best way to vaporize it in any way and specificly in the volcano.

 

[stickstones]

What's up pitzpon? Have you had any other grinders to compare it to? I only have one grinder, so my experience is limited.

 

[Pitzpon]

i have a "tornado" (plain grinder that was sold everywhere as a brand name for some unknow reson) grinder + catcher + press that i picked up once in amsterdam because it was cheap and i thoght it would look cool on my shelf ... i had no idea what it does and what it is good for and never thoght i would use it.

all the basic low quality aluminum grinders are the same and are designd for shredding herbs for joints.
the size of particals needed for joints is different then the size you need for vaping and has to do with the fact that you want the herbs to burn but not too fast and not to be inhaled.

i can tell you for sure that basic aluminum grinders suck and that if you want a good metal grinder get a titanium space case (i got one on the way) or maby a mix n ball, that is also nice but lower quality the a sc for about the same price.

but the important thing is that the shape of all those grinders is with those pins/teeth that are made for makeing smaller particals and not for making it as fine as dust.
the acrylic ones by shape leave no room for the herbs in between theyr shark like teeth and makes the herb more dust like.
since you are vaping and not burning, the heat will spread better and reach more of your herb if it is finer.
unlike when burning when every thing gets burnt so the consistensy is less important.
there is a big diffrance in potency while vaping between finly ground herb and not so finly ground herb.
you can test for yourelf and see.
im sure you could find a ghetto way to grind it up really good and try it once.

 

[max]

I have a 4 piece aluminum grinder I bought on ebay for $12. I'd rate the quality high, since I also have an $80 Mendo Mulcher for comparison. Mendos are generally considered to be the equal of the Space Case, and are preferred over the SC by some. The no name has good weight and a nice screen, which, unlike the Mendo, gives the pollen no crevices to hide in. The Mendo is a better shredder, but at 3" in diameter, vs. 2" for the cheapie, it has larger holes and grinds the herb to a consistency more suited to joints than most vapes. So I'd say the size of the grinder and its holes has as much or more to do with consistency as teeth sharpness or placement. Processing my herb a 2nd time through the cheapie gives me the fine grind I need for the SSV and PD. I also capture quite a bit of additional pollen the 2nd time through, which makes sense. I bought the Mendo for faster and higher volume grinding. It satisfies there, but can't do the trick with getting it fine. The two work very well as a team though.

there is a big diffrance in potency while vaping between finly ground herb and not so finly ground herb.

If you're applying that statement to all vapes, I think most people would disagree with you. It may be true for a particular (and inefficient) vape, but certainly not for all. The herbalAire is a good example. It's as efficient as anything on the market and you don't grind at all.

 

[vaporcloud]

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. I have gone back to using my metal grinder but it doesnt grind as well as the Alum one.

 

[max]

I'm concerned that my aluminum grinder is leaving small metalic flakes in the ground up herb? Could this be possible?

Let's hope not. Use a magnet on your ground herb. See if it collects anything.

 

[Pitzpon]

about the grinder thing. i honestly have no experiance with the herbalAire or any other efficient vaporizers as you describe them. so i cannot prove this but logicaly if at least some of the oils you want to exatract are not reaching the hot air then they will not get vaporized. the only two ways of resolving this is by exposeing them to the air (griding or maby blowing the hot air at the herbs at a small stream (small holes) & at high intesity and breaking the herbs apart in the process) or by raising the temps.

about the aluminum bits in your grinder. a magnet would not work at collecting them as aluminum is not atracted to magnets ...

i would recommend that you just use the grinder on emtpy for a few times and try shaking it over a white paper to see if you get any particals.

 

[max]

about the grinder thing. i honestly have no experiance with the herbalAire or any other efficient vaporizers as you describe them. so i cannot prove this but logicaly if at least some of the oils you want to exatract are not reaching the hot air then they will not get vaporized. the only two ways of resolving this is by exposeing them to the air (griding or maby blowing the hot air at the herbs at a small stream (small holes) & at high intesity and breaking the herbs apart in the process) or by raising the temps.

That was my point. All vaporizers are not created equal. The herbalAire, for instance, has 18 small inlet holes for the hot air, and since the air flow is steady with a bag vape, the temp is also constant.

a magnet would not work at collecting them as aluminum is not atracted to magnets ...

A case of the early morning 'stupids'.

i would recommend that you just use the grinder on emtpy for a few times and try shaking it over a white paper to see if you get any particals.

It would have to be an unbelievably bad design for the teeth to make contact with each other. No dealer or distributor would buy it for resale.

 

[Pitzpon]

It would have to be an unbelievably bad design for the teeth to make contact with each other. No dealer or distributor would buy it for resale.

i was thinking more in the lines of a defected product, when you close the grinder you cant tell if the teeth are scratchin one another.

so i toght if you grind a few times (dunno about 1-2 minutes) and try spiling out what you get, you might be able to tell that the grinder has a problem.

max, in theory your right,
but some of the people in this business dont give a f**k wether you would buy from them again or not. they show you a good picture of a product that looks grate, tell you how much better it is then every thing else out there, and they do get people convinced in all kinds of "this deal is for today only" kinda ways, pplz buy that kind of BS and rush to buy some crappy vap / grinder / other stuff that no one ever herd of and then after they get it they come here and tell us how bad that store is, how lame the product is and how bad the service is.

 

[vaporcloud]

I doubt any alum flakes would be from the teeth ... I was more thinking the insides of the rim as you turn it. Probably nothing but I'm gonna try a dry run and then skake over some white paper as suggested by Pitzpon.

cheers

VC

 

[vtac]

Those Mendo Mulchers look pretty badass, surely Cali (Mendocino) 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? www.mendomulcherwarehouse.com <--- seems to be the closest thing to an official site.

cloud, that's a scary thought. Hope it's ok.

From the OP:

When you first get a new grinder, it's not a bad idea to give it a cleaning, who knows what chemicals were used in its production. Dry grind for a minute (use some oregano if you want), to hopefully remove any stray metal slivers/dust. Then give it a thorough scrub with a brush in warm soapy water. Shake/towel/fan dry and be sure to let it air out till there's no moisture left.