How to Choose A Grinder

One of the first purchases a lot of people make when they start smoking is a grinder. It’s ubiquitous; every smoker has one. If you don’t, I don’t understand you. Are you picking apart the flower with your fingers? Do you only buy prerolls? Buy a grinder.

There’s a few good reasons why you shouldn’t pick flower apart with your fingers. For one, your fingers have oils and bacteria that are deposited on the surface of your plant. Your fingers also remove THC crystals, which is the active chemical component of the plant. Using your fingers leaves you with larger pieces of flower, which are harder for you to smoke. It requires more suction to burn through larger pieces of plant. Smaller, ground pieces of flower will burn quickly and consistently.

Another benefit of grinding your flower is collecting kief. Kief is the THC crystals you would have just had stuck to your fingers. When flower is ground, THC crystals are knocked loose from the leaves. The bottom of a grinder is a mesh screen, which allows the small crystals to fall through to another chamber. After a few uses, the grinder will have collected a small amount of the crystals. Kief can be used to punch up the THC content of a bowl of flower. It can also be used to make edibles in an easier way than straight flower. It’s a form of concentrate that is even sold in some pot stores.

This is my 76mm big honkin’ grinder. It can deal with a whole eighth of flower at a time, which is incredibly satisfying. I delicately balance three or four big nugs and crush them down between the metal teeth. It’s much more effective than my last grinder. It’s not just larger, but in better condition and much sharper.

Gelato #33 and Mr. Mohu the dog

When I first got this grinder I was also about to spend the weekend at Mr. Mohu’s house (pictured above). Per a budtender’s recommendation, I picked up an eighth of Gelato #33. It was beautiful deep purple and green flower. When I was packing my weekend bag, I was also creating a weed kit. It included my trusty silicone bong, my Toker Poker lighter, and this grinder full of flower. It was a very neat set up compared to my usual table-full-of-bags system. I even packed it all in a lovely vintage train case. Having an eighth was perfect for my tolerance level to have for about 3 days.

I like being able to grinder larger quantities. It’s appropriate for my tolerance level. Having a smaller grinder was more appropriate when I would only burn through a gram a week.

What Should You Pick?

Here are a few examples of grinders that are sold at the store. These are the most standard options you will find many locations. Having a natural wood grinder is a bit more rare. I like having it as an option because it is only $7 and is a very different aesthetic from the metal ones. If you go to any pot store, you can get an entry-level grinder. If you want to explore the online options and find something that might fit your specific needs, keep on reading.

Low Tolerance Users

https://medtainer.com/products/blue-marble-w-white-logo

Medtainers are a great option for lower tolerance users. Medtainers feature humidity protection, which allows users to have quantities of weed for longer periods of time. People who smoke less often will find their weed fresher than leaving it in a bag or non-sealed container. Using Medtainers is a very neat system and there are many appealing designs.

High Tolerance Users

https://dankstop.com/products/santa-cruz-shredder-medium-4-piece-herb-grinder

Any high tolerance user is going to want a full fledged grinder. That means specifically finding a four piece grinder. There are two and three piece grinders, but that removes necessary components. Two piece grinders only have a top and bottom grinding section. Three piece grinders add a chamber for the ground flower to fall into. Four piece grinders also include a kief chamber. This is the most efficient system for grinding and using flower.

Artsy Stoners

Grinders are great templates for art and appliques. Many artists have customized grinders with their own art or designs on them. Find more artsy grinders in my article, “10+ Best Grinders From Etsy“.

People With Money

https://brotherswithglass.com/collections/herb-grinders/products/banana-bros-otto-grinder?rfsn=1973881.bf9e2

This THING costs $119. However, it packs its’ own prerolls. Nifty! Expensive, but a huge convenience compared to hand rolling and manual cigarette rollers. There are other automated grinders. If you are a high quantity user with money, you might want to invest in one. They aren’t all over $100, but be prepared to see a price tag that is probably twice the amount of a manual grinder.

Do Not Buy-s’

I’m not linking these because you’re not buying them. Plastic grinders are the fast fashion of grinders. They are a waste of plastic, very hard to recycle, are fragile, and are not made of a material you want to smoke. Plastic won’t release harmful chemicals into the air unless you expose it to heat, but the grinding the piece does makes it easy to knock off a tooth or get small filings of plastic in your weed. It’s not worth the risk.