This is Why A Quality Grinder is Essential

We don’t want to waste any part of our bud, budget, or kief, when grinding it up for bowls and blunts. You'd be surprised at how many trichomes can be lost on our fingers or spilled while we break it up. If you're in the market for a grinder to avoid these messes, be aware most grinders might look the same, but there are a few differences that make some better than others.

Why Use A Grinder?

There’s several benefits to breaking up your bud using one of these crafty contraptions.

1. An even burn. When you break up weed with your fingers, you break it into chunks of various sizes. This makes the plant burn unevenly, sometimes burning the outside of a tiny piece and leaving the inside of it untouched. If you want your weed to burn evenly while smoking, grind it first, so there’s a larger exposed surface area of weed for enjoying.

2. Better smell & taste. Since grinders expose more surface area of the cannabis, this allows the scents and taste to be released and enjoyed to their fullest. Learn More: List of the Major Flavors & Fragrances Cannabis Produces

3. Kief saver. Instead of trichome crystals getting all over your fingers while breaking it up, you can catch them in the grinder and sprinkle them on your bowls. That’s a win, since trichomes are essentially where the most THC is.

4. Money saver. Because a grinder catches every particle of the bud you’re grinding, you’ll have the ability to consume it all. There’s less of a chance of spilling the weed since it has to be closed in order to work, and over time, this will lead to an extra bowl here and there saving a tad of money along the way.

5. Doubles as cannabis carrier. Most grinders can easily fit in your hand, making them perfect for toting your bud around in your bag. But if you're worried about ganja's easily identifiable odor, discover: Scent-Concealing Luxury Handbags Making Way to Fashion Industry.

What Makes A Great Grinder?

Some are better than others, and here’s a quick look at the differences.

1. Material of grinder. Plastic grinders can break easier than all the rest. You drop it, it will most likely crack. You get a stem in it, a grinder tooth (or piece of one) might break off into the weed and that’s something we definitely don’t want to smoke. While wood ones are a step up from plastic, metal is where it’s at. They don’t break, you can drop it and it’ll stay intact, and the grinder teeth are both strong and sharp.

2. More chambers. Some grinders have only one compartment. It’s basically two sides that twist together and catch both bud and kief in the same chamber. These are hard to clean out of all the trichomes and we don’t want that – we want multiple chambers, so plant material is ground evenly while kief is better separated from it. Grinders can come with up to four chambers, each one grinding weed to a finer state.

3. Quality teeth. Take a look at the inside of a grinder. You’ll see multiple “teeth” protruding that grind up the plant material. Test out how sharp they are by pressing your finger against their sides. The sharper, the better; such teeth will make it easier to twist the grinder while weed its in it. Dull teeth means both a harder time grinding and less ground material.

4. Simplicity. While an electric grinder sounds cool, it risks breaking in many different forms. It also requires batteries or a plug depending on what brand is being used. The sound can be a bit too much if using outside of your home, and accidentally dropping it will surely break it. If you’re not a fan of the traditional grinder, there are rotary crank grinders that are better than electric ones – but the added parts are always at risk for breaking.