Things You Should Know About Plants Grinders to Choose the Right One

 The plant grinder is one of the most crucial tools anyone who consumes plant can have in their arsenal. Whether you vape, smoke, or infuse your plant into edibles, properly preparing them first with the help of a grinder will improve your overall experience.

If you’re new to marijuana, you likely have a few questions about grinders, including what they are, how they work, and why you want to use one. This comprehensive guide on grinders will teach you everything you need to know about plant grinders to get you started.

What is a Plants Grinder?

As its name suggests, a grinder is a tool used to speed up and simplify the process of grinding plant into a fine consistency that most consumers prefer.

The most basic style of these palm-sized cylindrical-shaped tools consist of two interlocking halves, top and bottom, that when separated reveal metal teeth patterns designed to shred and tear dried cannabis into a consistent grind.

Dry cannabis flower is placed in between the teeth of the grinder, and then the top and bottom halves are locked together and twisted in opposite directions. This twisting motion moves the teeth together, catching the dry flower between them and breaking it down into small, even particles.

Herb grinders, sometimes referred to as a “bud grinders,” also come in 3-Piece and 4-Piece designs, with additional chambers and screens that make it easier to remove your dry herb after it’s been ground. Grinders are usually made of wood, metal, or plastic, and come in a variety of color options.

What Are The Parts Of A Grinder?

All grinders must have at least three components:

A grinding chamber
Teeth or pegs to do the actual grinding
A lid to keep it all contained
As simple as that may sound, grinders come in a variety of different sizes, so it’s essential to understand what you’re looking for before you buy.

Here are the three most common types of grinders:

Two-piece (single chamber)
Three-piece (two-chamber)
Four-piece (three-chamber)
The naming conventions here may seem a little strange, so allow us to explain.

Two-Piece (Single Chamber)
Two-piece, single chamber grinders are made up of a small bowl about the size and shape of a hockey puck (maybe a little bit smaller). That’s the single chamber.

This kind of grinder is called a two-piece because it also has a lid. Bowl + lid = two pieces. Put the lid on the bowl and you’ve created the single chamber. Get it? Good. Let’s move on.

Three-Piece (Two-Chamber)
Picture a two-piece grinder with the lid and the bowl. Now add another piece underneath. That’s the three-piece, two-chamber grinder. Let’s start from the top.

First comes the lid. It may have teeth or pegs to help with the grinding. Next comes the grinding chamber. It may have teeth or pegs as well. In a three-piece grinder, the bottom of the grinding chamber will have holes for the ground-up bud to fall through (a two-piece grinder won’t have those holes).

When your weed is chopped small enough in the grinding chamber, it will fall through the holes into the collection chamber. You can then unscrew this bottom chamber and collect the pot for use.

So to review:

Lid + Grinding Bowl + Collection Chamber = 3 pieces and 2 chambers.

Four-Piece (Three-Chamber)
In a four-piece, three-chamber grinder, the collection chamber has a small mesh screen instead of a solid bottom. Underneath the collection chamber is the final piece of the puzzle: the kief chamber.

As you grind, the larger (but still ground-up) pieces of marijuana fall into the collection chamber. As you continue to grind and agitate the whole thing, tiny, pollen-like material falls through the screen into the bottom chamber. This pollen-like material is kief, which we’ll talk about in the next section.

Building on our little marijuana math problem, here are the components of the four-piece grinder:

Lid + Grinding Bowl + Collection Chamber/Screen + Kief Chamber = 4 pieces and 3 chambers

Now that you’re familiar with the different types of grinders and their associated pieces, we’ll tell you why you want to use one.

How to Use a Plant Grinder

Step 1: Take off the top lid. Use your fingers to break bigger buds up and place them in between the grinder’s teeth. Don’t bother putting any bud in the direct center–this is where the magnet pivots, so nothing in the center will get shredded.

Step 2: Replace the top of the grinder and give it about 10 rotations, until all the bud has fallen through the holes. You can remove the top and tap it against the grinder’s side to help loosen up any sticky pieces stuck in the teeth.

Step 3: Unscrew the chamber with the teeth to find the basket layer holding all your freshly ground cannabis. Load it into your pipe, joint, or blunt and enjoy!

Step 4: Once you’ve collected some kief in the bottom chamber, scrape some out with a piece of paper or the scraping tool provided (not all grinder purchases will include one, but they’re definitely handy). Again, you can sprinkle kief onto a bowl to make it more potent, or save it for something else. Be careful with metal scrapers, as they can scrape aluminum particulates along with your kief!

Some people like to put a weight in the kief chamber to help knock resin from the screen into the bottom dish. A cleaned penny or nickel works perfectly for this.

How to Clean a Sticky Grinder

One day, you’ll have used your grinder so often that it will become sticky with kiefy resin. The threading on the sides where pieces screw together will become gummy, making it difficult (or impossible) to twist open. Avoid having your grinder lock up on you by keeping it clean; here are a few tips for keeping things running smoothly.

Rub the sticky grinder parts with isopropyl alcohol and salt. This is a go-to cleaning method for pipes and bongs, but it works just as well for getting rid of the stickiness on grinder pieces.
Use a small brush (e.g. a stiff-bristled paintbrush, or a clean beard brush or toothbrush) to knock kief loose from the screen.
Freezing your grinder makes it harder for kief to stick to surfaces. Consider putting your grinder in the freezer before cleaning up the kiefy mess if it’s being particularly stubborn.
For really irredeemably sticky grinders, sometimes it’s best to just replace the thing altogether, especially if it’s a cheap grinder.

Conclusion

We hope this article has opened up a new horizon for you when it comes to enjoying the weed. Grinders are cost-effective tools with numerous advantages that we covered in this article. Our main intention with this post was to bring you closer to a more sophisticated manner of weed processing but also to inspire your creativity. Lastly, grinders make a perfect gift for every seasoned “pothead” but their practical value extends much further.