What is an Herb Grinder
Herb Grinder
An herb grinder is used to grind up dry herbs. There are many types of grinders, but all types have at least two sides, a top and a bottom. The two main sides have many sharp blades. The exact configuration of the blades depends on the grinder in question but they are all razor sharp – and this is where the magic happens, with twisting and maneuvering by way of the hands, the herb will be chopped up and ground into smaller pieces. With the 2 piece grinders here, as you grind, you may need to or want, empty the buds as they are ground. Other grinder types have multiple levels including one that will store your herb as it is grind it up.
Popular Herb Grinders - The Various Styles
2 piece grinder
A two piece grinder is the most simple version. It has a top and a bottom, both sides with razor sharp blades. It is as simple as it seems, just throw a no into the center, Squeeze both sides together and turn the sides in opposite directions, both clockwise and counterclockwise. These grinders are super portable and are the least bulky out of the options. And just like other grinders the diameter ken Barry but because there are only two pieces and the ground pods have nowhere to go, You will likely need to empty the contents as they are ground.
4 piece grinder
A four piece grinder is an herb grinder with three compartments. The top compartment is where the blades are, AKA where you grind up the herbs. The second compartment is right below the top and it is where the ground up ganja or whatever else will be stored. This is also where you pick from when you want to pack your favorite vape pen, Glass pipe or something else. Also, the floor of the second compartment is a screen that allows only the finest herb particles to fall through. Those tiny particles will fall to the third and bottom compartment, also commonly known as the herb particle catcher or pollen catch.
Vibrating Grinder
The Sharpstone vibrating herb grinder is the best way to optimize and increase the amount of pollen build up - not only will you get more herb particles per a grind, but the vibrating motion helps to loosen particles that otherwise would have stayed in place and eventually become one with the surface instead of falling to the pollen catch.
This cool grinder is usually a 5 piece grinder, basically a 4 piece grinder with a battery attachment for function. For the most part, a vibrating grinder is just like all other grinders. The main difference obviously, is the vibrating ability. With the click of a button the entire grinder will vibrate and you can do this while grinding or at latest, immediately after. And as stated above, this motion will help the sticky particles fall through and accumulate in the catch.
How to Use a Herb Grinder – in 3 easy steps
There are many types of herb grinders in the market. There is the popular silicone herb grinder with super-sharp blades. Some have 2 pieces, others have five pieces, but they all have one thing in common and that is to grind up dry herbs.
Step 1
At least for the average herb grinder, the best way to grind starts with breaking any big nugs into reasonable sized pieces. The more you break up with your fingers the easier it will be to grind. Keep that in mind especially if you’re dealing with sticky herb, but don’t go crazy with breaking it up manually. Also, wash the hands after handling herbs, especially the super sticky kind. If you dare touch the eye with that residue covered fingertip, the eye will likely get irritated from the thc particles - it happens.
Step 2
Place the manually broken down buds onto the top of the sharp blades. Then take the other side and push it into place over the top of the herb. You likely will not be able to close the top completely which is normal, so while pushing down, do so while also twisting the top and bottom blades in opposite directions. Continue to push and twist as the buds are ground. If needed remove the top, reposition the contents inside, and then start grinding again.
Step 3
In two steps you are more or less finished, at least with the grinding. This third step is the collection of the ground up herbs and unless you have a two-piece grinder, the herb should fall through to a storage compartment. In the case of two pieces and no storage, keep grinding and empty the contents as necessary.
Bonus Step
There are others steps that can be taken if you are using a specialty grinder such as the vibrating herb grinder, and if you need guidance on specialty grinders, just check out the website because we offer a lot of educational information in our buyers guides, blog posts, and even right on each product page as you are shopping. But we did want to point one thing out because the average herb grinder has one – the kief catcher. Just grind as usual and let the kief build up overtime. Kief build up will not happen quickly and it really depends on how much herb you grind and how often. But as time goes on you will notice the buildup and it will be something to enjoy at the right moment in time, which is really whenever you want. Some people like to let it build while others cannot contain themselves and they start scraping almost right away. Be careful when handling, This stuff takes a while to accrue, but when you want to use it, just use a scraping tool or dab tool.
