For many, grinding is just a regular step in the process of using cannabis. While herb grinder manufacturers are probably the most common tool used to break apart buds, some users still prefer other methods. But why exactly should you invest in a $10 grinder at your local headshop when you could simply break up your buds with your hands, a knife, or countless other methods?
Cannabinoids (such as THC and CBD) and terpenes (like myrcene and limonene) are found in the highest concentrations in the trichomes of cannabis buds. These are the tiny crystals that give high-quality weed their frosty appearance.You’ll want to grind your weed for two main reasons; firstly to get an even, solid burn in a joint, blunt, or bowl, and secondly to evenly heat as many of these trichomes as possible and thereby extract as much goodness from the cannabis plant material as possible.The consistency to which you grind your weed is up to you and the way you tend to use pot. If you like to smoke using a bong, for example, you don’t want to grind your weed too fine as it may enter the pipe and cause harsher hits.
Grinders come in many different shapes and sizes, and are made from varying types of materials. Different best herb grinder offer their own advantages, and every smoker has their own preferences when it comes to this key piece of smoking apparatus. "The more expensive, the better" is a common rule when shopping for just about anything, but that doesn’t always apply when looking for a grinder that suits your needs!
Some smokers much prefer the simple nature of a single-chamber grinder. Simply stuff in the flower, turn it a few times, and out comes some processed weed ready to be loaded into a joint. However, other cannabis users much prefer the intricacies of model with 3 or 4 chambers. These beasts grind down weed to a fine powder, and even sieve out the trichomes and collect them in a tray at the bottom.Material and aesthetics also need to be considered. Metal grinders look impressive, and their sharp teeth do a good job at tearing up flowers. Plus, they are very difficult to break. Wooden grinders look nice and rustic, and are a great addition to a collection already made up of wooden rolling boxes and trays. Finally, plastic grinders may not look the prettiest, but they are sturdy and get the job done.
BETTER CONSISTENCY
Using a stainless steel herb grinder is the best way to ensure your weed is ground to an even consistency. This is important to ensure an even extraction of the compounds within the plant, regardless of whether you use a vaporizer or even a traditional method like a pipe or bong.If you smoke joints or blunts, using consistently ground weed is also really important as it ensures for an even burn throughout and makes for easy rolling.
While methods like the good old “shot glass and scissors” work fine in an emergency situation, a grinder is a much simpler way to ensure your weed is cut to an even consistency every time.
THICK, POTENT VAPOR
If you use a vaporizer, it is vital you use properly ground weed. Vaporizers work by either heating the air around a product (convective heating) or the surface beneath it (conductive heating). By grinding your weed, you’re able to expose more surface area to this heat, which essentially allows for better extraction of the compounds within your buds.
If you were to load a whole bud into a vaporizer, you simply wouldn’t be able to produce thick, consistent vapor as the heat of the vape wouldn’t be enough to toast the core of the bud. Plus, you’d probably have to crank up the temperature of your vaporizer and risk combusting your weed and inhaling smoke instead of vapor.