Some swear by the grinder. Some swear by finger chopping. But which one is better? Is there a winner? Our analysis is that there really are pros and cons to using a grinder, and many reasons to use your fingers! In this article, we take a look at the reasons you might want to grind and the reasons you might want to finger chop.
- The pros of grinding your weed
- 1. You don’t get sticky-icky on your fingers
- 2. It’s fast and easy
- 3. Grinders grind fine weed
- 4. Collect the hash at the end of each month
- The cons of grinding weed
- 1. You disturb the trichomes
- 2. You go through so much more weed
- 3. You get a repetitive strain injury
- 4. You lose the sensory experience
- Alternatives to grinding weed
The grinder: possibly the least fancy, but arguably one of the most practical items in each stoner’s survival kit. But there are still a lot of seasoned joint rollers and cone smokers that swear by the finger-chop method.
We’re taking the liberty of doing the assessment. Why should you grind your weed? Why shouldn’t you? Let’s dive into the pros and cons of using a grinder and of course, the alternatives to using a grinder.
The pros of grinding your weed
Let’s start with the reasons you might want to keep a grinder next to your weed stash:
1. You don’t get sticky-icky on your fingers
The most obvious reason that someone might want to use a grinder is that it can get pretty sticky if you’re using the finger chop method. And that leads to other complications, such as difficulties rolling and hands that constantly smell like weed…
2. It’s fast and easy
It can take much longer to finger chop a gram of weed than to simply just throw it in a grinder. Probably the second most popular reason to grind your buds rather than get those finger nails out. A grinder works much faster than fingertips and finger nails.
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3. Grinders grind fine weed
Some people just don’t like chunky bits in their joints and bongs. They prefer a finer grind, which can be next to impossible to achieve with fingers – especially if it’s very sticky bud like Papaya, Big Bud or California Orange Bud. They also say that the more surface area there is (the finer it is ground), the higher you’ll get off a hit, which also makes sense.
Packing a pipe or bong can be difficult with finger chopped weed, which is when a grinder comes in handy. But I suppose it also comes down to how much effort you’re willing to put into the finger chopping process…
4. Collect the hash at the end of each month
There are grinders you can buy that have multiple chambers. Not only does it collect your ground weed in one chamber, but it collects all the trichomes that fall off in another chamber. That allows you the possibility of collecting some high potency kief after a month or two of grinding (or however long you go without cleaning your grinder).
That’s something to think about when it comes to using a grinder, although some would say that this falls into the “cons” of using a grinder, too. So, on that note, let’s have a look at some of the reasons you might not want to use a grinder.
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The cons of grinding weed
It’s okay to give your grinder a well-earned rest. Let it collect a different kind of dust sometimes, and for the following reasons:
1. You disturb the trichomes
There is a lot of disturbance to the trichomes on your weed by using a grinder. Some of the most potent parts of your bud don’t end up in what you’re finally smoking. If you have a multi-chamber grinder, they will fall into the bottom chamber and you can save them for later. But if you’re not really trying to save them for later, then you lose out on the immediate smoke.
2. You go through so much more weed
Stoners swear that if they finger chop their weed, they can make a bag last much longer. And it makes a lot of sense. Chopping your weed using fingers can result in larger chunks, which means you won’t end up packing so much into a joint or a pipe. How this stacks up on how the thing finally burns is up for debate.
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3. You get a repetitive strain injury
Oh God – twisting that grinder is hard work! Finger chopping is much easier on the wrists, I think. Especially if that grinder hasn’t been cleaned in a while and has a whole bunch of sticky residue lying around the edges and on the rim. Definitely no risk of straining your wrist muscles if you’re using fingers or scissors!
4. You lose the sensory experience
There’s something very sensual about finger chopping weed. You get the resin all over your fingers, you get to feel it and the best part – the smell comes oozing out as you’re chopping it up. These things just don’t happen when you’re using a grinder. And for some stoners, this is an extremely important part of the joint rolling ritual.
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Alternatives to grinding weed
If you’re looking for a good chop but don’t have a grinder, there are alternatives. Plus, if the local head shop only sells plastic grinders, you might want to try something else. So here are a few different methods you can try!
1. Scissors
I’ve seen many stoners chop to a perfect consistency using scissors. The result is somewhere between using a grinder and finger chopping: not too big and not too small.
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2. A coin and a small container
So, you live with your parents and simply can’t risk having a grinder lying around? This is one of those grinding solutions that was born out of this exact circumstance. All you need is a container big enough to fit your nugget and a coin. And it should have a lid.
Put your nugget in the container along with the coin, close it and shake vigorously. The coin will do the chopping for you, and you’ll be surprised how well it separates your bud from the stems!
3. A coffee grinder
This non-grinder method of grinding is still grinding, and probably the least recommended. If you don’t have a grinder lying around and want a fine chop, a coffee grinder will do the job. But it’s loud, and it turns your weed into something like a powder. Plus, you must give that thing an epic clean before you’re ever going to be able to use it as a coffee grinder ever again.
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Grinding weed all boils down to preferences! When you’ve become a seasoned smoker, you’ve always got your reasons for doing it your way. Those who prefer to roll joints usually like their weed to be a different consistency to those who prefer to smoke bongs or pipes.
So, do you like your weed after grinding or after finger chopping? The choice is yours!
I really love the coffee grinder method. I can buy a bag of shake/trim, grind it in my coffee grinder and it turns into a sticky powder. I never grind really good flower. Flower is delicate and deserves the finger method.
Ive been smoking for 30+ yrs and about a year ago i started grinding my buds to roll joints. ( zig zag orange or rice papers are all i use ) although I absolutely love breaking buds up w/ my fingers I noticed when i grind I get a much smoother burn and the joint never gets a run (burn up one side only). These days im also smoking bug that allows for grinding. ( imagin this young ppl. We actually had seeds and stems in our pot pre 2000’s) now the pot is perfect and has non of the crap waste in it. ( expensive as hell now too!!!) To me it wasnt grindable before now. I wasnt gonna smoke seeds ground up!! Now that I feel its grindable ( clean ) I am a grinder now. Although if a grinders not avail. I love breaking up the buds with my hands.
In jamaica and africa we had seedless from pre 1800s. its all about preserving your ancestral culture and marijuana was discovered by a black man
That is the most ridiculous comment I have ever read. U have to be a millennial & just to the thread you had seedless from pre 1800s & was discovered by a black man. WTF does that even mean its more of a racist comment. Has nothing to do with breaking up bud in a grinder or rolling it. Nah you bring up some seedless.
schizophrenic
Ok, so what does that have to do with the discussion to grind or not??
WTF
Not in China, it wasn’t, nor India, nor all the other places with thousands of years of cannabis history. They had it pre-420. Other people have ancestral culture linked to cannabis as well, you’re talking about YOUR culture, there is no evidence that Jamaica introduced cannabis to the world. Next…
Another method, and imo better, is gently pushing weed through a sieve. No sticky fingers, smooth rolled joints, all the trichomes end up in your joints instead of grinder. Does not mess up the sieve. I use a silicone spatula to press and move the weed through 🙂
You want to smoke a joint with Joe Rogan? Wow.. and you claim to seek enlightenment? Maybe find someone who doesn’t trade in lies for money then?! Even Neil Young won’t share space on Spotify with that giant lying turd! Most Canadians are ashamed that he’s a citizen, myself included.
Be sure to properly fact check everything he says, since most of it is total bullshit.
Yup… This is an example of how current events can change one’s view of/opinion about someone. Sera wrote her bio years ago, when Joe Rogan’s opinions were of quite a different nature. The current panini has shown a side of him that most of us hadn’t seen before. I’ll check with Sera to consider updating her bio. Peace <3
Agree completely! Rogan is a POS who trades lies for $$, like so many politicians and media personalities. Count me in as a Canadian who’s embarrassed that we spawned that disgusting swine. I agree that Sera needs to update her bio asap. Any affiliation with ‘him’ is enough to make a consumer or reader turn elsewhere.
On the matter of grinding.. I use an electric coffee grinder now, since my fingers would get too stiff from doing manually or even with a hand (multi-chamber) grinder – I have joint problems. I read someone say they used the electric coffee bean grinder and tried it. I was worried it would lessen the effect of the weed, but I’ve found it to be far easier and produces a much more even burning smoke. Plus it makes rolling with fine rice paper so much easier. I also find I can buy super cheap grams and small bud size and it works for me. FYI, I remember the old days with lots of stems and popping seeds! I don’t miss them and feel today’s weed is a far better value in that you don’t need to consume nearly as much for the same high.
Anyhow, i would highly recommend an electric coffee grinder. I got mine on Amazon for under $20 and use it only for weed, so no worries about cleaning or cross-contamination.
It’s updated in the meantime 🙂 Peace!
You are very wrong that grinding your weed will cause you to go through it much much faster my friend does not grind her weed and she only gets 2 blunts out of a bag I grind my weed every time and I get 4 blunts out of the same bag
your friend smoke biggers blunts than you do
The best way is to not touch it at all and jam the whole flower into a vape. That way all the volatile can come off at once instead of being mashed into the leaf
Grind for joints, break up for bowls, grind if it’s shit weed
How about neither? Pop a nugget into the bowl and light it. Smoking alone this works well as the bowl doesn’t smolder between hits. Trochomes aren’t disturbed, fingers aren’t sticky, you still get some smell when you break off a florette from a big bud. Bowl rarely spills even when dropped.
Your exactly right. And our lovely trichomes are not disturbed at all we don’t lose anything of our Bud into any type of container and we get to save her every single little bit of it only smoke our bud just bust up a little bit and stuck into that pipe or hit her or bowl. Then we get the lovely flavor of all of our bud and it’s not stuck in some grinder container or shaker.
hahaha funny but when I need none of that visions and apparition bother when am in need of some serious focus and concentration at work I’ll chop up some bud with a pocket knife and roll something in hemp paper
You’re in the minority because that’s dumb as shit. Placing a whole nug in there doesn’t get you very good airflow at all. 🙄
Oh my god . Can’t believe therez not even 1 comment regarding THC . Reason in alot of course countries like Jamaica they don’t use grinders as it kills the THC level . Well I smoked a joint with a grinder amd without one
Lol. The finger cutting I was buzzing outta cloud 9. Tge grinder yeah still buzzed but no where near as the natural way with ur hands or a scissors or chopping knife . You can’t see THC it’s in the weed . When ur grinding it remember that it’s breaking the weed all up including the THC . when u break with ur fingers it’s not breaking anything just pulling it out naturally to form small buds or any size to ur preference. Pea e out . Xx
While I’ve heard this, and thought it myself, it’s not been my experience. At least not enough to go through the trouble of doing it all by hand. Granted, I pulse grind with my electric grinder so it’s not powder, just fine grind. I also save the ‘kief’ left in the machine to use as well. I’m sure there is probably some loss of terpines or whatever (not my wheelhouse), but personally it’s not a big enough difference to make me stop grinding and getting perfect burning joints.
However, I’m also old and have reached the point where I can buy as much weed as I like, so if I have to buy a bit more to make up for the loss from grinding, it’s no big sacrifice at this point. Saving my finger joints is more important to me. To each his or her own.
Addy are you kidding?
l seriously can’t tell a difference; friends always say to break-up by hand for joints or Ls, but l can’t tell a difference. granted l have a horrible memory, but the best l have found is cones, and that is a must you use a grinder, so… l still enjoy the occasional blunt or Dubby; sometimes l even break up by hand, but it’s the same to me.
occasionally l get higher off hand rolled, but it’s nothing consistent…