Grinders are composed of a myriad of materials. Generally speaking, cheaper grinders are made from soft metals and covered with metallic paint for aesthetic appeal. Some grinders are made from plastic, but they are very weak and are considered disposable. It is understood that these products are of questionable quality and safety, but because of their price and a lack of oversight in the industry, businesses move a lot of units. Cheap grinders are everywhere.
Grinders are being used to break cannabis flowers into fine ground material that can be rolled, vaped, or consumed in bong/pipes. Which application the cannabis is smoked by matters; normally vapes will require a very fine grind, while rolling a joint would require a rougher grind.
Grinders can be made out of 2 pieces or more. Kief/screen grinders are used to extract trichome from the buds, using a dry method—as the cannabis flowers are being crushed and separated in the grinding chamber, the trichome falls through little holes to the collecting chamber and is then screened to the trichome-collecting tray.
How do grinders work?
Grinders break cannabis flowers through two rotational pins driven in different directions. As this operation is performed, the flower is being broken into little pieces. It is important to understand that grinders do not crush the buds; if they were to do so, they would clog quickly.
The pins are located on plates, where the sidewall is used as the bearing flange. After using the grinder for some time, depending on the grinder’s quality, the friction surface between the 2 chambers starts to collect trichome.
Once the grinder is packed with trichome, it quickly becomes sticky and clogged. Grinders then begin to fail, and they become difficult to rotate. If you have seen your friends applying force to rotate the grinder, you should know that little particles that we cannot see with our bare eyes are being mixed into our smokeable medicine. This happens with every type of grinder out there. The safest grinders are made of stainless steel; however, they are not perfect. Friction is derived from the same material, resulting in wear equally on both parts, so having a stainless steel grinder doesn’t make it safe to use. It will still wear out.
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