This article is not a paid advertisement or sponsored puff piece about manual hand grinders. It is a true opinion from a heavy grinder user. I really hope it can provide some insight why I feel confident in my opinion of what I consider the best manual hand grinder for my use and possibly yours.  

I am avid medical cannabis user. My first personal experience with marijuana was at its 26th anniversary. I have had my share of manual hand grinders and I can honestly say most were untrustworthy junk. Being a medical cannabis user to me means I want to have the cleanest medicine possible. We take months to grow, dry, and cure our organic meds. I really don’t want to worry that I am contaminating my meds after all my hard work. I do not use plastic hand grinders. They are not safe at all in my opinion. During my employment at two headshops here in St. Louis, MO we had access to hundreds of grinders, and I quickly learned most plastic grinders are dangerous. Plastic grinders are cheaply molded plastics. They break easy but that is the smallest issue I have with them. The main issue is they tend to shed very small hard to see pieces of plastic sometimes microscopic in size when used. I tested this on several plastic hand grinders from different vendors while working at the headshops and they commonly seemed to have this issue. If you weren’t aware of this, it is likely you wouldn’t notice until it’s too late if at all. I made it a personal goal to inform every customer of why not to buy any plastic hand grinders. I would have prevented the store from carrying them, but I was not the owner, and the owner didn’t seem to care. There is very little regulation for grinders like these. Do yourself a favor, don’t overly cheap out and buy a plastic grinder.   

This brings me to the overly cheap anodized or painted metal hand grinders. Anytime you cheap out you have risk. If the coating is done right on a metal grinder it will not peel or shed paint. The problem is sometimes it’s hard to tell though if paint shedding will happen cause the grinder may appear decent quality. My suggestions would be to question the retailer or online store if the grinder is solid metal and what type of metal they are used. I have used many cheap metal grinders that were sufficient for a few years use prior to getting dull. Watch out for knock offs. As with everything Ebay, Amazon, and other sites never have a shortage of knock offs. Be cautious and double check your grinder purchase is legit and genuine.  Knock offs may use metals or materials that could be unsafe to your long-term health or just have junk performance. With that all being said here is my list of the best 3 metal hand grinders I have used for medical cannabis.

#1: Space Case 4 Piece Grinder- Space Case 4 Piece Grinder is one of my top choices due to quality, materials used, weight, design of grinding teeth, and longevity of life.  I have owned a Space Case Aluminum medium sized grinder for over 10 years now and it is as sharp as it was the day, I bought it. Space Case makes their metal hand grinders from aircraft grade aluminum or titanium. Due to the high-quality metals used and the very high-end craftsmanship they truly are my favorite American metal hand grinder. There hasn’t been a manual grinder in all these years to change my opinion. My grind is perfect every time. No matter if my flower is still moist, compact, dense, or overly dry Space Case grinds right through it and gives me a consistent product. I have literally treated my Space Case horribly over the years and besides some scratches it is pristine in function. Weight is very reasonable with all the Space Case grinders in their line up especially considering the durability. While I do feel these are the 2nd most costly grinders on my list, I still feel the quality is so good the price is easily justifiable to give this grinder the top spot. https://spacecase.com/.

#2: The Ripper Stainless Steel Grinders- The Gripper grinder line up is made of medical grade stainless steel in the USA and offers a lifetime warranty. They offer different teeth setups for course, medium, or fine grinds when purchasing. Due to the metals used and the quality machining this grinder is to truly grind for a lifetime. The weight is more than the Space Case but almost makes it feel more substantial. The Ripper provided a nice, even consistent grind every time. I would of picked this as #1 but at the price point and quality of the Space Case barely edged The Ripper to #2. If you like the options, The Ripper offers and paying only a few dollars more for stainless steel than The Ripper Grinders might be for you. Check them out here https://herbripper.com/.

#3 Sharpstone Hard Top 4 Piece Grinder- Sharpstone Hardtop 4 Piece Grinder has improved their grinding teeth design and machining quality a bit over the years. While I do feel they may have used a similar Space Case design while making small changes (IMO) I am glad to see another company using aircraft grade aluminum in making their manual hand grinder. The price of the Sharpstone is a 3rd of the price of the Space Case or The Ripper in a similar size. I gave them the number 3 spot due to price and design. I feel the Sharpstone Hardtop 4 Piece Grinder is excellent for people wanting to get a grinder without extreme long-term commitment or maybe on a budget. While I like this Sharpstone Hard Top 4 Piece I do not recommend buying any of the Sharpstone grinders with the see through tops as the teeth break out very easily.  Check out their full aluminum grinders here https://www.sharpstoneusa.com/products/sharpstone-hard-top-4-piece-herb-grinder. 

Ken@MaskedGrowers 04/09/2022

With so many grinders available now days I am sure there are contenders that deserve to be shared that I have overlooked. What grinders do you own, or would you suggest?