MarijuanaWhat Is An Herb Grinder?An herb grinder is made to grind herbs and spices into small pieces, so they can be added to food and eaten. Some types of herb grinders are very good at grinding marijuana buds into smaller size particles. The smaller particles of marijuana are suitable for rolling into a joint, smoking in a pipe or vaporizer, sieving to produce hashish, or for some purpose that requires finely ground marijuana. Herb grinders used to prepare marijuana are also called bud grinders. After properly grinding marijuana with an herb grinder, it will burn more evenly when rolled into a joint. Because it is broken down into small particles, it is less likely to poke holes in rolling paper. If you break up marijuana with your hands or with scissors prior to rolling it into a joint or using it in some other way, you should try using an herb grinder instead. Prior to first using one, I thought they were some kind of toy that costed money, but didn't really serve any purpose. However, after first using one, anyone who rolls joints (or needs to break up buds) will appreciate what they do, especially an herb grinder-pollenator that also collects hashish powder. Of all the tools available to help make smoking marijuana easier, this is one of the best values for your money. They are legal and available worldwide. There are two basic types of herb grinders that are used with marijuana. The first is an herb grinder used strictly for grinding marijuana. The other type is a grinder-pollenator (also referred to simply as a pollenator). In addition to grinding marijuana, a pollenator collects a few grains of hashish powder each time it is used. Accumulated powder can be pressed into hashish with a pollen press or ingested in some other way. Pollenators are designed to collect pollen from various types of plants other than marijuana. When used with marijuana, a pollenator actually collects trichome resin glands (also called hashish powder or kif) from female marijuana plants. Trichomes have a high THC content and are used to make hashish. Male marijuana plants produce pollen to fertilize female marijuana plants. Marijuana pollen contains very little to no THC. So although the device is called a pollenator, the hash powder you are collecting is really trichome resin glands, not pollen. Herb Grinder This herb grinder is made up of Marijuana is placed in between the teeth, then the top and bottom are placed together and twisted in opposite directions. The twisting motion moves the teeth together and the marijuana gets caught between them and broken down into smaller particles. The size of the particles is determined by how much time was spent grinding. The longer the marijuana has been ground, the smaller the particles will be. However, this does not mean the particles are the same size. Pollenator This 4 piece pollenator is made up of The top section and the section of lower teeth do the grinding. There are holes in the lower section of teeth, the holes ensure that the marijuana particles are all a certain size (determined by the hole size) before passing into the screen section. The marijuana is collected and held in the screen section where a few grains of hash powder drop into the bottom section. The material a pollenator collects is the most potent part of the marijuana plant. Most people wait for the hashish powder to accumulate in the pollenator. When there is enough (about 1/2 a gram or more) it can be smoked as is or made into hashish with a pollen press. Using An Herb Grinder Or Pollenator 1) Put the grinder or pollenator together and take the top off. A pollenator is shown here (picture 1) but an herb grinder works in the same manner.  picture 1 2) Load the grinder or pollenator with marijuana (picture 2). A pair of scissors will do a good job of cutting marijuana so it is small enough (about 1/8 to 1/4 gram chunks) to fit between the teeth. If you are going to use the marijuana in a joint, make sure to keep stems and seeds out, they will cause a joint to burn unevenly. You can grind and smoke everything when using a pipe or vaporizer, stems and seeds (if any) included.  picture 2 3) When you have enough marijuana loaded into the pollenator, put the top on (picture 3) and pick it up. Use one hand to hold the bottom and the other hand to turn the top. Don't force down on the top, concentrate on turning it. You want the marijuana to be ground up, not forced through the holes.  picture 3 4) After less than a minute of grinding, the marijuana will pass into the marijuana collector stage where it can be accessed by removing the top grinding sections (picture 4). The hashish powder collects under the screen section that the marijuana (left) sits in.  picture 4 Buying An Herb Grinder If you are planning on buying an herb grinder or pollenator there are several things to consider: 1) Holes less than 2.9 mm are smaller than most people like. People find the particles are too finely ground up. Small particles are harder to roll into a joint than larger size particles. It is nearly impossible to find pollenators with holes smaller than 2.9 mm. 2) Holes that are 3.0 mm - 3.5 mm are preferred by most experienced joint rollers. Novice joint rollers tend to roll fine marijuana particles too tight, so a larger hole size might be best for them. 3) Holes that are 3.6 mm - 3.9 mm are a good compromise size for people who roll joints and use a pipe/vaporizer. The marijuana particles are a bit bigger than when prepared with 3.0 mm - 3.5 mm holes, so joints can't be rolled as thin but the larger particles are easier to roll for someone who is learning to roll or has limited experience. 3) Holes that are 4.0 mm - 4.8 mm are a good size for people who use a vaporizer, pipe, rolling machine, or prefer rolling large size marijuana particles into joints. Pollenator Comparison Here is a comparison of the pollenators with their recommended application. Links to the exact pollenator mentioned are included in the description. Models listed come with a 3-5 year guarantee. --- 2.25 inch high quality pollenator - 3.0 mm holes --- 2.50 inch high quality pollenator - 3.6 mm holes --- 2.50 inch high quality pollenator - 4.5 mm holes Operating Notes --- don't use compressed or very hard weed A) --- Make sure the marijuana you use is dry. If the marijuana isn't very dry, it will not grind properly. Also, hash powder will cling to damp or wet marijuana and not get collected. B) --- Grinding is done to reduce marijuana buds into smaller particles. If you have marijuana powder, there is no need to grind it unless there are large particles that need it. You can use the screen section of a pollenator to collect hash powder from marijuana powder that doesn't need grinding. C) --- It is best to cut buds of marijuana into smaller chunks about 1/8 to 1/4 gram in size prior to using it in an herb grinder or pollenator. If the chunks can fit in between the teeth they are small enough. This will speed the grinding time and cause less strain on the teeth, resulting in a longer lasting grinder. It also allows you to cut away larger stems from the bud. The easiest method is to use a pair of scissors to cut bud directly over the grinder or pollenator. When you have enough, place the top and bottom together and grind the marijuana by twisting them in different directions. You can also hold the bottom stationary and turn the top in one direction. D) --- It may take a while to obtain a gram of hash powder, depending on how often you use the pollenator. That isn't bad though. If the pollenator extracted most of the hash powder, the marijuana that was left would be of very low quality. Expect about a gram of hash powder per 1-3 ounces of marijuana used in the pollenator. You may get more or less depending on the quality of the product you start with. To increase the amount of hash powder collected you can shake up the pollenator a few times after grinding marijuana. Keeping the screen clean by brushing it off with a soft bristle brush will also increase the rate of hash powder accumulation. A clean screen allows more hash powder to pass through. For maximum collection, clean the screen after every use. Consume any material that has accumulated on the screen. Cleaning Aluminum After using your aluminum grinder or pollenator for a while, there will be some build-up of material that may cause the unit to work less effectively. Take the unit apart and remove any hash powder or marijuana. Find a container with an airtight top. The container must be large enough to hold the parts of the grinder or pollenator. Fill the container with enough high % rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol 90% or higher) to cover the parts you want to clean. Do not use plastic or pvc containers for this purpose. Plastic and pvc will release toxic chemicals when brought into contact with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol). Glass is probably the best material for a container. Soak the parts in the alcohol for 5-10 minutes. Use a q-tip to clean any stubborn spots. If you have a pollenator, be gentle and use a toothbrush to clean the screen itself (if necessary). Do not throw away the rubbing alcohol that was used to clean the parts. Put the top on the container and store it in a cool dark place. Keep using it to clean the grinder or pollenator. You will notice that any marijuana that is cleaned off accumulates on the bottom of the container. You might want to have 2 containers to clean with. Use the first container to clean. When a fair amount has accumulated, you can syphon off the clean layer at the top into the second container. Let the remaining rubbing alcohol evaporate from the first container. What remains after evaporation can be smoked or ingested in some other way. The fine particles can be very potent. It is a good idea to clean an herb grinder, pollenator, or pollen press in this manner before using it for the first time. Always let the parts dry completely before use, anytime you clean them. |