It’s no good placing a nugget of weed in between your papers since this is going to end up being far too big, and you won’t be able to smoke it, which is where the grinder comes in to crumble up the flower, making it much easier to distribute when you’re rolling.
With that being said, while they are definitely very important, grinders can also break extremely easily, especially if it is made of plastic, or it gets stuck and you decide to throw it on the floor to crack it back open.
They also tend to be very small, making them easy to misplace and forget about.
Luckily, if you find that you have everything you need to start a smoking session, except for the grinder, there are a few ways you can get around this problem so that you can break up your weed easily through some alternative methods.
What Can I Grind Weed With If I Don’t Have A Grinder?
If you want to grind your weed without a proper grinder designed for marijuana, you’re going to need to get creative. Luckily, since weed tends to be very soft, and easy to break apart anyway, a lot of these tools that can be used for grinding can probably already be found lying around your house.
Here are some alternative methods of grinding up weed if you don’t currently have a grinder:
Cheese Grater
Just like how a block of cheese will grate into tiny slices, this will work exactly the same with a weed nugget, however, you will need to make sure that you are grating over a clean surface and make sure to put a decent amount of pressure on the weed when you scrape it back and forth since you want the crumbled pieces to be as small as possible.
The purpose of grinding weed is to make it small enough to fit within the paper of a joint so that it becomes smokeable, so you won’t want there to be any bits that are still blocky or bigger than the others, make sure everything is grated fairly and evenly.
If you’re using a box grater, you will also want to use the smallest sized blade available, just to make things easier for yourself since this will get the job done much quicker!
Scissors And A Glass
This method might take a little longer than if you were using a regular grinder, but all you will need is a glass and a pair of scissors. The size of the glass doesn’t matter too much, you can even simply use a shot glass if you want to.
Start by placing one nugget of weed into a glass, and if you have a few nuggets to grind, start with the lightest one first that isn’t as dense as the others. The denser the weed, the harder it’s going to be to grind up using this method, so keep that in mind before you begin.
Grab your scissors, and cover them in soap and warm water, or rinse them in vinegar, just so that they can cut through the weed a lot easier. Once the blades of the scissors are wet, face them into the glass, and start cutting.
If you’re using a shot glass, you may want to use a pair of nail scissors or mustache scissors which are a bit smaller and will fit into the glass a lot easier.
A Bottle And A Coin
This method may not be as reliable or effective as some of the others, but when all else fails, and you are running out of options, it’s definitely worth a try, especially because you’re pretty much guaranteed to end up with at least a little bit of crumbled weed if you do it correctly.
You’re going to need a small and compact pill bottle, and a coin of your choice. The type of coin doesn’t matter too much, but nickels and quarters will work the best and be the most effective because of how heavy and sharp they are.
Unscrew the lid of the bottle and drop the coin at the bottom, followed by the weed nugget, and make sure there is at least a little bit of space around the bottle so that the coin can fly around.
When they’re both inserted, and the lid is screwed tightly back on, shake the bottle as hard as you can for a few minutes.
It can be easy for your arms to get tired out through this method, but just remember that the longer you do it, the more crumbled-up weed you’re going to get as a result since the coin will be ricocheting off the walls more often.
Can You Make Your Own Weed Grinder?
You can easily make a DIY grinder with a few basic pieces of equipment and tools, and while it may not look as fancy as regular grinders designed for marijuana, and won’t feel as smooth or easy to use, you can be sure that it will still get the job done.
You’re going to need two plastic lids that are the same size, a vice grip, and a box of the smallest sharp wire nails you can find.
You will need to insert your nails into the lids by pushing them through with your vice grip, however, you need to be very careful with how many you place, and where you place them.
One lid should have 8 nails poking through around the outside of the circular shape, while the other lid will have 7 all clustered together in the middle. This way, the lids can fit together and should be easy to twist around for when you come to place the weed inside.
Always make sure that the sharp end of the nails is poking out from underneath the lids rather than through the top of them, and only use this method in the short term since it won’t be the most effective at grinding and will only get you by for a few days at most before the makeshift grinder starts getting stuck.
Can You Grind Weed Stems In A Blender?
If you have a few stems left over and are curious whether you will be able to grind them up, the good news is that you can, and one of the best ways to grind them up is to put them in a blender where they will be broken down in a matter of seconds.
However, it should be said that it is never advised to smoke stems, specifically because they contain a lot of unwanted compounds that can make the smoking experience a lot more unpleasant than it should be, and they will also give you a raging headache after you’re done smoking.
Therefore, if you are going to use them, it should only be as a small extra addition to a joint or a bowl when you want an extra kick of THC, but make sure never to go overboard with using them, and if you have enough fresh marijuana already, it’s best to leave the stems out entirely.
Can A Coffee Grinder Grind Weed?
Yes, your morning brew grinder will work perfectly as a grinder substitute, to the point where many people actually don’t like using a coffee grinder because it can make the weed too small and fine, but this is still far better than it coming out clumpy or too thick.
While a coffee grinder will work perfectly fine, the biggest drawback is how difficult it can be to clean.
If you’ve ever used a regular grinder before, you will know how easy it is for residue and excess to stick around the outside, and even after a few uses, this will eventually build up, making the grinder look very unpleasant and much stiffer to use.
If you’re using a coffee grinder, you need to make sure that you clean it out thoroughly with warm water after each use to avoid cross-contamination.
Another downside is just how noisy a coffee grinder can be, especially if you’re packing a lot of weed in at once since the blades aren’t designed to break down something as thick as a weed nugget, so you can expect to hear a pretty horrible shrieking noise when doing it.
On the other hand, there are plenty of positives, including the fact that a coffee grinder is very consistent, meaning all your weed will be grinded up evenly, which is always incredibly important to prevent a joint from burning unevenly and canoeing.
Additionally, coffee grinders are also able to unlock hidden tastes and aromas from the weed, which is always a huge bonus when you come to actually smoke it.
Summary
If you’ve lost your grinder and have no idea where you last placed it, rather than tearing your whole house apart just to get your hands on it, you can simply use an alternative method to break down your weed in the meantime so that you can enjoy a relaxing smoking session, and worry about that darn grinder the day after!
Hi, I’m Zack Finch and I work as a Budtender for a Health & Wellness center here, in sunny California. I have been using marijuana recreationally for around 6 years now, and have many a time enjoyed the benefit that weed has to offer.
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