There has been an endless debate over the best type of grinder, and let me tell you, it isn’t something that can be decided right off the bat.

When it comes down to grinders, the general rule is they are either made up of three pieces or four pieces; the latter has an extra storage compartment for ground herb. Some may say less is more, and others prefer the most features on their devices and gadgets.

Either way, we’re convinced the most important aspect is you have a quality grinder. Let’s dive into what makes and breaks a grinder, how to use it, and what to look for when buying a new one.

There are certain tools and accessories weed smokers need in order to smoke weed. You guessed it, one of them is a grinder. While grinders aren’t necessarily essential, they do provide an easier smoking experience by allowing you to grind your herb, so it’s easier to roll joints, pack bowls, etc.

Simply put, having a grinder makes sessions much easier. Plus, it lets you make the most out of your herb. Here are two perfect examples:

Picture this. You’re rolling a joint with small buds that haven’t been ground. These buds often have stems, which can puncture the rolling paper and make your joint unsmokable. Plus, they don’t burn evenly, so your joint is double unsmokable.

If you prefer bowls, smoking small buds isn’t ideal, considering you’re not making the most of your flower. There’s plenty of THC inside the bud, not just on the resinous trichomes on the bud’s exterior. When igniting small buds instead of ground herb, you’re only using the exterior of the buds and wasting what’s inside.

There are 3 main kinds of grinders, and they all differ based on how many compartments or sections they have. Read on for more information.

2-Piece Grinder

The 2-piece grinder is the most entry-level grinder of them all. It features nothing more than a lid with teeth and a bottom storage compartment for ground herb.

The main annoyance with 2-piece grinders is how they don’t have a bottom storage compartment for kief, the crystal-like pollen that falls off of buds (and is extremely potent). On the other hand, they’re incredibly easy to use, very straightforward, and easy to clean.

2-piece grinders are ideal for beginner cannabis users and those who don’t mind not having a bottom storage compartment for kief.

3-Piece Grinder

Out of the conventional grinders, the most convenient is perhaps those made up of three different pieces. These grinders have a top or lid, a storage area for ground herb, and a bottom or collection chamber for kief.

These three pieces can combine with other 3-piece grinders to make a double chamber grinder, separating the ground and unground material for ease and convenience. The 3-piece grinder is perhaps the minimum you should get. Even if you’re used to those pesky 2-piece grinders, this option makes up with better consistency and ease of use, as you will get everything out neatly from the collection chamber and onto your paper.

These 3-piece grinders are ideal for anyone that wants a more compact option and who desires to separate their ground flower from kief in two separate storage compartments.

4-Piece Grinder

The four-piece grinder is just like the previously mentioned but has an additional chamber in the middle that separates two storage compartments and a bottom layer for kief.

These grinders excel at their primary function, just like the 3-piece grinder, but have the added bonus of keeping your flower separate in case you want to use different strains.

If you are not necessarily looking for a piece that may catch pollen or kief, and keep it separate from the rest, you still would want to know that the additional chamber is amazing for keeping some filters and a folded rolling paper or two.

Before we get into the steps on how to use a grinder, it’s wise to understand all the parts of a grinder so you can use it effortlessly and to its best ability. Here’s the rundown.

Lid/Teeth

Every grinder has two sets of teeth located on the lid and inside the grinder. When you open the lid, you’ll see both sets of teeth exposed. These teeth play an essential role: grinding your herb. Without them, we’d be chopping up buds with scissors (which is another common way to grind but more of a hassle).

Storage Compartment

Under the lid and teeth will be a storage compartment for ground herb. When the teeth and your twisting motion grind flower, the ground flower falls through a series of small holes to land in this storage compartment. As mentioned above, some grinders have more than one storage compartment, which can be used to hold more flower or separate two different strains.

Mesh Screen

When you open your storage compartment, you’ll notice the flower is sitting on a mesh screen (if you’re using a 3-piece grinder, as 2-piece grinders do not have this feature). This mesh screen was designed to separate your ground flower from the bottom compartment, which holds kief. The mesh screen contains tiny holes that allow powdery kief to fall through, leaving your ground flower in its storage compartment.

Kief Catcher

If you’re using a 3-piece grinder (or 4+ piece), you will most definitely have a kief catcher, AKA kief compartment. This small section was designed to store your kief, which falls off buds through the mesh screen and into the bottom storage compartment. It makes for easy access to kief when you feel like adding it to joints, bowls, etc.

Using a weed grinder is very straightforward. There aren’t any buttons or settings, as most grinders are manual and function by mechanically turning and twisting them to grind your flower. Here’s a step-by-step below.

Step 1: Open the very top compartment or lid of the grinder. Once opened, you should see teeth inside the lid and in the grinder itself. Set a few small buds on the teeth inside the grinder, puncturing the buds with the teeth so they remain in place.

Step 2: Next, grab your lid and squish it back onto the grinder as you found it. It might be harder to close since there are buds in the teeth, so be sure to press hard until it’s fully closed.

Step 3: Now that your buds are in the teeth and your grinder is closed, twist the lid back and forth, and you should hear a crunching noise, indicating that your herb is being ground. Do this 5-8 times until you feel no resistance when twisting the lid.

Step 4: Open the storage compartment of your grinder, and voila! Your ground herb will be fluffy, pungent, and ready to smoke.

Extra Tips: To make the most of your herb, open the lid and ensure there’s no extra flower stuck between the teeth. If so, nudge it out with a toothpick and grind it again. Our second tip would be to check out the kief compartment (if you have one). It will take about 3-4 full grinds until you have a good amount of kief to use.

Like with everything else cannabis, the bottom line is very personal, but I can still give you my two cents.

In my opinion, a 4-piece grinder has a mild advantage due to the fact that you may use this additional chamber for so much more than just collecting kief or storing more flower.

Even if this chamber is meant for collecting and storing your kief for later use, I like using it to my advantage. I normally keep half a filter book, some folded rolling papers, and more small necessities.

That said, a 3-piece grinder is the best possible option for daily users who desire to separate their flower and kief without the extra space of 4-piece grinders.