Learning how to grind weed without a grinder is a useful skill to have in your smoking arsenal. Without a grinder, common household items can be used to grind your weed into a finer, more workable consistency.
How to Grind Weed Without a Grinder
Finding yourself without a grinder can be frustrating. After all, grinders are an excellent tool for turning your weed into a fine, workable texture. Nevertheless, grinding weed without a grinder can be fairly simple. Weed can be effectively ground using ordinary household items from the medicine cabinet or kitchen—or with your bare hands.
Use Household Items to Grind Weed
If you misplaced your grinder, never fear. You can grind your weed using items that you probably have lying around the house.
The most important step in using any of these items, however, is ensuring that they’re clean. Before using any of the following items to grind your weed, make sure they’re properly cleaned, sanitized, and dried. This way, you’ll avoid smoking any dust (or any other icky substance) that might otherwise get ground into your weed.
Coffee grinder
Still a grinder, utilizing your coffee grinder is a quick, effective way to break down your flower for packing and rolling. Loosely pack small nugs into your coffee grinder and start grinding. If your coffee grinder has a pulse button, use it to customize your consistency level: make sure to check your herb every few seconds to avoid over-grinding into dust.
Avoid smoking coffee grounds by making sure your coffee grinder is sparkling clean before grinding your weed. Similarly, avoid accidentally dosing your coffee by washing your grinder after using it for flower.
Mortar and Pestle
The most old-school method on the list, grinding with a mortar and pestle allows you to live out your old-timey smoker dreams. Though it might not be the most common household item, if you have one at your disposal, it can be used to effectively grind your weed.
Expose your weed to air for a couple of hours before grinding: dry flower will be easier to grind with your mortar and pestle. Afterward, break down your weed into smaller nugs, place it into your freshly cleaned mortar, and start smashing with your pestle. Work it until your weed is at the consistency you prefer. Clean your mortar and pestle after use, and enjoy your newly ground flower.
Cheese grater
A cheese grater also works wonders as a weed grinder, as long as you’re okay with smoking a little bit of cheese every time you spark up (just kidding--please clean your cheese grater before and after grinding your herb).
Cheese graters are typically fairly sharp, which will help get your weed to a fine, workable consistency. However, the most difficult component of grinding with a cheese grater is making sure your fingers don’t get caught in the crossfire. Grind using your biggest nugs, and keep your fingers curled close to avoid scrapes.
Pick it apart with your fingers
The cheapest, simplest option: simply break down your weed using your fingers. Dry out your weed for a couple of hours in advance, and crumble your weed onto your tray using your fingers. Make sure to wash your hands first to avoid passing unwanted germs onto your weed.
Though this method is simple and effective, it does have one major downfall: you’re likely to lose kief when you pick your weed apart with your fingers. The light crystally powder will stick to your fingers, and there isn’t a good way to preserve it from there. Shaking this kief off of your hands onto your tray is potentially your best bet, and even then, you won’t be able to save much.
Pill bottle and coins
If you have a pill bottle and a couple of coins handy, this method is also effective for grinding weed.
Break down your nugs into smaller pieces, and place them into an empty pill bottle. Avoid packing your weed too tightly: you’ll need room to use the bottle as a shaker. Add a coin (nickels and quarters tend to work best). Shake your bottle and let the coins break down your weed. Check in with your herb every 10 seconds or so to avoid breaking it down into dust.
Make sure to wipe down your coins before you use them: think about how many hands those things have touched!
Cutting with a knife
Another effective way to grind your weed before smoking is by cutting it with a knife. Place your flower onto a (clean, sanitized) cutting board and cut using a (clean) knife. Make sure your knife is sharp for optimal chopping: you can cut your herb smaller and more precisely with a sharp, small knife.
Scissors and a cup
If you don’t have a knife and cutting board, scissors will also do the trick. Sanitize your scissors before using them to cut your herb. Make sure you cut your weed over a cup to catch all the flower/loose kief coming off of your plant.
To Sum It Up
To get your weed to a fine, workable consistency, grinding is necessary. However, the way you grind your weed is totally up to you: if you can’t find your grinder, grab one of the household items above and make it work. Just make sure to sanitize!
FAQs
Can you grind weed into powder?
Yes, you can grind weed into a fine, almost powdery substance. Use your hands, a weed grinder, or any of the household items listed above to grind your weed into the consistency you prefer.
How do you break down buds?
You can break down your bud into smaller nugs using your hands. From there, you can continue using your hands to break it down further, or you can use a number of household items to finely grind your weed. Among these are a coffee grinder, a cheese grater, a mortar and pestle, or scissors/a knife.
Can you grind weed with a credit card?
Yes, you can use your credit card to grind your weed. To do so, disinfect your credit card, and place your weed on your tray, a mirror, or another flat surface. Use the edge of your card, and chop your weed until it is the fine, ground consistency that you prefer.
Can you blend weed in a blender?
This method is effective but powerful: blend your weed for a couple of seconds to prevent it from getting too dusty.
Is it better to use a grinder for weed?
Using a grinder for weed is merely a preference: if you find a different, effective way to grind your weed into your preferred texture without a grinder, why not use it? Any method that grinds weed is acceptable (as long as it’s safe!)
What can I use instead of a weed grinder?
Instead of a weed grinder, break bud down into a more workable texture using your fingers, a credit card, or a knife. Alternatively, shaking your nugs around in a pill bottle with a coin is another effective way to break it down.
How do you grind buds by hand?
Drier bud crumbles easier. Start by drying out your flower for 1-2 hours. Thoroughly wash your hands and gently crush up the flower using your fingers. Pick out any stems.
What do you do when you don’t have a grinder?
If you find yourself without a grinder, you can grind your weed using a number of methods. These methods include cutting it with a knife, crushing it with a credit card, or breaking it down using your fingers.
How do you cut buds with scissors?
Start by placing your bud into a clean glass. Using sanitized scissors, cut the nugs until they are a ground, workable texture. Cut inside the glass to avoid losing any weed.
