Are Weed Grinders with a Crank Any Good?

That depends. The simple straight-forward answer is they kind of suck. Crank weed grinders are many people’s first grinder purchase, and while they may work at first, there are certainly better options available that will serve you better in the long-term.

Even if you’re dead-set on not using a traditional grinder, you have options.

What’s the Benefit of a Crank Grinder?

Cannabis is sticky, and depending on the moisture content of your bud, it can be hard to grind. The crank provides extra leverage so you can spin the top with more force.

Well, that’s what they’re advertised to do, but the truth is the crank just makes things more complicated. Yes, if you have some dry weed pretty much any grinder will effectively grind, and in that case a crank will work well for grinding larger amounts with ease. But that changes if your weed is the right humidity, or if it’s dense.

An Electric Grinder Will Probably Serve You Better.

The one situation where a crank might be an OK choice is if you suffer from arthritis of some other medical impairment where grasping a normal grinder is painful. But even then there are better options out there—like an electric weed grinder.

I wouldn’t recommend an electric grinder to those who care foremost about grind consistency and portability, but in terms of grinding weed with the utmost ease, you can’t beat an electric weed grinder, which trumps any hand crank weed grinder in my book.

Or you could use your hands, if your desperate. Check some alternative methods of grinding weed.

What Are the Drawbacks of a Hand Crank Grinder?

There are a large variety of well-known cannabis grinder brands on the market but few actually sell “crank” grinders. Why is that? Why are crank grinders only made out of lower quality zinc and aluminum materials by bargain-bin brands?

It’s because they break so often. It’s because people looking for a crank grinder generally don’t know any better and they see these cheap gimmicky grinders as cool, even though they’re not dependable.

The cranks weak point is right where the crank or lever attaches to the top of the grinder, and a quick Google search will prove they break quite often. Not only that, but if your cannabis is sticky or dense it can actually be more difficult to use than a standard designed grinder.

It should also be mentioned that because only cheaper brands make crank grinders, and because these brands use lower quality metals/materials, that they’re going to break more often anyway. Do they break because of the hand crank design, or because only cheap brands make hand crank grinders? Either way you’re shit out of luck if it breaks. A hand crank grinder, once broken, is unusable.

That is, unless you want to connect yours to a power drill which gives a new meaning to an automated weed grinder.

Alternative Solution for Those Who Want an Easier Time Grinding, but Don’t Want Electric.

In this case I would recommend looking for a jumbo herb grinder, or a grinder at least 2.5” in diameter. It’s still going to take some doing, but larger grinders are often easier to grasp, and subsequently turn compared to smaller grinders. (Assuming you place the same amount of weed to be ground).

This doesn’t mean you can load up your 4 inch grinder with as much weed as possible and hope it still grinds easily. No, a big grinder allows you to provide more torque compared to a smaller grinder, but if it’s overloaded that won’t help.

Best Hand Crank Weed Grinder

Even after all that, if you’re still confident in your desire for a crank weed grinder, you have a couple options.

Sharpstone is your main option. Most cannabis grinder brands that gain any notoriety do so through innovation and putting out increasingly evolved products. Sharpstone is a little different in that they’re known for manufacturing basic designs catered towards cheaper, more affordable weed grinders.

As mentioned above they primarily specialize in grinders made from zinc or lower quality aluminum, but at the same time they’re known for manufacturing quality products. If you have an issue you’ll have no problem finding someone to speak to. Check out this article to understand the different aluminum grades and how that corresponds to grinder quality.

Generic Amazon/Etsy

The next obvious choice is Amazon or Etsy. There are a variety of different options to choose from, and while I still recommend looking around at other options, if you can’t keep crank grinders out of your mind, you should easily be able to find one on these marketplaces.

They also have a good return policy, so when your crank grinder inevitably breaks, you’ll be able to look for a refund and move onto a long lasting grinder, like our stainless steel 2.5”.

Conclusion:

Hand crank grinders may seem like a cool concept that would improve the grinding experience, but the truth is they’re mostly a waste of time and money.

They break often and don’t perform as well as standard designed grinders. However they’re cheap as hell, which lead many into making the mistake of purchasing these as their first time grinder, only to regret the purchase later.