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How To Grind Weed Without A Grinder

January 21, 2022

You’ve just finished curing and drying your juicy homegrown buds and are looking forward to an evening with you, the couch, and a fat joint. You’re getting ready to roll and are putting your kit together. There’s just one problem—you can’t find your grinder. Don’t panic if you don’t know how to grind weed without a grinder!

Every stoner knows this piece of equipment is essential when you need to break those chunky nugs up. You don’t need a shop-bought model, though. There are plenty of ways to make a homemade weed grinder without spending a penny. 

The convenience of having a grinder, whether you’re at a party, chilling with friends, or home alone, is hard to beat. Don’t worry if you can’t find yours, though. Join us as we give you some super hacks to help you out with this dilemma.

Grinding up cannabis
Grinding up cannabis

How does a weed grinder work?

Whether you’re a cannabis connoisseur or new to the world of marijuana, you know how important this piece of kit is. Enthusiasts don’t leave home without it, but how does a weed grinder work? 

Whether you’ve got yourself a homemade weed grinder or the latest model, they all have the same goal. They get your cannabis from big buds to fine pieces to use for smoking or cooking.

A classic version is usually round and fits neatly in your palm. It consists of two interlocking circles with metal teeth whose job is to shred and cut your dried buds into little pieces. This finer cannabis is much easier to work with when rolling joints. If you want to grind weed without a grinder, you’ll need to find something that gives you similar results.

How to grind weed without a grinder 

Knowing how to grind weed without a grinder is a fantastic party trick that can impress friends at a gathering or save you in a pinch. It might sound tricky, but it’s not—any stoner can do it with a few items from around the house

Below, we’ve compiled our favorite ways to grind weed without a grinder. We’re sure you have at least some of these bits and bobs at home. Try as many of them as you like, and have plenty of fun finding one that works best for you.

Coffee grinder

Perhaps the best replacement for a conventional weed grinder is this kitchen appliance. If you enjoy a caffeine fix in the mornings, we’re sure you’ve got one. A coffee grinder makes for an “almost” perfect replacement, whether it’s a manual model or the latest in technology. 

This appliance makes grinding weed look effortless, but don’t go overboard. It’s easy to pulverize your ganja completely in just a few seconds. For those who love a finer grind, though, this could be your new favorite cannabis toy. 

Pro tip: Clean your coffee grinder thoroughly before use. You don’t want to end up with a sour smoke or a cup of joe that reeks of pot.

Metal sieve

Make sure you get this homemade grinder for weed right. A metal sieve might do the same job as a colander in the kitchen, but the latter won’t work for this purpose. Ensure your sieve is made of fine wire mesh and has very small holes.

Grab a plate or a clean surface to catch your ground cannabis on. Then, begin to roll and rub your pot around the sieve with a little bit of pressure. Use a metal spoon if you prefer. This technique can take a while, but it works to get a decent fine grind.

Metal sieve
Metal sieve

Fine cheese grater

This option is an item nearly everyone has in their kitchen and is a great substitute to grind weed without a grinder. Most cheese graters have a side with a very fine cut—the part you use for parmesan or fruit zest. Don’t worry if not, though, as any sized grater does the job.

Ensure your item is clean first, or all your weed might taste like the Cheese strain. Then, start to grate like you would your favorite cheddar or Italian cheese. 

It’s best to go slow when grinding weed without a grinder this way, as it’s easy to shave a bit of skin off your knuckles—yuck! We recommend only grating what you need and not letting the bud get too small to avoid accidents.

Pestle and mortar

If you enjoy grinding up spices, you might have this handy item in your kitchen. It’s another effective way to grind weed without a grinder, as long as your bud is very dry. Otherwise, your pot will end up in sticky clumps and be difficult to handle. As a last resort, you can freeze your nugs for a bit before you start.

Like with all these methods, clean your utensils before and after to avoid any flavor contamination. Use your pestle and mortar just like you would with spices, ensuring you grind rather than pound your bud.

Blender

If you have other items on this list, try them first—this isn’t the best way to grind weed without a grinder. A blender tends to overkill your pot, despite being made for a similar purpose. This technique works best for larger quantities of cannabis.

To avoid disappointment, clean your blender and set it to ‘pulse.’ If yours doesn’t have that option, you’ll need to turn it on and off. After every pulse or two, check the consistency. It’s easy to go too far in the blink of an eye.

Blender

Chopping board and knife

Are you a whizz with a knife? This common kitchen utensil is an easy way to grind weed without a grinder. Make sure you concentrate to avoid accidents.

A chef’s knife is ideal for this job, thanks to the curved blade that allows you to work in a rocking motion. Pop your pot in the middle of a clean chopping board and place your knife over it. Rock the blade back and forth while moving your bud—keep the knife in contact with the board at all times.

Pizza cutter

If your pizza’s arrived and you’ve just realized you need to grind weed without a grinder, why not kill two birds with one stone? Grab a chopping board and place your cannabis in the middle. Roll the blade back and forth across your pot with the cutter until you get the consistency you’re after.

This method is perfect for stoners who might have puffed a little too much to handle a knife properly. A pizza cutter is safer—but it might take longer, as it isn’t as sharp.

Scissors and cup

Whether you have big kitchen scissors, haircutting ones, or even the tiny nail kind, they can all cut and chop buds. This is one of the easier ways to grind weed without a grinder—just don’t get your fingers in the way. You simply need to hold your nugs over a cup and snip away.

DIY shaker

Another simple homemade grinder for weed idea is to grab a small container with a lid, preferably smaller than a cup. An empty plastic pill bottle does the trick. Glass jars are noisy and risk breaking, so we advise against them.

Pop a couple of small pebbles or two high denomination coins into your container and then your buds. Put the lid on and start shaking vigorously. Check on your cannabis after each shake to get the right texture.

Credit card

You might associate a credit card with harder drugs, but it’s also a great makeshift way of grinding weed without a grinder. This everyday item is sturdy, easy to hold, and actually slices through your dried herb with ease.

Put your cannabis on a solid surface and grab a clean credit card. Carefully slice through your weed, taking care you don’t slip and push it off the table. Be sure to clean your card afterward, or the cashier at your local store might discover what you get up to in the evenings.

Credit card
Credit cards can be very useful when rolling joints

Paper bag and hammer

This is perhaps the most forceful way to grind weed without a grinder. It might sound a bit heavy-handed, but it works fast and does it well. The paper bag is the perfect non-stick surface. The force of the hammer breaks the buds down into tiny pieces.

Before you begin bashing away, ensure your weed is on a strong surface that can handle the heavy hits from the hammer. Think concrete, a kitchen worktop, or a workshop bench. 

Put your bud in the bottom of the bag and scrunch it up. Holding the hammer, smash the nugs for a minute or two—be careful of your fingers—and then check on them. They should be ready by now. For a bonus high-THC treat, scrape the resin off that’s stuck to the paper bag.

Fingers

Do you want to know how to grind weed without a grinder if you have none of the above at home? With the tools that God gave you—your fingers. You don’t want to be breaking apart an ounce of marijuana this way, but it works well for a small amount.

Taking care, break the nugs apart with your hands and then rip them into even smaller pieces. It might not be the perfect homemade weed grinder, but it works in an emergency. 

How to make a homemade grinder

Still not convinced by our hacks or want something more permanent and suited to the job? We’re going to share how to make a homemade grinder. You don’t need to be a DIY expert and only need a few basic tools.

Gather the following to put together an effective homemade weed grinder:

  • Plank of wood
  • Wire mesh
  • Tape measure
  • Saw
  • Nails
  • Hammer

When you’re ready, put your grinder together with these steps.

  1. Your homemade weed grinder starts with cutting the wood to make four sides. The easiest way is to saw two longer pieces (15cm x 7.5cm) and two shorter ones (7.5cm X 7.5cm).
  2. Nail the four sides together to form a rectangular box.
  3. Snip your mesh to the same measurements (15cm x 7.5cm).
  4. Secure the mesh to the top part of your wooden frame with nails.
  5. Put your frame on a surface with the mesh facing up.
  6. It’s time to grind! Rub your bud back and forth across the mesh, and the ground nugs will fall into the space below.

That’s it. All that’s left to do is roll a joint with the ground bud and reward yourself for all the effort.

Preparing a joint
Preparing a joint

Don’t let a grinder crisis stop you

If you didn’t know how to make a homemade weed grinder before, you do now. You can either use your initiative and grab something from around the house or use our step-by-step instructions to create your own. After all, every seasoned stoner should know how to grind weed without a grinder.

Do you have more Mary Jane dilemmas you need help with? Check out our blog for more issue-solving articles to help you on your weed-growing journey.

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