Best Grinders for Kief Collection

When it comes to grinders, if you’re a fan of the 4-piece, then you’re someone who wants to maximize their kief collection. There’s plenty of good reasons for that. Kief – coming from the Arabic word for “intoxication” – lives up to its name. That sand-colored dusting of trichomes at the bottom of your grinder – essentially pure cannabinoid crystals – can pack a real punch. It’s also versatile. You can even add some to your coffee or tea, where the crystals will dissolve with just a little heat.  

Keep reading to learn more about the best grinders for kief and some different ways to harness your collected trichomes.

Space Case

Manufactured using American milled aircraft grade aluminum and anodized for increased strength, the San Clemente-based Space Case has created a top shelf grinder for kief collection. Nylon O-rings allow for a smooth and precise rotation while strong rare earth magnets keep the lid securely closed.

photo credit

The grind action where the Space Case truly shines. Centering wedges on the outer edge of the grinder help to push your flower back into the center for a constant movement. Opposing, bi-directional, diamond shaped teeth will then grind your herb down to whatever finish you’re looking for. At the end, all your kief will have sifted through a medical grade, stainless steel pollen screen, ready to be collected with Space Case’s included matching radius pollen scraper. 

Herb Ripper

Slicing through your herb like a certain London villian named Jack once did, the Herb Ripper’s first notable feature is it’s 100% stainless steel body, which comes with your choice of a stylish matte or polished finish.

A strong, magnetized lid will keep your herb where it belongs. Below this lid is where the Herb Ripper’s specially designed teeth will go to work on it, processing it into a leafy mix perfect for joints, bowls, or vapes.

The Herb Ripper even caters to each consumer’s need. Whether you’re looking for a fine, medium, or coarse grind, the Herb Ripper will create a custom grinder that produces whatever kind of product you’re looking for. You can even buy all three options in a combo deal. 

The Herb Ripper’s teeth would put a shark to shame. A unique edge on top of all the teeth starts chowing down before you’ve even given the lid one twist. Once you do, the other edges go to work, making the entire process of grinding your desired product both fast and easy.

photo credit

The final feature of note that makes this one of the top kief collectors is the removeable sifting screen. Herb Ripper offers three different screen sizes for you to choose how much kief you’d like to flow through, easily removable with pliers for a quick clean or a swap out.

A ball bearing on top of the screen rolls around inside your Herb Ripper, helping to press that kief through the filter to where it collects in the catch basin. Designed with smooth corners, the Herb Ripper’s catch basin makes it easy to scrape the last bit of resin and kief with the included guitar pick.

Santa Cruz Shredder

Made of medical-grade anodized aluminum, the shredder’s exterior is hard to improve upon. A unique threading pattern, friction ring, and textured grip makes every twist and grind a breeze while the magnetized lid keeps your herb securely inside. Ultrasonically cleaned teeth mean that the interior is free of contamination, which makes an enormous difference for medical patients.  

The innovative and patented tooth design grinds up your herb efficiently. The product of years of testing, this tooth design slices through your herb as cleanly as a tiny light saber, making it one of the few grinders that really shreds the buds down to their fluffiest, trichome-richest form. This feature makes it the perfect grinder for cannabis consumers who favor using a dry herb vaporizer. The teeth on Santa Cruz Shredder grinders are guaranteed for life, so you won’t be replacing this grinder any time soon. 

Finally, the stainless steel filter means easy cleaning and sieves out your kief into the collection plate below.

Black Tie

Designed with an eye towards providing the perfect grind every time you twist the lid, Black Tie grinders are made with premium, light-weight aluminum. To compensate for its welterweight body, Black Tie grinders have been anodized to prevent chipping and increase durability. 

Once your herb is inside, the lid’s magnetic pull will keep it from escaping. A few quick twists are all you need for the Black Tie’s fifty diamond-shaped, razor-sharp teeth go to work on your bud until it’s the perfect consistency.

photo credit

The real key to Black Tie’s kief collection is their filtering screen, which is reinforced by metal instead of plastic to keep it firmly in place. This adds to their durability and means the kief will always sift its way down.

Below, the pollen catcher is curved at the base, which makes it much easier to scrape out your pollen and put it to use as nature intended. Black Tie even provides an extra pollen scraper as a back up, and a carry pouch so you can take your lightweight grinder on the go. 

Cali Crusher Homegrown

With its removable mesh screen, as well as its rounded kief tray for easy collection, the Cali Crusher Homegrown is one of the best grinders on the market when you’re looking for a collection of that good stuff at the bottom. 

While still effective, the grinder’s teeth design is a little irregular which may give your average flower fan some pause. With only eight rectangular shaped teeth on the bottom and twenty on the top, one might be curious as to how efficiently it can shred up your herb.

However, this design leaves plenty of room to place whole buds without having to break them down first, which means less kief stuck helplessly to your fingers or your scissors. The radial cut blades cut one way and fluff the other, making it perfect for joints, bowls, or vapes.

Once you see the kief at the bottom, you’ll know it was worth trusting the Cali Crusher Homegrown’s innovative design. The bottom catcher is twice as large as other grinders, and the rounded edges make it easy to finger scoop your kief without needing an extra tool.

Kozo Herb Grinder

Last on our list, the Kozo Herb Grinder has a compact design that makes it perfect for portability and its magnetic connections makes sure your herb won’t spill out before you get to your destination. Once you take it out of your purse, backpack, or pocket, the indentations on the grinder’s cap mean more to grip on to, which means more torque you can apply to grinding your herb. The trapezoidal teeth will grind the herb before pushing the processed pieces into the collection chamber. Even easier, the grinding chamber has a non-stick surface, which means cleaning is a breeze and all the kief will be falling into the collection chamber.

If you find yourself asking things like “how do I get more kief in my grinder?” or “Why did my grinder stop making kief?” then you might want to consider adding a grinder coin to your setup. Depending on the size of your grinder, the most popular coin types are quarters and nickels but really any coins will do. Make sure you wash the coin before adding it into your grinder chamber as you don’t want to smoke any bacteria from currency.

Putting a coin in your grinder can help you collect more kief. photo credit

Once you’ve selected a clean coin, simply place it into your ground flower chamber. You can now shake any ground up flower and encourage more trichomes to fall into the kief catcher. Adding a coin can also help knock down any caked on trichomes that may be clogging your micron screen and inhibiting full pass-through of kief into the collection chamber.

If a coin isn’t helping, then it’s a sign you need to clean your grinder or swap your micron filtering screen for something more refined.

After collecting kief, you may be wondering what you can do with it. The easy answer is that there are quite a few options to choose from depending on what you like. For example, many people like to sprinkle kief on top of a bowl to provide an extra bit of potency and flavor. Others like to decarboxylate it and use it for homemade edible infusions. As mentioned earlier in the piece, some people like to press it into rosin or other hash preparations.

Essentially, the sky is the limit for your kief collection and you can use it however you’d like! Just make sure to store it in a cool, dry and dark place when it’s not in use to preserve longevity.

Do you use a grinder to collect kief? Which one is your favorite? Share your comments and experiences below.