Posted on February 9, 2022 by Munchies

Grinders are one of the most important tools you need to successfully smoke weed. A massive staple of stoner culture, using a grinder is pivotal in ensuring that your weed is ground finely and evenly enough to make for a pleasant smoking experience.

Grinders come in a few different varieties, but they are most commonly made out of some kind of metal with sharp ‘teeth’ that grind up your weed when spun inside the chamber. Grinders are also relatively easy to get––you can find them at almost any online headshop, or depending on where you’re located, your local smoke shops, gas stations, and bodegas.

Though grinders are an important tool for smoking, there may be some situations that arise where you may need to figure out how to grind weed without a grinder. Whether yours broke and you can’t get to a store that has one, or everyone showed up to the smoke sesh thinking someone else would bring the grinder, we’re here to teach you how to grind up weed for any situation you may find yourself stuck in without a grinder.

Weed In Grinder

Best Way to Grind Weed Without a Grinder

The easiest (and most simple) way to grind weed without a grinder is, obviously, with your fingers. Most people refer to this method as ‘breaking it up’ instead of grinding it. You don’t need to know how to grind weed exactly the same as a grinder would since it would be incredibly hard to accomplish. All you have to do is try to pick it apart with your fingers as finely and evenly as possible.

But we know that some buds can be especially sticky and super difficult to break apart with your fingers, so we’ve collected some of the best ways to grind weed without a grinder. There are many things at home that can become a homemade weed grinder––you just have to get creative! (And if there’s one thing stoners are known for, it’s ingenuity in the face of an obstacle keeping them from smoking, so we know you got this.)

  • Any kind of blender.

Blenders can definitely be considered a homemade grinder since the blades are already designed to cut things into super tiny pieces. You can use a regular kitchen blender, a coffee grinder, or even a pepper grinder for this. Any of these will work!

The only drawback to using a blender as a grinder is that you do end up losing pretty much all of your kief. Since there’s no sieve to sift it out, it ends up getting all over the walls and blades of the blender and can be a bit difficult to clean. Other than that, this is probably the quickest and easiest way to grind weed without a grinder.

  • A mortar and pestle.

Using a mortar and pestle to grind weed not only gives big apothecary vibes, but it will do the job really well. If you have one of these in your kitchen, just fill your mortar with a couple of nugs and use your pestle to grind away! This will also be a lot less messy and way less wasteful than using a blender.

  • Scissors and a shot glass.

This trick is perfect if you find yourself at a party and everyone remembered to bring the weed but everyone also forgot to bring the grinder. Grab an empty, dry shot glass, put a small bud or two inside, and use the tip of the scissors to chop up the nug. This should prove to be relatively easy once you get the hang of it as the shot glass will provide a natural boundary for your scissors.

  • A cheese grater.

A cheese grater is another great kitchen utensil to utilize if you’re in a situation without a grinder. Just take your nug and grate it against the side of the grater until it’s gone. (Just be mindful of your fingers!) Make sure you also have something to catch the ground-up weed on, like a plate or a bowl.

  • A mesh colander and a spice bottle.

This is kind of a DIY weed grinder, but it will definitely work well. If you have a fine mesh colander or sieve in your kitchen, you can put your weed in it and crush it with something hard like a spice bottle. This will push the weed out of the other side finely ground, while also collecting a bit of kief on the top.

  • A kitchen knife and a cutting board.

This is our last kitchen-related hack, but if all else fails, just go at it with a knife and cutting board. You can chop up cannabis nugs just like you’d chop up any other herb or leafy green. Simple and easy!

  • A razor blade.

If you don’t have access to a knife but can find some other kind of sharp edge or blade such as a razor blade, you can make that work, too. Just make sure you also have a flat surface to cut it and something to collect your cut-up weed.

  • A pill bottle and a coin.

This is less of a DIY grinder and more a DIY weed shaker, but it still does the trick. You can take an empty pill bottle (or anything similar) and fill it with a few small nugs and a small coin (we recommend a penny or dime for this, anything bigger might not work as well) and start shaking it vigorously. This should help to dislodge the nugs from the stems and help to break them apart inside the bottle.

  • A key or a credit card.

Check your pockets! If you’re still desperately looking for something, using a key or even a credit card can work in a pinch. You can use the tip of the key/corner of the credit card to cut into the nugs until they start to break up. This will help save your fingers from being covered with super sticky buds.

  • A bag and a blunt object.

This hack may be our favorite because it really represents the visceral rage that can come with trying to smoke without having something that you really need to smoke, like a weed grinder. We figured that everyone can probably figure out how to crush weed, so this hack is pretty easy for everyone to handle.

Using a bag of some kind (paper probably works best, but plastic works too, just make sure it’s on the sturdier side), take a blunt object (like a hammer or even a book), and smash away. It’s a little primitive, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do!

**(Disclaimer reminder: This article is not medical advice. It is based on anecdotal user experience alone. If you are thinking about incorporating cannabis (delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC, CBD, etc) into your medicinal routine, please consult a healthcare professional. Do not stop taking any prescribed medications without first consulting your doctor.)

Disclaimer: This article reflects the laws of the United States at the time it was written. Because cannabis laws in the United States laws are subject to change at any time, please make sure that you are always staying up to date on your federal, state, and local county’s cannabis laws. Additionally, we are NOT encouraging anyone to break the law––we are simply showing people ways to legally and discreetly bring their cannabis products along with them on their travels so that they may have access to those products when they reach their intended destination.

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