You've got some sticky buds, but you lost your grinder. What do you do? How to grind up weed without a grinder is a question that stoners around the world have been attempting to tackle ever since the dawn of time. More often than not, the answer is simply using your hands and fingers to break those sticky buds apart.
Yes, using your hands to grind weed does work, although you're really more ripping it apart and shredding it with your fingernails than you are grinding it. Either way, in a pinch, it works, kind of. That said, it's certainly not the fastest, easiest, or best way to go about it.
Today, we'll provide you with a step-by-step tutorial on grinding weed with just your hands and fingers, but we also want to provide you with some alternatives. As you'll see, there are a few good ways to grind weed without your hands and fingers and without a grinder.
Key Takeaways
- You can grind weed in between fingers or use fingers to pull buds apart.
- Using hands and fingers to break down weed works best if the buds are dry.
- Other methods of grinding weed include using a coffee grinder, scissors, a pill bottle and coin, a mortar and pestle, and even a cheese grater.
How to Grind Up Weed with Your Hands and Fingers?
Here's a simple step-by-step tutorial on how to grind up weed with your hands and fingers.
- Wash your hands first. You do not want them to be oily or sticky, or else the trichomes will stick to your fingers. Thoroughly dry your hands after. They should not be wet.
- Find a flat surface or a cannabis rolling tray. Once again, make sure that this is also clean.
- Using your fingers, pick the seeds and stems out of the buds if there are any. On a side note, this job is made easier if you have some fingernails. On that note, to break up weed with your fingers, the weed itself should be relatively dry and not sticky.
- There are actually two different ways of doing this, so let's take a look at both. Which one you use depends on your personal preference and what works easier for you.
- The first method here is to hold the bud of weed in your non-dominant hand. Form your non-dominant hand into a cup and hold the bud. Using your index finger, middle finger, and thumb on your dominant hand, you grab the buds and slowly break them apart by rubbing them together in between your fingers. Many people will now take the nugs, once they are small enough, place them in between the palms of their hands, and rub those together. This should essentially turn the weed into powder. This method works well for really dry weed. However, if the weed is a bit wet and sticky, you'll end up just compacting the buds together more instead of breaking them apart. If this is the case, use the next method.
- For this method, you leave the cannabis buds on a flat surface or rolling tray. You'll take small buds and grip them with both your left and right hands, with the middle fingers, index fingers, and thumbs. You will then quite literally use these fingers to pull the cannabis buds apart. Your fingers essentially form pincers, which you pull the weed apart with. Just keep picking up buds and pulling them apart with both hands until they are small enough to use.
What Humidity Should Weed be for Grinding up by Hand?
A humidity level of under 50% is recommended here. However, what it really comes down to is that the drier the buds are, the easier they are to break apart by hand. If the buds are too wet and sticky, you won't be able to grind them by hand.
Other Factors
Humidity is not the only factor that determines whether or not breaking apart weed by hand is feasible. Let's take a quick look at some of the other factors.
- If the weed has a lot of trichomes, THC, or a lot of resin glands, then it will be naturally sticky no matter how humid it is. The more trichomes the weed has, the harder it is to break up.
- Some buds may also be harder to break apart than others due to them having seeds and stems.
- If you happen to have something like arthritis, then breaking apart weed by hand also becomes difficult.
Other Methods to Grind Weed without a Grinder
You don't have a grinder, but you also don't want to use your hands. So, how else can you grind up weed?
Scissors
One of the best methods, especially if the weed is fairly dry, is to use a pair of scissors. In fact, behind the grinder, this is probably the most popular method. To grind up weed with scissors, hold nugs in between your thumb and forefinger on your non-dominant hand.
You then take the scissors and carefully start cutting that bud apart. This is quite difficult, and it takes some practice. The aim here is to use your fingers to apply enough pressure to the bud so that it stays in between your thumb and forefinger without falling, even as you make consecutive cuts through it.
As the buds or pieces of it get small enough, they will fall, leaving the remainder, the bigger parts, still in between your fingers. Some people find this to be one of the fastest methods out there, although you do have to be careful not to cut your fingers. Our own Botany Farms Delta-8 Blueberry Kush is a perfect candidate for grinding with scissors.
A Pill Bottle and Coin
Although this is a very unique method, it works fairly well, particularly for drier weed. Here, you just take your weed, put it inside a plastic pill bottle, put a coin such as a nickel inside, and then shake vigorously. Although it doesn't turn your weed into powder, it does break it apart significantly. You might, however have to shake for quite a few minutes for this to work.
Mortar and Pestle
An even more unique method, you might try using a mortar and pestle to grind your weed. Funny enough, it is called grinding weed, but using your hands, scissors, and even a grinder itself doesn't actually grind it. Instead, that weed is ripped apart.
On the other hand, the mortar and pestle (a tool specifically designed for grinding) is the only method out there that literally grinds weed in between two surfaces.
However, this only works for dry weed. If the weed is wet and sticky, you just end up compacting it together more. Also, most people just don't have mortar and pestles. If this method sounds ideal to you, maybe you can try grinding our Botany Farms Delta-8 + CBG Lemon Diesel strain this way.
Cheese Grater
Although this method requires some care and caution, if your weed is dry enough, you could probably get away with using a cheese grater. Admittedly, this is one of the less effective methods on the list today, but it might just work in a pinch. You need to use the finest blades, however.
Coffee Grinder
If you happen to have a coffee grinder sitting around, then you are set. Just throw the buds inside the coffee grinder, turn it on for a few seconds, and you're good to go. Check out this article if you’re worried about weed smelling when you grind it.
Final Thoughts – How to Grind Weed with Your Hands
As long as the weed is fairly dry and your hands are clean, you should be able to break it down into a usable size with just your hands. However, coffee grinders, cheese graters, mortar and pestles, scissors, and more, all work just fine too. If you want to try your luck at grinding some tasty buds, check out our own Botany Farms Delta-8 Blueberry Diesel.
Cannabis Grinding: FAQ
Let's quickly go over some of your most frequently asked questions about grinding cannabis.
Is it OK to Grind Your Weed?
Not only is it OK to grind your weed, but you should. Weed doesn't burn well when it is in large chunks. To make weed burn evenly, it should be in small and consistently sized buds. Many people even like turning it into powder.
How Long Should You Grind Your Weed For?
Time is not the question here, but rather the end result. A coffee grinder might only take one second to turn your weed into powder, whereas it might take you 10 or 15 minutes to break down weed with your hands.
What is Best To Grind Weed?
A regular herb or weed grinder is considered best for this purpose.
Do You Remove Stems Before Grinding?
Yes, you should remove the stems before grinding. They don't contain much THC and they taste bad.
What Happens if You Grind Stems and Smoke Them?
If you try to grind your stands, you might be left with little sharp parts that poke through your rolling papers. Many people also report getting headaches from smoking stems.
Can I Leave Bud in My Grinder?
As long as you store it in a cool and dry place, there's no reason why you can't leave your bud in your grinder for a little while.
