How to Grind Weed Without a Grinder – 5 Easy Hacks

Do you know how to grind weed without a grinder? While grinders are an essential part of the weed rolling and smoking process, it’s a strategy skill to know how to make do if you leave yours at home or simply don’t like to have one in your weed kit! 

If you’re a frequent toker, the number of missed sesh opportunities due to a lack of a grinder probably numbers in the hundreds. Whether it’s at a party, after class or on the go, not having a grinder can make rolling a good joint an incredibly difficult process. 

Unless you plan on smoking the bud itself (not recommended), your best bet is to implement a DIY solution out of the equipment, materials and tools you do have at your disposal. 

Before you get too in your head, don’t worry! The process is easier than it sounds. 

Today, we’re going to teach you 5 techniques for how to grind weed without a grinder no matter where you are! 

5 Techniques for How to Grind Weed Without a Grinder 

Grinders are a fantastic tool to have in any stash box or smoker kit, but, let’s be honest, they can get a bit unwieldy. 

Classic 3 chamber grinders can get heavy, making them an unideal choice to carry with you when you’re out and about. On the other hand, plastic single chamber grinders may as well not grind the weed at all! 

No weed grinder? No problem. Here’s how to grind weed without a grinder with 5 easy hacks.

Use Your Hands

Back in the days of cannabis yore, tokers routinely handled weed with their hands. In fact, it’s how charas, the world’s oldest form of hash, was made! 

Today, grinders have made processing weed much more straightforward. However, nothing’s stopping us from returning to tradition! If you don’t mind them getting a bit sticky, using your hands is an effective way of ‘grinding’ your weed and prepping it for a joint. 

Begin by removing the stem from the bud first. From there, work your way from the narrower top of the nug to the bottom, using your index and thumb to pick out little bits of weed. As you move down the nug, try your best to shred manageable pieces that aren’t too large that’ll fit in your joint. 

Unless you plan on making charas afterwards, we highly recommend washing your hands to remove the buildup of sticky icky afterwards!

Shot Glass and Scissors Technique

The shot glass and scissors technique is extremely popular at parties and social events. 

The only things you’ll need are a pair of scissors and a shot glass, so this hack is super easy to do no matter where you might be. 

All you need to do to grind weed without a grinder using these makeshift materials is remove the stem from the nug and place the nug inside the shot glass (break the nug in half if it’s especially large) and start hacking away with your pair of scissors! 

Although any glass will work, a shot glass is recommended since its size and volume fits the size of most weed nugs beautifully. 

If you’re planning on using this technique, opt to use a glass shot glass instead of a plastic one. Anything other than glass might cause the material to chip off and end up in your weed! 

Use a Cheesegrater

Surprise, surprise, you can use a cheese grater to grate more than just cheese! 

Whether you have a box grater or a Microplane, a cheesegrater can help you get that fine grind you need to roll a perfect joint. The texture comes out to be surprisingly close to that of a conventional weed grinder, and it grinds just as quickly! 

The best way to grind weed without a grinder using a cheesegrater is to pretend your nug is a small block of cheese. Hold the bud by its base, where the stem is and grind slowly and gently while applying a decent amount of pressure. 

Since the nug is smaller than a block of cheese, you want to go low and slow to avoid losing your grip and accidentally cutting yourself. 

The cheesegrater method works best with larger nugs of weed. Popcorn weed lovers will be better off using the ‘shot glass and scissors’ approach! 

Use a Coffee Grinder

Not a big fan of dairy? No problem. If you like to grind your beans for your morning cup of coffee, you can use the same machine to grind your weed! 

A coffee grinder works incredibly well. Unlike a blender, a coffee grinder can provide a coarser, fuller grind ideal for joint rolling.

There’s a certain sweet spot for the texture of ground cannabis that you want to aim for when it comes to smoking weed. Too fine, and you run the risk of inhaling some weed when you take a hit or a rip. On the other hand, grind it too coarsely, and the weed won’t burn as smoothly. 

A coffee grinder is that ideal middle ground between rough and fine that you want to aim for.

If you plan on using a coffee grinder to grind your weed, make sure to clean your grinder thoroughly after doing so. Weed kief can jam up your machine if you don’t take proper care!

The Pill Bottle & Coin Technique

Using a pill bottle and a coin to grind your weed without a grinder is one of the oldest techniques in the book, right up there with using your bare hands. 

This hack dates back to when weed was just starting to hit Critical Mass within the United States. Back then, grinders were not as ubiquitous, and blazers would use anything from pill bottles to old film canisters to grind weed to roll up in a doobie. 

The theory behind this technique is simple enough – the bouncing of the coin within the film canister/pill bottle ricochets off of your weed to grind it without a grinder. However, in practice, this hack takes a bit of a workout. 

Although properly cured weed nugs are brittle, higher-quality buds will tend to be dense and stick together. Sometimes, all it takes to break apart a nug is to shake the bag it came in! Other times, you have to get up close and personal.

To execute this hack, get any small plastic container such as a pill bottle or a film canister and load it up halfway with your bud of choice. Then, find a medium to large-sized coin, such as a quarter, and clean it thoroughly. You don’t want to be smoking the bacteria and germs with your weed, after all! 

Once the coin and weed are in the container, shake the unit vigorously for about a minute or so or until the weed has reached the desired consistency!

How to Grind Weed Without a Grinder – Easier Than You Think 

While grinders are an excellent, nearly essential accessory to have in your weed tool kit, you’re not always going to have one on hand when you most need one. 

This fact is why learning how to grind weed without a grinder is such an important skill to have!

Do you have a go-to method for how to grind weed without a weed grinder that wasn’t mentioned in our list? Let us know!  

Armed with this knowledge, you’re now ready to save the sesh with your weed grinding skills no matter where or when the need might arise. Just remember to clean the equipment afterwards! 

As always, happy toking!