Grinder wooden classic: wood and metal pins, nothing else
This grinder is made of two halves of dark wood, each carrying rows of straight metal pins. The lid has been left flat and plain: no engraving, no print, no logo. At the bottom the foot flares out a little wider than the rest of the body, giving you something to hold with two fingers while you turn the halves against each other.
Wood behaves differently from metal. It weighs less, so you barely notice the grinder in a coat pocket, and it does not feel icy in your hand on a cold day. The pins are the working parts: they are thin, stand upright and pull the material apart rather than slicing it finely the way the sharp teeth of an aluminium model do. That gives a looser result, and it is exactly what many people like about this type of grinder. With no screw thread, magnet or nylon ring inside, there is also nothing that can jam or snap off.
What this grinder is and is not for
This is a two-part model, so there is no screen and no pollen chamber. The ground material stays between the pins until you tap it out. If you want to collect separately, a four-part model with a screen and a pollen chamber is the better choice. If you are after something simple and light that travels everywhere with you, this wooden one does precisely that.
Using it
- Lift the lid off and spread your herbs loosely between the pins, without packing them down.
- Put the lid back on and turn the halves back and forth a few times.
- Take the lid off and tap the contents gently into your hand or onto a flat dish.
Upkeep: keep it dry
Wood and water are a poor match, so do not rinse this grinder and never leave it to soak. A dry brush or an old toothbrush along the pins clears the residue perfectly well, and doing that regularly keeps it turning lightly. Storing it somewhere it will not get wet or damp does more good than any cleaning session. The colour of the wood can vary a little from one piece to the next, which comes with natural material.
Other wooden grinders at Avalon Magic Plants
If you like the same material but want more character on the lid, Avalon Magic Plants stocks the Grinder wooden Leaf of 35 mm with a hand-carved leaf and the Light wood grinder leaf in a paler timber. For wood with a screen and pollen chamber, look at the Black Aluminium/Wood Grinder 4-part from Black Leaf, with a walnut exterior around an aluminium mechanism. Everything ships discreetly packaged.
