Preparing buds for smoking

[shadycon]

How do you prepare your buds for smoking? I use a coffee bean grinder. A few seconds and ready to smoke. The residue left in the grinding bowl is like smoking poor mans hash.

[Bluey]

I've got an electric high speed blender with two really sharp blades I bought off of Ebay for $6. It doesn't have any safety features so blending your fingers is an option too.

It works great in a few seconds, fluffing the cut buds nicely for both vaping and reefers. A few more seconds and you end up with trying to smoke dust that does not work so well.

It does leave a huge amount of kief behind in the bowl after a few months use.

Coffee grinders are the go though from what I've seen but I always thought those burr grinders would clog easy with sticky bud and would be a PITA to clean.

[shadycon]

The one I use is a 'KAFFE' brand, 2 blades, $20 at Walmart. I load and unload with it upside down. Turn it sideways,up and down while grinding for a few seconds.Hold the button too long and you get dust.

[Bluey]

Sounds very similar to mine, you have to shake it and turn it also for best results.

[Gingerbeard]

I prepare my buds by turning them into resin. But that's not quite what you're talking about.

[Sixwinds]

I have a Space Case grinder - built from astronaut metal or something... it was really expensive but works very well!

[golfnrl]

I like to prepare buds for smoking with a cure for a few months at 62 RH. I use a hand grinder most of the time. It's a Cali Crusher. It took me a while to get the grind right. I have a coffee grinder and will say ditto on the dust. But I do like using it, just not all the time. When I'm using the Cali Crusher I will separate the bud and grind about 4 chunks at a time. I continue on with that until the bud is ground. Then I grind that again. So I do a double grind. Kashmir420 has tubes that I like. They smoke really well with the double grind. If I'm using the coffee grinder I like to do a bud or two at a time but I don't separate them, just grind them up. The hand grinder is easier to clean IMHO. 99% iso, available on Amazon, is what I use.

[Cougar672]

I use a hand grinder. I like this one because it has some larger holes which gives me a little coaster grind, which I prefer.

Bluey and shadycon sounds like you prefer a finer grind.
What makes the finer grind better, in your opinion?

[Bluey]

I don't like a fine grind. I also cure at 58 to 63% and prefer a fluffy light grind. The grinder in the pics can do that just fine if used correctly.

Finer grinds make it more difficult to smoke. I like them airy.

[shadycon]

Like Bluey said; you can grind from course to fine to suit your taste.Med/course grind like in pictures smokes great in pipes Just a few seconds and done. Fine grind I have not tryed ,but the fine sticky residue left in the grinder is like poor mans hash. After each time I grind I clean it out, save separately, pack a bowl like I do with hash[heat,crumble pack] small hole in middle and light,. turn up " Stair way to Heaven"!

[bdeegan]

I agree on liking the coarser grind. But I have had the discussion with many about not grinding in order to not break up the trichomes. What say you all??? I will likely still grind my shit as it smokes better but thoughts on grinding through the stickyist of ickeyist vs burning a chunk?

[shadycon]

After grinding, I assume the leftover residue is mostly trichomes, very sticky and fine like hash. As i said, I pack my water pipe, poke a hole in the middle, and it smokes like hash, stronger than the buds themselves.As for smoking hash; that was all we had in Ger.,'72-74, you name it, we smoked it. Opium laced was one of my favorites. Bubblegum black was the stickiest. A little Morphine green after playing with the 175mm SP's was good for relaxing. I did enjoy being drafted!

[Going2fast]

Im a break a chunk of bud off and shove it in the bullet/ bowl/ bong guy. Or smash it. On the rare occasion I smoke a joint I will grind it with my tried and true generic palmer.

[dirtymike]

My bong bowl is as big as a shot glass, drop a nug and fire it up.

[Brwnthmb]

I like to prepare buds for smoking with a cure for a few months at 62 RH. I use a hand grinder most of the time. It's a Cali Crusher. It took me a while to get the grind right. I have a coffee grinder and will say ditto on the dust. But I do like using it, just not all the time. When I'm using the Cali Crusher I will separate the bud and grind about 4 chunks at a time. I continue on with that until the bud is ground. Then I grind that again. So I do a double grind. Kashmir420 has tubes that I like. They smoke really well with the double grind. If I'm using the coffee grinder I like to do a bud or two at a time but I don't separate them, just grind them up. The hand grinder is easier to clean IMHO. 99% iso, available on Amazon, is what I use.

Will a bud that is at 62%RH stay lit in a pipe?
I have humidity packs in the jars and now it finally reads 55-60% (32% without the packs), but it doesn’t want to burn, but it’s only been 11 days.
My real question is will a cured bud, in a jar that has humidity at 62%, stay lit in a pipe. I know for sure that an uncured bud won’t.

[Brwnthmb]

@Bluey
Yes I’ve read the article on drying and curing (at least twice now) but I couldn’t find what a cured bud is.

[Bluey]

Target hygrometer reading in a sealed mason jar after the reading has stabilised, so after more than 24hrs, is between 58 and 63%.

I aim for the higher number always. Worst I've done is mid 50's, doesn't smoke as well as low 60's, loses terps and the cut grass hay smell is starting to creep in. No don't lost potency also.

I have stored them in jars for many many years and it's not unusual over that time to lise a couple of percentage points on the moisture. Weights typically don't vary much either if properly dried and cured.

[Brwnthmb]

Bluey
(Then) Am I correct in assuming that a bud which burns easily is too dry?
For example; I am a pipe smoker. My assumption is that if the pipe stays lit between hits then the bud is too dry. Is this correct?
Where do you want the bud dryness to be using a bud in a pipe as your baseline?
Edit: I re-reread your comment, and my (3) jars are 62, 62, 60%. They all burn equally well (poorly). It was hard to decipher your last comment on this but did you say that humidity dropping to low 50’s that there was a noticeable drop in potency?

[Brwnthmb]

Is it a good/ bad idea to repot just before flipping (going to flowering stage)?

[Bluey]

It's a good idea to allow your plant to fully recover from any stress prior to entering the flower stage. So repot, wait for transplant shock to sort itself out then flip.

[Bluey]

Well I don't use buds in pipes.

Squeeze the bud gently between your fingers. It should be pliable and bounce back to its original shape as you release pressure.

You made the same mistakes as I did on my first dry when I set up my new dry room. Mostly way too much air movement. You want almost no air movement, 16⁰C & 60%RH. If temps are higher or RH lower hang more of the plant and consider dry trimming aiming to get to 63% stable in the jars at the 7 day mark. Curing in jars out of the light in similar temps, try to keep it below 21⁰C. The warmer it is the faster it cures and you want a slow cure.

Test jar them if you're trying new methods. The drying process is probably more important to the quality outcome if smoking the buds as it is so easy to ruin well grown quality buds very quickly if dried too fast or overdried.