Regardless of your choice of vaping vessel, be it a vape pen, desktop vaporiser or portable vape, if you want to get the best out of your dry herbs you need to have the right grinder.
Breaking down you herbs increases the surface area which allows for optimal vaporisation, ensuring you get the the best tasting, high volume, superior quality vapor possible from you herb.
Available in all shapes and sizes, colours and materials, finding the right grinder is a journey that every dry herb fan must take if they are to get the best of their herbs.
With so many to choose from, there's definitely a grinder out there for each and every one of us, but the wide variety can make it difficult to know which is your grinder soul-mate. Fear not!
We've put together this grinder buying guide and included a few of our own favourites to help with your choice and make sure it's a match made in vape heaven.
Manual vs Electric Herb Grinders UK
The first thing to consider in your search is whether you want a manual grinder or an electric grinder.
Electric grinders can be great time savers and spare you the elbow grease of having to manually work the grinder to crush the herbs, but the general experience of vape fans is that they do not always evenly grind the material, which can lead to bad vapor quality and wasted herb.
That said, electric grinder are particularly handy for anyone with bad arthritis or any issue making it difficult to grip or twist things.
Easy Leaf Electric Grinder Shock Proof is modern design at its best, easy on the wallet, and grinds your herb into a fine powder with no fuss.
With a lot to live up to considering the other larger and more powerful electric grinders on the market, the Easy Leaf Electric Grinder does not disappoint and even sifts the ground product so that the dust and larger ground herb are gathered in separate chambers.
Manual Herb Grinders UK:
Manual herb grinders can have 2, 3, 4, or 5 pieces and which one you go for will depend on what you want to do with it as each type will offer you different benefits.
Two's Company
2 piece grinders tend to be the cheapest of those on the market and simply have a top and bottom which house sharp pointed teeth to rip you herb apart.
Using them is as easy as it looks, just place your herb in the top (or bottom), press the 2 pieces together and twist until you're happy with the consistency of the ground herb inside.
These are a popular choice among the vaping community, mostly due to price and convenience of size.
The Wolf 2 Part Pocket Grinder is a perfectly neat little unit available in the UK now. At 40mm it's easily carried around in your pocket and the neodymium magnet holds everything together so there's no worries about spilling the cat out of the bag, or the herbs out of the grinder.
Three's a Crowd
Much like the 2 piece but with an extra level added to the bottom, the grinding teeth level in the 3 piece has small holes that allows your suitably sized ground herb to fall through. This is super handy as it separates the finer grind from the larger pieces and means the herb you use is of a consistent size, which is important for vapor quality. It also means no need to pick through your grinders teeth to get at the good stuff, and you can use the bottom as a storage space for your ground herb; especially useful during longer sessions to save your wrist from falling off!
Four is a Party
You guessed it, the 4 piece has the same setup as the 3 piece but with the addition of another chamber on the bottom.
With the top 2 pieces dedicated to grinding and separating, the 3rd will store the smaller pieces for general use but with a fine sieve-like base which allow dust and kief (sometimes referred to as pollen) to fall through and gather in the 4th part.
This kind of grinder is often called a kief catcher and is one of the most popular kind of herb grinder on the market to day.
The Startrails 4 Part Grinder from Black Leaf is a 
things of beauty. Designed and manufactured by one of Europe's most respected producers of glass water pipes, the Startrails grinder uses blade shaped cutting teeth to cleanly break up even the stickiest herbs and strong earth magnets to ensure the lid stays on so there are no accidents.
It even comes with a handy scraper tool to help you with harvesting your collected dust and kief.
Five is an Affair
Again with the adding of the level to the bottom, the 5 piece takes almost of the best bits of the 4 piece but instead of stopping there, adds an even finer sieve-like base to the bottom for filtering out the smallest particles f polleno or kief.
Fairly uncommon, and only offered by a small number of manufacturers, the 5 piece is for those dedicated to creating and collecting the highest quality pollen and kief.
This 5 Piece Grinder is fantastic value and helps you get the very best out of your herbal material. Although a little bulky for carrying around with you, the size can be reduced right down to a three piece by removing levels if you need to.
Grinder Materials UK
Now that you've got the low down on the size of grinders available, and hopefully have an idea of which one is for you, the next aspect to consider is what material of grinder would be best suited to your needs.
Here's a breakdown of the most common materials used in dry herb grinders, and the pros and cons we think you should explore.
Titanium Grinder
Titanium metal grinders are more expensive than other on the market, but definitely comes with added benefits.
Titanium is a remarkably strong metal which is scratch resistant and far less likely to break through use over time than other grinder materials.
It will also always finely grind your material every time, which is what the main focus of our search is.
It's important to recognise that a grinder is an investment, and choosing a titianium grinder that will last for years could save you the cost of having to replace several cheaper ones over that time.
Wood Grinder
Wood grinders are a great eco-friendly option and will produce evenly ground materials that will vaporise evenly and effectively.
When considering the wood choices out there, make sure to check for the finish of the wood.
Choose one that has a non-toxic finish to avoid contaminating your herbs with chemicals. Wood grinders tend to be more fragile and not last as long as grinders made from other materials
Ryot 1905 Rosewood Grinder is a beautifully natural piece made from 100% natural aged and cured Rosewood, and based on the original design which was patented in 1905. The wood use to make this grinder is of such high quality that it will never lose teeth or warp in any way. The teeth are stainless steel and tear your herb apart with ease to achieve an ideal grind consistency. The Ryot 1905 Rosewood is finished with their iconic logo which carved on the top and is polished using a non-toxic vegetable oil.
Aluminum Grinder
Aluminium has all the attributes required of an effective herb grinder material. It is a strong, durable metal, which is also cost effective and lightweight so even a large grinder won't weigh you down.
This, coupled with the low price, makes aluminium grinders the most popular on the market but, as one of the softer metals, they do tend to wear down after a lot of usage.
The 50mm Razor Grinder/Sifter from Head Chef is a High quality machine-finished 4-piece grinder/sifter with grippy interludes around the edges for your hands to always find the perfect grasp when grinding. The middle compartment collects the ground herb and the loose essential goodness is filtered through the mesh floor and into the chamber at the bottom.
Acrylic Grinder
Acrylic or plastic grinders are some of the cheapest available due to the low-cost materials involved in their manufacturing. These grinders generally don't last as long as others and wouldn't be suitable for heavy everyday usage, but are fine if you don't vape dry herbs that often.
Important to note if you're going down the plastic grinder route, look for one that doesn' contain any potentially toxic additive e.g. BPA, phthalates.
The acrylic Magnetic Play Mate Grinder covers both work and play with tiny metal balls stuck in a labyrinth in the lid of the grinder. Keeping it simple with hard acrylic teeth which will easily tear your herb apart, this lightweight unit is perfect for on the go grinding.
The size, in terms of diameter and general dimensions, of your grinder will usually determine the density of teeth and therefore the size or coarseness of your end product so you should take this into account when considering which one to go for.
It's also good to think about how much herb you intend grinding, as smaller grinders will only allow for smaller loads at any one time.
So you know as much as we do, and hopefully we've given you some points to think about when you searching for your perfect grinder.
Have a jaunt at our suggestions available for delivery UK wide, and see what lovelies catch your eye.
There are some fantastic looking grinders out there but remember, it's what's inside that counts!