Handgrinders

beanflying

It will be interesting to see if it ever makes it to production and what form it might take. While I wait for this one to arrive I ran across the rather nice early Spong model 0 on the bay of evil last night in the UK at a touch over $100 including postage a decent buy for my collection I think. #1 and #2 now have a little old Grandma to look after them  8)

Dry_bean.

I'm in the market for a quality easy to use grinder that will grind fine enough for Turkish, any thoughts?

hiphipharar

on 1341188408:

I'm in the market for a quality easy to use grinder that will grind fine enough for Turkish, any thoughts?

If you are happy to pay for quality then I can recommend the Zassenhaus 175 Turkish. Only available from Sweet Maris in the US AFAIK so expect to pay up to $120 (or perhaps more) when postage is included but you won't be disappointed. http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/grinders/manual-grinders/zassenhaus-175-m-turkish-mill.html Actually, SM has a disclaimer on the site above: Please note that just because it's a "Turkish-Style" mill, doesn't mean that it will grind well for "Turkish" coffee. Although this grinder can give you a consistant grind, it won't create the very fine powder that is necessary for real Turkish coffee. I can't verify as I don't drink Turkish but it's a great grinder. Unlike most other handmills, it has a flat burr set (not conical)

C-man

on 1341016535:

Gorgeous - that is all for now  :thumb:

That one looks interesting...

Lacehim

There is also a HG One http://hg-one.com/ Looks well over engineered, with a flywheel!!! Some of these are pieces of art alone!  The handgrinder sector seems to be taking off at the moment which is great to see.

galumay

Sorry to be a pedantic *federal politician*, but its not a flywheel on the HG-1, its made of alloy and is simply a crank wheel rather than a flywheel! (sorry the generic kiddy safe editor is replacing a person who wanks with "federal politician")

Lacehim

on 1342335604:

Sorry to be a pedantic *federal politician*, but its not a flywheel on the HG-1, its made of alloy and is simply a crank wheel rather than a flywheel!

:rofl: Fair enough Mr G.  Quote from their website "Hardened steel gears on stainless steel shafts connect an eight and a half inch diameter flywheel to the conical grinding burrs" so they did call it a flywheel.  I was just quoting them!  Maybe you should spank their bottoms!  :stir I agree if it has no weight it might not act as a flywheel as such.  I did think the flywheel idea would be good to continue the momentum of grinding rather than relying on the action of the person, if you know what I mean. While I was there I noticed some pricing.  HG one grinder with an 83mm Mazzer burr set for $850USD and with the 71mm Mazzer burr set $840USD.  I found out about it from http://londiniumespresso.com/ who have purchased on to use as their sample grinder.   I'm keeping an eye out on their blog re their lever.

beanflying

on 1342335604:

"federal politician")

I will need to include a special exemption where the phrase is used in a self deprecating manner We are only trying to look after the innocent forum members really  :angel: On topic. It will be interesting to see if anyone takes the big burrs from either a Guatemala lab or an Uber to make a killer manual grinder for Brewed or course grinds. Conicals just don't work as well!

galumay

on 1342336689:

:rofl: Fair enough Mr G.  Quote from their website:...

Yes well, I shall give them a self righteous serve as well.  :angel: I first read about it on Home Barista and am on the list for a pre-production one, not sure whether I will go ahead with it but something about the engineering and design has caught my eye! The attributed influences of Apple & Bauhaus are clear in the finished product.

C-man

on 1342336689:

:rofl: Fair enough Mr G.  Quote from their website "Hardened steel gears on stainless steel shafts connect an eight and a half inch diameter flywheel to the conical grinding burrs" so they did call it a flywheel.  I was just quoting them!  Maybe you should spank their bottoms!  :stir I agree if it has no weight it might not act as a flywheel as such.  I did think the flywheel idea would be good to continue the momentum of grinding rather than relying on the action of the person, if you know what I mean. While I was there I noticed some pricing.  HG one grinder with an 83mm Mazzer burr set for $850USD and with the 71mm Mazzer burr set $840USD.  I found out about it from http://londiniumespresso.com/ who have purchased on to use as their sample grinder.   I'm keeping an eye out on their blog re their lever.

Very nice grinder, I would think for the extra $10 I would get the 83mm just because I am a man and size matters. I chose the Mini Rosco for quality and to travel with.

Kelsey

I can see the benefit of hand grinders for several reasons: 1 - portable/cheap espresso (nearly went down that route myself!) tho quite a few don't fit my definition of 'cheap'! 2 - quiet operation, for people with pumpless lever machines 3 - absolute grinder fanatics who can't afford a commercial big burr grinder but want the quality 4 - collectors and/or nutbags

Dry_bean.

on 1342334906:

There is also a HG One http://hg-one.com/ Looks well over engineered, with a flywheel!!! Some of these are pieces of art alone!  The handgrinder sector seems to be taking off at the moment which is great to see.

Looks very much like a hand operated Versalab. Re the fly wheel, it is a flywheel! granted it may not have a lot of mass but what it does have must have some affect.

derrilex

Yep thats a flywheel alright. If the OD is greater than the OD of the shaft its attached to and has more mass then its a flywheel. Even a bike tyre is a flywheel and it has bugger all mass. Spin it up and try and stop it by putting your fingers in the spokes.

galumay

Its not a flywheel, it will have no momentum at all. Stop pushing it and it will instantly stop. The bike wheel is a poor analogy, it acts like a flywheel because it does have momentum relative to the resistance. Its no big deal and more semantics than deal breaker, but its an important distinction lest people think it has some mechanical advantage beyond that provided by the lever effect. It does not help the grinder to spin against the resistance of the burrs grinding coffee.

ACog

Nice styling. Does it have a name?

beanflying

The Stainless Juicer styled one no name as far as I am aware. I have sent him a request on Twitter so I can maybe find out a little more.

beanflying

I got a reply back about the Grinder from Yvan "I designed the grinder to pair with my Speedster. I call it Goliath, 100% stainless steel with 83mm conical burs." and yes I have asked the obvious question in return "any plans to do a production run of these"  :angel:

C-man

unreal! my guess it would be 1K plus

BLrdFX

Pharos with the voodoodaddy MOD is by far the best hand grinder I have owned.  I had a Spong years ago but when I got electric grinders and sold the Spong I found I missed the meditative aspect of hand grinding. I now have a Pharos and love it for a PORTABLE GRINDER so travel is not without great grounds. The high end brass ones made by Rosco look really nicely made but pretty expensive.

C-man

by the time you add up the USA postage and the Voodoo mods you are paying more than for the Rosco

Beanz

The Rosco uses a 38mm burr, the Pharos uses a 68mm burr. The Orphan Lido uses a 38mm burr and is probably a better direct comparison. There are clear differences in the design and construction of the body and adjustment mechanisms but the Orphan Lido is a much cheaper option. The choice depends on your preferences and priorities. Both grinders have good feedback from people using them. I have a Orphan Pharos with the Vooddodaddy mods and love it, worth every cent and so much cheaper than any other 68mm grinder. The Mazzer has not be turned on since it was delivered several months ago. The construction quality from both Orphan and Vooddodaddy are excellent. Easy to dial in, repeatable, no grind retention. Highly recommended. A couple of people who have tried it went and ordered one immediately. I know of one that is destined for single origins in a cafe, their main objective was the ability to switch between coffees and also eliminate waste that was being generated switching between on the electric grinders.

C-man

True Lido and Rosco both have 38mm burrs but that's where the comparison ends Lido is not even anywhere near close to the Rosco, The Lido was not designed for espresso grinding.  having a Pharos in a coffee shop with a selection of different beans is a great idea, that way they have no excuse not to offer a different bean that is not "on the grind" at the moment

galumay

on 1351541047:

True Lido and Rosco both have 38mm burrs but that's where the comparison ends Lido is not even anywhere near close to the Rosco, The Lido was not designed for espresso grinding. 

Seriously, thats nonsense. The Lido and the Rosco produce grinds of the same quality, as you would expect using the same burrs. While they are not in the class of the Pharos they do both produce a reasonable grind for espresso, probably better than any other of the small hand grinders. The focus on the design of the Lido was to provide high quality grinds for brew methods requiring coarser grinds - something other hand grinders didnt do, but Doug and Barb made the point that by using a 38mm conical burr set they knew they didnt have to concern themselves with the espresso grind because that was one of the features of such a burr set. The fact is the Lido & Rosco are basically the same grinder, just wrapped in different 'clothes', and the price difference makes the Lido a pretty compelling choice in this type of manual grinder.

C-man

there is more to it than just burr size http://www.home-barista.com/grinders/hand-grinder-showdown-pharos-lido-rosco-t21359.html

galumay

on 1351629765:

there is more to it than just burr size

Well yes there is, its the SAME burr set, the problem with the thread you link to is that its one users subjective opinion, as is actually discussed at the end of the thread, until there is proper blind testing in any comparison its meaningless. I am happy to eat my words, but i will be astounded if 2 hand grinders with the same burr set, can be shown to produce different coffee in the cup in a statistically significant blind testing.

Ol Grumpy

Ha ha ha... You two (Galumay Cman) crack me up... Clearly there are similarities/differences and the possibility of a clear winner is at best 'distant' yet each will joust till the death on the honor of decisions made... Reminds me of the Holden/Ford 'camps' Never the two to meet or give an inch. What did they say? Win on Sunday, Sell    on Monday! Love a good scrap! OG

galumay

Actually its not like that, I reckon they are both great hand grinders, I just believe there is no discernible difference in the cup given that they are the same burr set. Happy to be proven wrong if someone does a proper blind tasting test. I can hardly be critical of others who spend more than is necessary on coffee equipment, i have a huge collection of over priced coffee hardware!

Ol Grumpy

:stir :stir Stirred not shaken :tic

BLrdFX

on 1351500170:

by the time you add up the USA postage and the Voodoo mods you are paying more than for the Rosco

Thats not good!  Gov't getting in the way of your morning cup.... :o

C-man

Both grinders set at the same setting should produce much the same grind quality, but the easiest way to pick the difference is to ask him to make a grind size adjustment of 0.01mm on the Lido. Adjustment accuracy and repeatability is the key feature of the Rosco grinders. They can be dismantled completely and reassembled to produce the exact setting. This is because the Rosco's are all machined concentric and to correct size (not laser cut), and there are grind size graduations machined around the body. The OE guys do state the limitations, and it appears that it was not designed to produce the repeatable grind accuracy needed for high end espresso. They made it for french press and the like, and I'm sure it does a great job for the price. The Rosco's also have a flat area beneath the cutter to limit grind retention and make cleaning between shots easier and quicker, they both use ball bearings top and bottom to minimize movement and required design clearance, the burr set can be replaced.