Doesn’t look like there’s a thread for the Knob yet so I thought I’d start one. Mine only arrived this afternoon so haven’t used it yet. Overall it looks fine, although the finish is a bit average. I guess that can be part of the deal with first run equipment, especially from Kickstarter. I’m not really bothered about the finish if it works well.
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Knob Grinder
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You must be further down the backer list than me. You'll get a poo load of notifications once yours ships so it won't be a mystery.
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I used my Knob for the first time today to make a pour over of PNG Minznge. It wasn't too difficult to dial in and once I got a grind that looked about right I went straight to making the brew. It was pretty much spot on for time and the result was ok, but it lacked the clarity and brightness I get from this coffee when using my other grinders. That's more likely to be because the burrs are so new than any other reason, so I'm certainly not judging it based on that. It was easy to use, and the CCW rotation didn't bother me at all. I think the burr set might be more of an all rounder than being particularly suited to soft brew. If a brew focussed burr set becomes available I'll seriously consider it. In the meantime I might try using it for espresso for a few weeks then come back to using it for soft brew once it's had a kilo or so of coffee through it and see if it's made any difference. An espresso grind definitely won't be a problem. In fact I reckon it'll do a Turkish grind no worries.
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Just saw this on their website which answers the "no axle" question
NO AXLE,
NO WOBBLING
By completely removing the axle, which causes wobbling due to its inherent centering issues, we introduced a sturdy design ensuring the perfect consistency. Using an axle to hold everything in place wasn’t enough for us, so we completely removed it from our design
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From memory they are the same Italmill 47mm conical burrs used in the Kinu Classic M47 so wondering if the grinder would also take the Mazzer 47mm conical (model number 189c). The Italmill 83mm conicals in the Malwani Livi were interchangeable with the Mazzer 83mm conicals - so maybe.
Suspect that either way the burr set is orientated more towards espresso than pour over. Not to say they can't be used for both.
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Yep, that pretty much sums it up. It's also very easy to disassemble and clean.Originally posted by tompoland View PostJust saw this on their website which answers the "no axle" question NO AXLE, NO WOBBLING By completely removing the axle, which causes wobbling due to its inherent centering issues, we introduced a sturdy design ensuring the perfect consistency. Using an axle to hold everything in place wasn't enough for us, so we completely removed it from our design
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Yeah I think you're right. I'm not sure that the Mazzer burrs would be any better.Originally posted by tompoland View PostFrom memory they are the same Italmill 47mm conical burrs used in the Kinu Classic M47 so wondering if the grinder would also take the Mazzer 47mm conical (model number 189c). The Italmill 83mm conicals in the Malwani Livi were interchangeable with the Mazzer 83mm conicals - so maybe. Suspect that either way the burr set is orientated more towards espresso than pour over. Not to say they can't be used for both.
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I prefer the Mazzers but I enjoyed the espresso from the Kinu Classic M47 which, as mentioned, had Italmill burrs. When I swapped the 83mm Italmill burrs out for Mazzers in the Malwani Livi, grind time went from 40 seconds to 15 seconds. The flavor was a bit brighter too. But if I was going to keep the Knob, which I'm not, I'd be quite happy with the Italmill burrs.
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Of course they can claim whatever for their marketing strategy and sure some hand grinders likely have some flex due to the shaft design/bearings (or bushings) being used... BUT after having used the Helor 106 about 1.5 yrs now I can say without question when a grinder is nicely designed with the tightest tolerances and absolute best materials available there will be NO flexing under any load whatsoever. After having used a handful of manual grinders for quite a few yrs now I will honestly/gladly say the 106 is as good as any grinder can be or needs to be. The rest are child's play trying to catch up, Knob included!Originally posted by tompoland View PostJust saw this on their website which answers the "no axle" question
NO AXLE,
NO WOBBLING
By completely removing the axle, which causes wobbling due to its inherent centering issues, we introduced a sturdy design ensuring the perfect consistency. Using an axle to hold everything in place wasn’t enough for us, so we completely removed it from our design
I recall for awhile they were gaining some interests on various forums until people started questioning the name, design, that sort of stuff and things went quiet early on. At least it's good to see it made it to market and might appeal to some for various reasons.
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Yeah 'wobbling' due to flex of a drive shaft shouldn't really be an issue on any of the modern, quality hand grinders such as Commandante, 1ZPresso, Kinu, Kingrinder etc. Alignment can still be an issue though. While I appreciate that the importance of perfect alignment is still a debatable issue with conical burr hand grinders, the fact that the likes of 1ZPresso are putting so much focus on alignment makes me think it's far from a non-issue. I've also had a couple of highly rated quality hand grinders in the past with supposedly excellent alignment that were rubbish and produced poor results at anything other than espresso. I got support from both makers to try to fix the alignment and nothing worked. In the end I got rid of them. I backed this grinder on a whim and had to turn a blind eye to their marketing which has been awful and cheesy right from the start. Initial impressions are that they've actually managed to put together a reasonable product. Time will tell if it stands up to scrutiny.Originally posted by shadow745 View PostOf course they can claim whatever for their marketing strategy and sure some hand grinders likely have some flex due to the shaft design/bearings (or bushings) being used... BUT after having used the Helor 106 about 1.5 yrs now I can say without question when a grinder is nicely designed with the tightest tolerances and absolute best materials available there will be NO flexing under any load whatsoever. After having used a handful of manual grinders for quite a few yrs now I will honestly/gladly say the 106 is as good as any grinder can be or needs to be. The rest are child's play trying to catch up, Knob included! I recall for awhile they were gaining some interests on various forums until people started questioning the name, design, that sort of stuff and things went quiet early on. At least it's good to see it made it to market and might appeal to some for various reasons.
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It had no trouble at all grinding for espresso this morning. I didn't time it, but it wasn't slow and it was easy to grind. I'll time how long it takes one day this week and let you know. I also took it apart for a look. It comes apart really easily and while the finishing on mine isn't the best the build quality and engineering look to be excellent.Originally posted by tompoland View PostFrom memory they are the same Italmill 47mm conical burrs used in the Kinu Classic M47 so wondering if the grinder would also take the Mazzer 47mm conical (model number 189c). The Italmill 83mm conicals in the Malwani Livi were interchangeable with the Mazzer 83mm conicals - so maybe. Suspect that either way the burr set is orientated more towards espresso than pour over. Not to say they can't be used for both.
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18g of espresso takes about 40-50 seconds to grind at a moderate pace. It takes a little effort at this pace, but still isn't too difficult. Anyone with smaller hands or a bit less strength would probably need to slow down to about 60 seconds for 18g. It's producing very good espresso grind and some delicious espresso.
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