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Knob Hand Grinder (New Zealand)
Knob Hand Coffee Grinder
Kickstarter unit with modifications
This hand grinder caused a bit of a stir a couple of years ago when the Kickstarter campaign first launched as it was the first hand grinder to propose the idea of having a fixed inner burr and turning the outer burr with the handle rather than a crank axle. Due to delays that often occur with a KS project they ended up being beaten to market by Etzinger with their Etz-I that uses the same idea. Nevertheless this is an excellent and unique grinder, even if it didn't end up being the first of it's kind.
The idea is that removing the axle would at least minimise burr wobble if not stop it altogether. There’s still some debate about how much burr wobble matters with conical burrs, but the general consensus is that you at least want to minimise it. I can’t say for sure to what extent this grinder achieves that, but it produces a high quality grind. Because you turn the outer burr rather than the inner burr when you crank the handle on this grinder you turn it anti clockwise. If you’re left handed you’ll probably love it. If you’re right handed and are used to traditional hand grinders this will be different. I had some concerns about this feature but found it wasn’t really an issue. I’ve tried grinding both right and left handed and found both quite easy.
The grinder houses 47mm Italmill hardened steel, coated burrs, the exact same burr set as in the Kinu M47. The Kinu M47 is about $700 here in NZ so it doesn’t come cheap. I haven’t used a Kinu so I can’t compare directly but from what I can tell the Knob Grinder is pretty much it’s equivalent when it comes to grind quality at half the price. Other dimensions and features:
Height: 150mm
Diameter: 58mm
Weight: 600g
Catcher Capacity: About 30g
Lid Capacity: 14-16g
Hopper Capacity: >30g
Burr Size: 47mm outer, 34mm inner
Body Material: Aircraft-Grade Aluminum
This grinder is still in as good a condition as when I received it and will come in the original box with the supplied spare o-rings. The couple of little marks on the body were there when it arrived and are somewhat par for the course with Kickstarter items. You can see these marks in the last two photos. The burrs are barely be worn in and are likely to outlive me.
I have made some basic modifications to make the grinder a bit more user friendly. The first can easily be seen in the photos - the silicone band around the body (note that it's a Kinu branded band as it was a good fit). This thing is a beast when it comes grinding which is great, but it creates a lot of torque. Even with relatively large hands I was finding it hard to grip while grinding, but with the silicone band added it is much easier and much more comfortable.
The other main modification I’ve made is having the handle drilled and tapped by a friend at an engineering workshop so that the grub screw pictured can be used to hold it in place when it’s in the storage and travel position. The idea for the handle storage position is great, but without this screw it just sits there loosely. This is fine for storage, but for taking the grinder out of the house it’s not so good as it doesn’t stay in place. This is a high quality, professional modification and does the job well.
Overall this is an awesome grinder that is now even better with the minor modifications I’ve made. The grind quality is superb so does not need to be improved. This burr set is more espresso focussed, but it can still be used for all brew methods and will produce a very good result. Ultimately the only reason I’m selling this is that the burrs accentuate body and sweetness more than anything and I’m more into coffees that are lively and vibrant with high acidity. If you’ve wanted a Kinu M47, but can’t afford to spend well over $500 on a hand grinder then this could be for you.
Aside from the minor finishing blemishes the grinder is extremely well engineered with really tight tolerances and fantastic performance. It’s solid, somewhat hefty and well built. It would be fine for travel, but probably not if you’re looking for something light weight to take hiking for example. I bought a pencil case that it fits in nicely and will include this in the sale. Pick up or shipping by arrangement. Cheers.

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