Table of Contents

Most of the instruction blurbs that come with a hand grinder that we have seen are short and to the point, and usually in some other language than English.    We have been asked numerous times for an instruction primer for using a hand grinder so here goes!

First, the basics:

• all hand mills are designed as to turn the handle clockwise when grinding, or to the right.
• all hand grinders have two (and sometimes 3) axle bearings, one below the burr which has incorporated into it the adjustment mechanism, and one at the top of the upper dome.   A few have an additional bearing between the lower and upper which is suspended inside the hopper.
• there are numerous designs of burrs, adjustment mechanisms, top domes, handle profiles....as many permutations of these factors as one can imagine
• one of the critical design elements, at least for an espresso grinder is the design of the lower bearing.....some have a ball bearing inside a short shaft, this is the best setup, others have a thimble type lower bearing, some have a short rod, others have a flat  plate.....the goal is to tighten the inner burr against the outer burr.   Alignment of the grinding surfaces is largely dependent on the upper bearing.   Think of a triangle, with the bottom two corners the outer edges of the burr and the upper  point is the top bearing....when all is in alignment with no excessive play, the grinding is efficient, fine, and consistent.
• there MUST be some degree of space between the inner and outer burr surfaces and the cutting edges of the burrs MUST be able to slide past each other in order for grinding to take place....this is not a trivial point as some grinders, even when clean and aligned properly will seem to have a loose spot  in the burr rotation.....if you consider one 360 degree revolution of the handle and therefore the burr, there will seem to be spots in that rotation that are loose compared to others which seem tight.   This is normal, and in some grinder designs essential to a fine grind.
• not all grinders are designed to mill the beans super fine without the burrs touching.   Some makes, such as Zassenhaus always have the burrs touching and growling as we like to call it when grinding for espresso.   This is inherent in the grinder design and not a sign of wear or age.   Other grinders, nost notably the KyM mills often grind fine without any burr touching (when empty and spinning the handle), again, a design consideration.    Often, the "silent running" mills are more aggresive and require extreme hand strength and arm force to use as compared to the "growlers" which take less  force and therefore strength to use.    These are also slower.    The behaviour of a hand grinder is a well thought out balance between speed, amount of strength required, capability of fineness (some were never designed to grind espresso or turkish fine) and all the factors that go together to give every particular grinder its own character....personality if you will.

That said here is the basic instruction for hand grinder adjustment and use:

• first, establish the finest grind for your mill.....all burr adjustment mechanisms are designed to tighten the burr when the adjustment lever is turned clockwise.   The adjsuter in a stepless hand mill is located inside the grinders box.   Open the drawer and you will find a small lever mounted on the lower burr rail.   Reach in with a finger or thumb, depending on the size of the mill, and turn the lever clockwise.   Turn the lever until the burr is tight enough to lock the handle.....this is the point of maximum tightness.    Now, back the lever counter clockwise about 1/4 turn. or until the handle will turn with no extreme resistance.   Keep in mind that clockwise tightens and CCW loosens the burr and these directions are viewed from BELOW the box, as if you are looking UP at the burr from below.    It is always the same CW tight, CCW loose.
• Add a small amount of test beans and  grind.    Examine the result.....a smooth fine powder should be the result.   The grind will look different that with an electric grinder but much of the appearance is the grinds sticking together....a better evaluation is the feel of the grind...it should feel soft and smoothe.
• the process now is much like dialing in any grinder for espresso....add your dose of beans, weighed or measured and try  making a shot.    Ideally you will choke the machine on the finest setting of the mill.    Loosen the burr about 1/4 turn of the burr adjustment and try again.   It is no different that using an electric burr grinder in this regard as you dial it in.  As you approach your ideal grind setting, make smaller and smaller adjustments to the adjustment lever...a change of even 1/16th turn of the adjuster can make a big difference in the grind .
• some things to keep in mind.....once again, design.....you may feel that the burrs are touching too much and you are going to damage the grinder....this is not the case,  since you have loosened the burrs from the point of locking, they may touch, but the tool steel composition is stronger than your ability to turn the handle if the blades of the burr are overlapping too much.   You cannot break a burr, given the force applied through the handle in comparison to the strength of the steel it simply cannot be done......you will rip the top dome and bearing off the mill before breaking a tooth on the burr.    As long as you can turn the handle it is not too tight....it may seem too tight but it is not.   Here is where personal taste and choice enters the picture.    If you feel that you are having to force the burr too much,  or you feel that  the burr makes a desagreeable sound when set too tight, then likely you should back off the burr until you feel good about the feel, sound and grind.   I personally enjoy a good SOUNDING mill as much as a good GRINDING mill, but that's just me.
• once your burr is set to your satisfaction, the normal variables of temperature, humidity and bean freshness will effect the grind....if you need to touch up your setting to account for these changes simply remove the drawer and reach in with a finger to move the adjuster lever a bit...not much, just a touch either way will usually suffice.

Maintenance:     Your grinder from OE is completely serviced and there should be no maintenance issues for some time but down the line you may need to service some aspect of the machine.   All maintenance can be accomplished WITHOUT disassembly of the grinder.

• when new or recently refurbished, the burr is clean and free of coffee buildup.....the coffee oils actually serve to lubricate the cutting edges of the burr and are desirable up to a point.    If you feel that the mill is not grinding as well as before, or the grinding action has changed somehow you can "clean" the burr by using grinder cleaner (there are many brands - Grindz, or Puly Grind among others).   This serves to chase the debris from the burr faces.     Be advised that it is much harder to grind rice than coffee, and grinder manufacturers do not recommend using rice in any form.  We think the best way to clean a hand grinder is to manually clean it with a brush.   Chase out the cleaner remnants with a few repeated grindings of coffee beans.   Reset the burr and you are good to go.
• squeaks.....the bane of the hand mill.   Squeaks can arise for the wood knob on the handle, the top bearing, the bottom bearing, or the burrs themselves.     For a knob squeak, lubricate at the knob shaft with a drop of machine oil or mineral oil....repeat until silent.    The same with a top bearing squeak....one drop should silence this squeak.    The bottom bearing is permanently lubricated with grease inside the bottom of the burr and should require no further lubrication.    Burr to burr squeaking is generally a result of a just cleaned burr and will fade with use and "grinding in" of the mill.   Sometimes a burr will squeak when turned with no beans in the hopper and will not be apparent while the grinder is in actual use.
• the hopper door can sometimes become sticky...add a drop of oil along the rim and spin the door around a few times.
• most coffee accumulation on the burr can be simply knocked down with a sharp rap of the grinder on a countertop, but an occaisional brushing out may be desired.
• the laquer finish on the grinder box requires no maintenance other than an occaisional wipe with a soft cloth...if you use some type of mild cleaner on it, watch out for the decal, you can rub it off pretty easily if you are not careful.

I hope this adds some light to the queries concerning hand grinder adjustment and maintenance.   In general it is  simple and straightforward .   Most of all ENJOY your hand grinder...they are marvelous little machines!!!

Please NOTE - we don't sell our hand grinders on ebay!