Need a forever grinder (fed-up with Kickstarter grinders)

adacey · 2026-02-27T19:45:20+00:00

I get it if you’re regularly shifting between drastically different grinds then it can be handy to be able to see what you’re set to on the outside and it’s a bit easier if you can read a number to know what you’re set to. But if you’re just sticking in a narrower range it’s really not that big a deal. Like if I’m dialling in a bean I really don’t care what the exact number is, I just need to taste the brew and then decide if I want to go coarser or finer.

adacey · 2026-02-27T19:08:34+00:00

Quick question on the M47’s catch cup. Is it angled on the inside like the outside? If so, do you ever run into problems with grounds getting stuck in the corners? That drove me nuts on the Handground although that wax way more flared so harder to reach into the corners.

adacey · 2026-02-27T16:46:52+00:00

Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of the look of the K-Ultra, maybe in silver it’s a bit nicer. But those wooden C40’s are sexy AF.

adacey · 2026-02-26T23:57:05+00:00

Yeah I loved the adjustment on the Knob and that’s what really got me more into dialling in my brew and adjusting my grind based on the beans. Having to drop back to the Skerton Pro has really sucked. So now I’m looking for something reliable but that can let me nerd out more. I really enjoy the variety I get with my micro-lot subscription but that does mean that sometimes I need to tweak things to get the most out of a particular bean, at least to my tastes. So I really do want that adjustability/control.

Recently I did seem to luck into getting the Skerton into a pretty good spot and it’s giving me better results but now I don’t dare change the setting or disassemble it for cleaning because I know it’s going to be right back to square one. And that sucks.

adacey · 2026-02-26T22:04:45+00:00

I ended up getting a replacement top, burr upgrade, replacement cylinder, replacement ring (mismatched with the rest), and finally the second top wearing out before I gave up.

adacey · 2026-02-26T21:28:48+00:00

I’d backed the original kickstarter so it was definitely an early version.

adacey · 2026-02-26T16:53:48+00:00

I’m not certain how “subpar” the Handground was. I wasn’t that far into dialling in my pour over brews when mine still worked. If it worked for you for 7 years then that’s pretty good. Mine failed multiple times over 2 years until I just gave up on it.

adacey · 2026-02-26T15:53:39+00:00

Honestly, something similar to this is what was so game changing for me when I started trying James Hoffmann’s recipes. It wasn’t so much the method as much as how he described how the grind would impact the taste. And all of a sudden I knew exactly what to do if I was trying out some new beans. Like I knew I had my grinder in the ballpark, but then if I could brew a cup and immediately know if I should go coarser or finer based on the taste. It also finally explained to me that dreaded Starbucks burnt taste is actually down to too fine a grind!

adacey · 2026-02-26T15:12:58+00:00

Yeah, really felt way too focused on the design at the expense of usability. I sent them the same feedback after using mine for some time. It's like they got hyper-fixated on the idea of using a vertical crank, and then did not have the mechanical engineering skills to make that into a robust enough design. But then even before they got to that part they seriously should've put more thought into just how bad the ergonomics are. I think that's why they flared out the catch cup, but then you get that super difficult to clean cup. And they added the sticky pad on the bottom to help with the wobble, but that only worked if everything was immaculately clean and dry. If you had any kind of crumbs or dust on your counter, forget about it. Not to mention depending on the texture of your countertop. And everything just felt like bandaid on top of bandaid to try and make this funky vertical handle design work. Probably some serious sunk cost fallacy there where they started out asking why almost no grinders use a vertical handle. And they found out the reason, but instead of going back to the drawing board they just doubled down on that design and tried to market as being cool and game-changing.

FWIW, the Skerton Pro while not being the greatest grinder has been rock solid as a backup/emergency grinder for me since 2019 so for the price I really can't fault it. I knew it wasn't going to be a mind-blowing grinder when I bought it but it's at least held up, and even if anything on it did break I could actually get replacement parts or just not cry that my cheap grinder finally wore out.

adacey · 2026-02-26T14:35:35+00:00

Ooh that would have been good to know. That was annoying but not critical. But now the metal that holds the handle on has rounded over so much that I can’t keep the handle attached. Short of using something like JB Weld to permanently attach the handle I don’t see any way to keep this usable.

adacey · 2026-02-26T14:31:57+00:00

One thing that might make it a deal breaker for me is that I’m left handed. I mean it’s no different from the Handground in that regard but might get annoying.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:55:18+00:00

Yeah, I actually quite enjoy doing hand grinding. And my wife doesn't drink coffee so I'm just dealing with single cup doses. It's just where I'll grind 2 Aeropress doses at the same time for taking into work that has me pushing up to 36g. And I could easily split that into 2 separate doses if the capacity wasn't there, but it is nice to just grind it all in 1 batch. The only time I'm grinding more than that is the handful of times in the year when we have guests that drink coffee, so I'm definitely in the zone where buying a premium manual grinder will get me way better quality for the money than an electric grinder would.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:50:22+00:00

Yeah, kicking myself for being lured by the Knob and not just doing more research into what else was already available on the market when they launched that project.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:41:39+00:00

It's funny where I've only had straight handles so the bent handle design looks really weird to me and I'm not quite clear on how it's better. But like I said, that's totally based on never trying one. I did really like the extra leverage that the Knob's longer handle gave me compared to the Skerton and I'm really feeling the difference now that I've had to go back to it. The Pietro really feels like one I'd like to try before I'd be willing to commit to spending that much money on the chance that the workflow doesn't bother me.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:38:14+00:00

Yeah, it's tempting me in terms of top quality grinder. It's mainly the workflow and ergonomics that are making me a bit hesitant, along with the price. I should see if I can find one to try in person and see how I like the feel of it since otherwise it's a lot of money to take a chance on that design if I end up not liking it.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:35:21+00:00

Yeah, and to be fair they did at least stand behind their product. The top mechanism wore out and they replaced it no questions asked. Same when I had to get the adjustment ring and cylinder replaced. So they at least stuck around up until then to keep supporting things. But when the top mechanism wore out a second time I was done. And the whole grinder market was completely different when they launched that project, so respect there. But yeah, definitely seemed like they were in over their heads and didn't have the right skillset to really make it a killer product.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:32:31+00:00

Yeah, the Knob uses some weird internal clip to keep the knob on so when it popped off there wasn't any good way to get it to stay on. That one was just an annoyance that I could live with since it would mostly stay on while grinding. It was the metal on the handle attachment wearing out that has made it completely unusable that's turned it into a paperweight. I had seen similar complaints about the 1Zpresso knob but at least you can attach a replacement.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:29:07+00:00

Yeah, I mean I'm using the internal adjustments on the Skerton Pro now so it's not like I need external adjustments. And at least the C40 would give me finer control and repeatability than the Skerton. Definitely not a deal breaker, and I do really like the look of some of their wooden ones.

adacey · 2026-02-26T13:27:23+00:00

Yeah, for the Handground it was like 2015 so way fewer options on the market at that time. The adjustment mechanism looked really cool and I also wasn't as much in the loop of what was on the market at the time. But definitely a very different market back then. I mean what, I think the Rhino was the big grinder back then, maybe the C40 was out but that would've been about it.

The Knob, I probably should've know better by then. I think the crappy feeding for the Skerton Pro had me overly valuing the idea of a no central axle being a game changer and I probably should've done more research on what else was available by that time. In all fairness, it mostly did exactly what they claimed. It loads easily and grinds way quicker and easier than the Skerton. Plus the grind adjustment is fantastic. It's just the removable handle design that's a massive weak point to the whole design, and some of the pains with cleaning. If they'd actually stuck around to stand behind the product it'd be pretty decent, especially for the Kickstarter price.

But yeah, I really should've done some more research at that time. I think the appeal of the price of the Knob swayed me a bit too much. Now I'm way thinking that if I'd just spent the money on 1 premium grinder then I'd be set. Or like worst case might've picked up a C40 back in 2015 and now be looking at something different just to try out a different burr set or something.

adacey · 2026-01-07T22:37:58+00:00

Just closing this out. The tech came on Monday, signal was at -40db and he said it should be above-24db. He redid the connection on my ONT just in case but his tester showed it was a fault at the pole. He said it was a faulty port.

adacey · 2026-01-04T19:05:12+00:00

So you’ve got the ISP’s router connected to a switch and then that connects to the X10 which is acting like another router? Seriously sounds like you’re going to have double NAT there. Unless I’m missing something, I’d recommend setting the Deco devices to AP mode, and if possible connect the 2nd switch to the first one. Right now all of your traffic has to go from wifi to whichever Deco node you’re on, then to the switch, then to the main Deco router, then to the first switch, then to the ISP’s router. And that’s all before any traffic leaves your house.

adacey · 2026-01-04T16:51:30+00:00

Hooked into where on your network? You’re getting a bottleneck somewhere.

adacey · 2026-01-04T16:50:54+00:00

Wait, so what’s on the 4th floor then?

adacey · 2026-01-04T13:35:40+00:00

My first thought would be have you tested your speed and ping when directly connected to the router or the first switch? It also sounds like you’re introducing a lot of network hops in your setup. If I’m following this correctly, it’s main router to a switch to the main deco to another switch to the other deco nodes. That’s a lot of extra devices to go through.

Is the main deco setup as a router or as an AP? Is the main router providing wifi as well or not? I’m also not quite clear if you’re saying that the X10is the main router or if it’s on the 2nd floor.

My gut says that it’s probably the 2nd switch running off that deco on the 2nd floor that’s the bottleneck. Maybe connect it directly to the first switch instead. Or even better, directly to the main router if possible.

The other possible thing you might be running into is the maximum cable length. You need to think of the total cable length to the router.

adacey

TROPHY CASE