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Should You Hand Trim Or Machine Trim Your Cannabis?

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Although it often gets overshadowed by the harvest process itself, trimming is one of the most crucial steps in the growing process, especially in today's quality-driven market. A proper trim can make the difference between an enjoyable and smooth smoking experience, and a less pleasant and harsh one. There are two ways that growers can trim their product: by machine, or by hand. Both have their advantages, disadvantages, and unique use cases. Ultimately, which one you choose will have a significant impact on the quality of the final product.

Hand Trimming

Hand trimming is exactly what it sounds like. The leaves of each bud are individually trimmed by hand. Hand trimming is the traditional method of removing leaves and other unwanted plant material from your buds. It is a time-tested method that consistently delivers excellent results, albeit at a slow pace. However, if you have some dedicated trimmers, some time, and some patience, hand trimming will truly offer you the best result.

The biggest advantage of using the hand trimming technique is the quality and beauty of the final product. Each unique bud gets a custom trim that allows its finest characteristics to shine. Hand trimming is more accurate than machine trimming, and can help you to really get the most out of each bud. By carefully trimming buds by hand with sharp shears, your buds will lose fewer trichomes than if processed by a machine, and will look more aesthetically pleasing to boot.

The huge downside of hand trimming is the amount of time and focus it takes to do it at a high level. If you have a large amount of bud to process, hand trimming can be incredibly tedious, time-consuming, and even costly. However, the sacrifice may be worth it in order to put the final touches on top-shelf bud. Hand trimming may work fine for a personal grow, but commercial growers often have massive amounts of product to process. In these cases, hand trimming product means dealing with the cost and hassle of having to hire and employ trimmers.

Hand Trimming is Ideal for…

Usually, producers opt for hand trimming of their very best cannabis crops. By making a smart investment in top-shelf cannabis, they can ensure that its treasured characteristics are properly accentuated and appreciated by the discerning consumer. Because high-quality cannabis usually possesses very dense, large colas and only minimal leaf material, hand trimming is actually easier for these crops. If you’re searching for the ultimate in premium cannabis, you may want to consider spending the extra money for a hand-trimmed product to see if you notice any major differences.

Machine Trimming

As demand for marijuana has skyrocketed, processing technology has similarly advanced. Specialised machines can be used to trim your cannabis for you. These machines vary in size, speed, cost, and quality. However, newer trimming machines are capable of trimming several pounds of marijuana per hour, completely removing the need to hire hand trimmers.

The main advantage of using a machine trimmer is the speed with which you can process your cannabis. Some top-of-the-line commercial trimmers can process up to 19 pounds (~8.6kg) per hour, making them much more efficient than hand trimmers. For commercial growers, this difference in processing time makes the decision between hand or machine trimming an easy one.

The need to get large amounts of cannabis to market very quickly means that machine trimming will forever be a part of the marijuana industry. Thanks to the drastic improvement of trimming technology over the past decade, superb final buds are now being produced by machines. While trichome loss is still a concern, mangled or wasted product is rare nowadays. Most machine trimmers consistently produce high-quality results that most smokers can’t recognise as being machine-trimmed.

Machine trimmers have an unfortunate reputation for damaging buds. Hand-trimmed bud maintains more of its trichomes and resin than machine-trimmed bud. A machine trimmer simply cannot perfectly trim cannabis without taking off too much.

Machine trimmers can sometimes also damage buds by over-trimming them. Leaving bud in a trimmer for too long can result in unnecessarily small buds. Moreover, over-trimming flower can also affect its potency and flavour.

Machine trimmers can be quite pricey. Smaller, less efficient models can be purchased for a couple hundred US dollars, but high-quality trimmers cost thousands. Depending on how much cannabis you are trimming, the up-front cost can be recouped quickly in money saved from not having to hire trimmers. However, if you are trimming a personal stash, it may be better to save your money and just do it by hand.

Machine Trimming is Ideal for…

Large-scale growers and producers frequently use machine trimming because the method is so much more efficient and affordable. If you’re shopping for cannabis that’s budget-friendly but doesn’t sacrifice quality, machine trimmed might be right for you. Machine trimmed cannabis goes through an inspection process from human employees, which can combine the best of both worlds.

Recommendation: Best Bud Trimming Machine

The Triminator XL Dry is the fastest dry trimmer in the World at up to 60 pounds an hour. It’s specifically built for commercial volume application with boutique quality that doesn’t sacrifice quality of trim.

The XL Dry meets the demands of large-scale production with ease by offering streamlined repeatable processes. The set and forget timer frees up operator time so they can focus on other areas, such as QC work. The innovative lock and load pivot system makes it hassle-free to fill and dump your batches. The patented Pure Trim shear band creates more up time and longer trim sessions between cleanings.

The closed loop system ensures that 100% of trim is captured in a food-safe trim bin by gently falling from the trim drum. Zero fan means there is no aggressive interaction with the trim. The XL Dry offers the industry’s largest dry drum with 44.5” of effective cutting length as well as maximizing the cutting surface with an innovative angular shear band geometry providing sharp precise trimming every time, for a close clean trim.

Evolved from a proven performer in careful and efficient trimming, the TRIMPRO ROTOR MED is designed specifically to meet high regulatory demands, with its medical equipment component compliancy, easy and rapid disassembly and assembly, and unique waste management and control characteristics.

Purpose-built to meet medical industry standards and CSA approved, the TRIMPRO ROTOR MED is designed and engineered to ensure operational ease and efficiency. Each unit is easy to disassemble for sterilization and is just as quickly reassembled, for minimized downtime.

The flexible fingers are steam and alcohol resistant. The blade is made from tempered stainless steel and all connectors and attachments of stainless steel. The Plexiglas™ hood ensures debris-free operation. With no vacuum component, waste management and cleaning are greatly simplified, further assisted by standard weight, easily removed and sealed square trim-bags.

The Ez Trimmer removes unwanted leaves from flower and hemp flowers and is the only solution that can deliver trim quality which surpasses manual methods. The key to the Ez Trimmer's superiority is that it allows the user to adjust multiple variables in the way you trim in order to adjust for wet and dry product, as well as different strains, sizes, and growing methods.

The airflow is controlled with the airflow controller and small inner lids on the top of the machine. With one or both of the inner lids open the suction will increase and the vortex will decrease. This allows you to create a stronger vortex with wet or heavier product, or less of a vortex and more suction for dry or larfy product. In addition to the lids you can also adjust the airflow by changing the speed of the main motor.

The trim collection from the Ez Trimmer is unmatched by any other trimming machine. After being cut, the trim falls into a 4-layer trim sifting system that grades your leftovers from leaf to kief. Being able to make high-quality extracts from your trim is key to maximizing the profits from your harvests.

Conclusion: Should You Hand Trim Or Machine Trim Your Cannabis?

Depending on the size of your crop, and the quality of your buds, the trimming decisions you make do not have to be all or nothing.

The majority of modern mechanical trimmers are sufficient for processing the majority of crops. Some growers still exclusively trim by hand, due to a more connected relationship with the plants and their clientele.
Most farmers also use machines for the bulk of the harvest while still maintaining hand trimming practices for their top tier plants.
Like in most things balance is key.

Harvesting cannabis is no different. Trimming decisions should be based on your unique & individual harvesting needs.

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