What is the best trimming machine? Expensive is fine if it works

[Keegan420]

Going to do a 3 way comparison soon. But from what I can see so far some main points have been covered here...

1) Colas need to be hand trimmed always
2) Cleaning the trimming machine is an absolute MUST!!
3) Spraying oil or PAM on the machine sounds interesting and may help with performance

In summary I have never seen a trimmer that doesn't screw you a little on bud quality. The automatics are worse than the semi-manual trimmers (Like Trimbox). By design they tumble the weed and in the process you good Tri's are knocked off. If you are a commercial grower then go for it. But if you care about quality and appearance then there is no substitute for hand trimming.

Stay tuned for the Spinpro vs Trimbox vs Trimpro Rotor comparison coming soon.

Wish I could afford some of these spinning ones.. guess I'll just have to wait.

I like your points, i think i have come to the same conclusions although ive heard to use hemp oil instead of pam or other oils but im sure they all work the same.

The wand trimmer looks to have potential though. I still haven't seen/heard any first hand experience with it other than their videos. I think someone who posted earlier said they were buying one?

Are you gonna post that comparison of those trimmers here or make a separate journal?

 

[HeavyConsumer]

I've no trimming experience, but whenever I see these trimming machines, the first thing I think is, "how many thousands of trichomes must be lost with each and every revolution of the drum?"

Have you looked at something like these instead? I imagine they would compromise your quality a lot less.

Testarossa

Bonsai Hero

 

[Dutty Panty]

I've used the bonsai hero. Not a fan.
Never used the testarossa though.

 

[Equanimity]

I think even when I go commercial i'll just hand trim.

It's gruelling as hell (esp. with arthritis!) but human hands are just the best at this job.

 

[Lord Hydros]

Take it from somebody who owned and threw away (directly into the garbage, didn't even sell it because it would have been foul of me to curse somebody else with it) a $1,600 trimmer... the best trimming machine is the human hand and a pair of spring return Fiskers. Costs about $10 and you just have to build up your hand muscles before using it. The technique is to simply squeeze the scissors at a rapid pace and you will find a lot less damage to your product.

 

[unforgiven]

some awesome trimmers out there. the wander looks the best to me but its still labor intensive.

zero experience with any power trimmers, but plenty by hand. and heres what I have found.

that bonsai and testarossa look like torture devices for carpal tunnel testing. not to mention i'd want Kevlar gloves lol.

I have tried many of this style including this exact model, and they suck balls. hard on the hands, gums up way too fast, hard to clean, spring return fails, safety catch fails. I know it's the most common style used, but hey, suck is suck. my opinion fwiw.

then I found these little gems. so far, I have only used them on 3 plants. albeit one was a monster lol. my last grow, potm april 2016 lol.

they are awesome. zero hand fatigue, hardly gums up, super easy to clean, for the most part it cleans itself. no safety catch to worry about. comes with a simple sleeve to protect the blades. the position of the hinge puts most of the pressure requirement (minimal) in the hand not in the fingers. your fingers basically just guide it.

I trimmed out daisy completely with no hand fatigue at all. this means the world to someone with bad carpal or arthritic hands. and to top it all off, they were the cheapest trimmers I've bought. 10 bux. they are fiskars, so great quality, they are called a kitchen herb trimmer.

again, my opinion fwiw.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but maybe it will work for someone with the same question, but unwilling or unable to spend the dollars to try the big boys toys. like me at this point. maybe later.

 

[unforgiven]

just watched that trimpal video. it looks goodbut...... look closely at 9:07. you see a cloud of kief falling as they tip it back up. also after that you can see it piled in the corner of the bottom opening. no big deal? they say? maybe not, the trim will get turned into kief or oil or what have you anyways, right? yep. but.... that goes to show clearly the damage done to the top notch buds.

then I went to the website. figured its the cheapest looking trimmer I have seen, barring the bonsai and testarossa, lol. no freakin way!! over 4k for that thing.

fuhgeddaboudit.

 

[weedman1101]

I have used twister and centurionpro... centurionpro always outdid my twister, i ended up just selling the twister and keeping the pro... it does the job VERY well, im happy with it, so go with them. they have tons of videos online you should check it out

 

[gbauto]

Fiskars Fast-Preps Herb Shears 5” is what I came up with. I'll have to see if I can find them locally. Thanks

 

[SMO MAN]

The Twister T6 kicks butt. I recently rented one and was VERY impressed. So impressed that I'm buying one.
It can trim 4lb per hour but 2lb per hour is perfect

 

[vancilwa]

Helpful thread.

 

[Stage]

High and good afternoon.
I know this is an old thread but here is my contribution.

Picked up a device called TrimBag dry trimmer.
Trimmed about two lbs in less than an hour.

Bud appearance is way ahead of what I could do at my age.
These are under three bills if ya look.

The product must be dry for best results.
Of course one loses some trics in the trim output.


With that being said...thank me later.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Thank Stage. Looks good. Going to be hard to get out of my head next time I'm doing an eight hour trimming session.
Looks like it would be hard on the buds though- no?

 

[Stage]

High and good morning Weezy!
Been a while since we ran into ea other in these threads.

Like I said earlier, this is a time saver.
Will one lose some trics? Certainly.

I lose nearly as many with a pair of scissors.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yeah man I haven't been around for ages.
One persons loss is another ones gain though. I 'find' those lost trichs- on my scissors. I find them very satisfying. Maybe I'd find some in the bottom of that Trim bag too.
And morning for you is apparently night for me! Goodnight