Best Bud Trimmers for the Home Grower

What is a Bud Trimmer and Why do I Need One?

Trimming refers to the removal of undesirable vegetation from the cannabis flower (bud), both before and after the drying phase. This is done because most of the cannabis leaves contain very small amounts of THC, plus their high-water content means they will be harsh and skunky when smoked. Smoking poorly-trimmed cannabis is a sure-fire way to get kicked out of the house!

In general, most growers wish to remove all of the plant’s fan leaves, leaving only nice dank nugs. The question is, what is the best way to do it?

Going back to the laundry analogy, we mentioned various options for doing the washing cycle. In the same way, there are also options for trimming buds, such as by hand, hand-operated device, or machine. Sometimes, you can even get someone else to do it for you!

Types of Bud Trimmers

Once you have determined your bud trimming requirements, it is time to choose the trimmer that will best suit your needs. Here are some of the choices available for the home grower:

Trimming shears: These are specialized scissors that are customized for the delicate task of removing leaves from your buds. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are also hand-held electric trimming shears available, which will speed things up a bit, but their primary advantage is less strain on the hand, at the cost of more noise!

Bowl trimmers: These bud trimmers work either manually or with electricity. You load them with your buds, turn the crank (or flip the switch), and the leaves are removed. Think of it as a food processor for buds.

Bag trimmers: These are specialized bags, specifically intended for bud trimming. You load the bag with bud, give it a good shake, and your buds are trimmed.

Trimming machines: These are large-scale machines, generally only used in commercial operations. Most are able to do both wet and dry trimming. Since the cost of these devices runs to the thousands of dollars, they’re considered out of range for most home growers.

While electric trimmers are generally out of budget for home growers, some home grows are substantial, some reaching 10-20lbs of wet weed. For these cases, an electric trimmer is a good option. The CenturionPro Tabletop is an entry-level bud trimmer machine. It’s MSRP is around $4000. The manufacturer says it can process 20lbs/hour.

A high-quality bowl trimmer that will provide years of use. If you are looking for something faster than a hand-held trimmer, but don’t have the budget for an electric one, this might be a solution.

Although more expensive than others, these snips are easy on the hands, precise, and will last forever. Probably my overall favorite bud trimmer.

A relative newcomer, the Cannabrush is intended for those who may not be comfortable using a shears or scissors. You trim the bud by brushing it gently until you get the desired shape—less chance of making errors.

If you are planning to harvest between 5-10 pounds of bud, don’t have a great deal of time to trim, and don’t have the budget for a large commercial machine, then these bags might be the solution.

If you have pounds of cannabis to trim, but want to avoid using a large commercial trimmer, consider the wander trimmer. While expensive, this bud trimmer can trim a pound of bud in an hour. The vacuum is handy as well.

This popular bud trimmer provides a one-stop solution at a very reasonable price. It can handle most of the trimming tasks of Fiskars MicroTip and cut through many larger branches and stems. And the price is right too!

Having a delicate pair of snips or scissors for close range trimming is important, but home growers will also need to cut through the fibrous stem core and branches when harvesting their plants. For this task, a pair of good quality pruning shears is required.

A lower-cost alternative to the Trimpro Unplugged. Less metal, more plastic. Comes in two different sizes, 16” & 19”. If you don’t want to hand trim, but don’t have the money for a Trimpro, this might be your trim bowl.

If you are a home grower who’s just starting out, you probably won’t need anything except a good pair of hand-held trimming shears. Once you are growing more than 20 plants, you may want to consider some other options to handle the volume. While purchasing an industrial capacity trimmer might be an (expensive) option, we would suggest considering a ‘trim party.’

Hosting a trim party is a great way to get your bud trimmed quickly and have some fun. Invite a few friends over, make sure there are enough trimming shears available, set up a trimming table, and enjoy. Think of it as a quilting bee or sewing circle, but for buds! The work will get done in a fraction of the time, and everyone will enjoy the experience. One word of advice: make sure there are enough nitrile gloves to go around. Trimming is a sticky business.

Regardless of your approach, make sure to take the time to trim your buds well. A well-trimmed bud will look better, smoke better, smell better, and taste better. Remember the laundry analogy – as the laundry is not done until it’s folded, the bud is not done until it’s trimmed.

Toke it easy!