All peng aficionados know the importance of using the perfect herb grinder. Imagine making a juicy blunt, only to get chunky pieces, dirt, and other irritating components that ruin your experience. An absolute downer, but one you can easily avoid with high-quality weed shredders that get the job done seamlessly. 

When talking about the top Mary Jane grinders, there’s one brand that you will always come across - Santa Cruz Shredder. The OG of the weed shredding game, SC’s crushers are known for their supreme quality and an ideal blend of utility and efficiency. Needless to say, a Santa Cruz herb grinder comprises all the pros needed to get a perfectly fluffy chunk of doobie.

Santa Cruz Shredder provides crushers in three main categories - the aluminium grinders (2-piece, 3-piece, 4-piece), along with the biodegradable hemp and special edition shredders. While they differ in components and design, all house the same traits that make Santa Cruz herb grinders special - the revolutionary new threading design for consistently perfect fluffing, superior grip, screens, and magnets for maximised durability and performance, and scratch-resistant build, to name a few. 

Another pro of these crushers is their low maintenance. Cleaning a Santa Cruz shredder would just require you to scoop any stuck plant bits with an alcohol wipe or just your fingernail. You don’t need to soak it or deep clean it at all.

Alright, time to get to the part you’re waiting for. Since you’re here, you are either considering switching to SC Shredders or are already shopping for one. Whichever the case, I’ve compiled a comprehensive review for the complete range of Santa Cruz weed crushers. Just a slight warning, it may get tough to choose one!

If you’d still like to compare other brands’ shredders, check this out - The 22 Best Weed Grinders to Shred Your Herbs Perfectly. 

The Complete Range of Santa Cruz Shredders

Aluminium Grinders

1. The 2-Piece Herb Grinder

The Santa Cruz Shredder 2-piece is one of the basic grinders you can pick up. However, don’t let the term ‘basic’ sway you from understanding just how good this little thing is. Carrying the quintessential round design with its flat top and bottom, these shredders house Santa Cruz’s revolutionary tooth design, just like their other grinders. 

As the name suggests, this herb crusher comes with two components, built with anodised aluminium to remain durable, scratch-free, and corrosion-free. This means, you can easily pop it into your pocket, along with your car keys and other items, and the grinder won’t surprise you with stupid scratches all over.

The Santa Cruz 2-part grinder, like their other shredders, also features superior-quality magnets to keep the lid closed through it all. Technically speaking, Santa Cruz uses Neodymium Diametrically Magnetised Cylindrical Rate Earth Magnets, ISO-certified. 

Unlike cheap or ‘toy’ magnets, these are extremely reliable and offer top-tier durability and protection against the corrosion and abuse shreddings cause. 

This Santa Cruz Shredder 2-piece review would be incomplete without mentioning the countless options you can choose from. You can choose the small (1 ⅝”), medium (2 ⅛”), or large (2 ¾”) variants and pick amongst various shades like black, gold, green, purple, red, etc. The Santa Cruz large grinder also comes in pink, silver, and orange colours.

2. The 3-Piece Weed Crusher

Building on all the amazing features of the 2-piece, the 3-piece shredders (and the 4-piece ones too) are built for those looking for finer bits of their plant, and an extra chamber to store some Skunk for later. These Santa Cruz weed shredders come with an extra piece, and twisting all three components, you get the smaller and finer chunks a 2-piece can’t provide. 

The bits then fall through the grinder’s holes into the lowest chamber, which catches the ground-up weed and also helps store them for a later smoke-up sesh with your buddies. Plus, you can use the third chamber to finger-scoop the weed and get every bit out as well.

Moreover, the 3-piece Santa Cruz grinders also feature a pronounced grip that makes it almost effortless to use the shredder. This proprietary grip design lowers the required torque to rotate the parts, and hence, serve as the perfect option for medical customers who can’t twist or rotate the grinder too much. 

The 3-piece grinders also come in the same size and colours as the 2-piece, and you can even opt for the Santa Cruz Shredder-Rasta variant if you’re feeling too Bob Marley-ish. 

[ Also Read: Metal Herb Grinder Buying Guide: How to Pick an Ideal One? ]

3. The 4-Piece Weed Shredder

 

What’s better than three pieces in your grinder? Four of them! 

The Santa Cruz Shredder 4-piece is the best bet for the kief lovers of the world. Not Kiefer Sutherland, but the extra potent, precious fairy dust which builds up at the bottom of grinders. With a 4-piece shredder, you get the extra chamber, lined with a fine steel sieve that only let the finest and smallest particles fall through from the third compartment. As you keep grinding, the fourth chamber keeps collecting the kief, which you can ultimately use in cannabis oils, edibles, teas, etc. 

[ Also Read: A Guide on Cannabis Edibles and How to Make Them at Home?] 

Hence, if you’re a true kief connoisseur and you would like to store it for later use, a SC 4-piece grinder should be your top pick. Moreover, all Santa Cruz shredders utilise premium-grade Delrin friction rings for a buttery-smooth grind, which will help you get the most kief out of your plant, every time!


Just like its counterparts, the 4-piece shredder comes in three size variants and multiple colour options. However, the Santa Cruz Shredder medium variant of the 4-piece is also available in a unique shade of teal, if you’re feeling the funk. 

Quick Note: If the whole ‘Santa Cruz Shredder 3-piece vs 4-piece’ debate is troubling your mind, don’t fret. Both will get the job done when it comes to shredding the dank to its finest. If you’re specifically looking for a herb crusher that also helps to collect the kief, then consider the 4-piece!

Hemp Grinders and Special Edition Shredders

If you’re all about saving the world and choosing eco-friendly products to do your part, the Santa Cruz Shredder biodegradable grinder is the one for you. Build with SC’s proprietary bioplastic binder, the product material mainly includes hemp cellulose and hemp fibre, ensuring that the shredder is 100% biodegradable! 

Apart from its build material, this herb crusher shares the same USPs of the usual aluminium grinders by Santa Cruz. All of their biodegradable grinders are available in the 2-piece, 3-piece, and 4-piece variants.

Moreover, if you’re in the mood for something cool to impress your blaze buddies, Santa Cruz Shredder also offers special edition grinders. These are designed in collaboration with other brands and include options like the Santa Cruz Shredder x Cookies Hemp Shredders, the Red Cookies Shredders, The TGOD (Taylor Gang or Die) Shredders, Octopus Santa Cruz Shredders, and more. 

Want something even more exclusive? You can even opt for the Montana Colors or Vogue Spray Can Shredders, which look just like a graffiti spray can when all the compartments are joined together. Whichever special edition herb crusher you choose, you’re bound to make a bold statement when carrying it! 

Well, that’s all for my Santa Cruz Shredder hemp grinder review for you Mary Jane lovers out there. If you’re ready to dish out a few pounds and cop a stylish and travel-friendly shredder of top quality, choose SC and you won’t be disappointed. Don’t forget to keep toking with Olivastu! 

FAQs

 1. Is the Santa Cruz Shredder worth it?

Ans: Absolutely! Santa Cruz Shredder is globally renowned as the top brand for weed grinders with superior features like patented tooth design, easy grip, and top-quality screen for the best results. If you’re looking to get the most out of your plant, Santa Cruz Shredder is the grinder you need.

2. What size Santa Cruz Shredder should I get?

Ans: This completely depends on your needs. If you just want a simple yet efficient shredder that gets the job done, choose the small or medium 2-piece/3-piece Santa Cruz Shredder. If you’d like to scoop up the kief for later use, then a 4-piece grinder is the best choice. Whichever grinder you choose, getting the medium one makes the most sense as they’re perfect for smoking on the go or at home.

3. Is a Santa Cruz Shredder safe?

Ans: Yes. Santa Cruz Shredder offers grinders that are ultrasonically cleansed using medical-grade processes. Hence, all contaminants are removed, even from the tiniest spots and cracks, and what you get is a pristine grinder with no dirt, grime, machining oil, or other harmful elements.

4. Is Santa Cruz Shredder good for kief?

Ans: The Santa Cruz Shredder 4-piece is ideal for collecting kief. The grinder’s razor-sharp and revolutionarily designed teeth grind the herb to create the finest bits. Then, the third compartment has optimally-sized holes to let the kief fall into the lowest chamber, allowing you to collect as much kief as possible.