Saturday, May 14, 2011

SharpStone® Grinder & Pollen Press Authenticity Guide

AUTHENTIC SharpStone® Herb Grinders at The Other Side Vapes

It has come to our attention that a number of across the internet are selling counterfeit SharpStone Herbal Grinders and Pollen Presses. These sellers are passing the products off as authentic, and instead selling products that are very low quality, and NOT the real deal. We’ve decided to write a guide that would help those searching for Genuine SharpStone Products. It is also worth noting that SharpEdge is not a new version of the SharpStone Grinder, it is just another knock-off!

There are a number of things wrong with the counterfeit grinders shown above. First, SharpStone no longer uses the ™ symbol on their grinders! All new authentic SharpStone grinders will have a ® symbol, because SharpStone is now a Registered Trademark. However, this rule does not apply on all pollen presses. Standard Pollen Presses will have a ™ symbol, while the T-Shaped Pollen Presses will have a ® symbol. The second problem in the first image is that the logo is white on the counterfeit grinder! SharpStone does NOT use ANY white lettering on their non-clear top grinders. Typically lettering/logos will simply be a lighter shade of the color of the Grinder/Press. The third problem I see with the grinder on the left is that the blue color is extremely bright. Authentic blue SharpStone Products are sort of a silverish/blue color.
These are the same two grinders that were shown in the first two pictures. Notice how few holes are on the counterfeit grinder. Having so few holes in the counterfeit grinder will cause it to clog often. Many of the holes in the counterfeit grinder are also much too large, allowing very large particles to fall through. This leaves the user of the counterfeit grinder with a chunky, poorly ground blend!

In the Reeling Handle Grinder furthest left, there is an obvious problem before even disassembling the unit. Check that it has a ® symbol (NOT ™). While the Reeling Handle is a nice feature, it doesn't work on counterfeit grinders. Within days or weeks, the handle will either seize completely, or the grinder’s teeth will begin rubbing together (leaving metal shavings in your blend!). The Reeling Handle on the SharpStone Grinder is built to handle a great deal of stress/wear. Counterfeits are not built this way, and are constructed of cheap materials.
There are a couple major problems with grinder that is pictured second from the right. First, there are metal shavings in the grinder! I want to make it clear, that there should be NO BURRS OR METALS SHAVINGS in authentic SharpStone Grinders. This a serious health hazard because if these shaving are consumed, they have the potential to cut your mouth, throat, etc. If you buy a SharpStone Product and find any major flaws such as metal shavings, etc. please return the item immediately! Do not even try to use the item to see if it performs okay, it's not worth it. The second problem is that there should be a hole in the middle of the Reeling Handle Grinders, which may not be present on counterfeits.

The picture on the above left is of the bottom of the counterfeit SharpStone Reeling Handle Grinder that was previously pictured. SharpStone NEVER uses white letter on the bottom of their grinders! The picture on the right is of the authentic example. Note that the lettering for the patent is barely visible in this photograph. The proper color of this lettering should ALWAYS be just a shade lighter than the color of the grinder.







When you purchase an authentic SharpStone Grinder or Pollen Press, you should expect to receive a box! If you purchase a Grinder, you should expect to receive a blue bag with this as well!







It is very easy to spot the differences in a fake SharpStone Pollen Press. First, the knurled edges are almost twice as large on the counterfeit grinder as they should be. Second, on both sides of the pollen press (towards the center) you will find two small lines that go around the circumference of the Press. I have never seen a counterfeit Pollen Press that had these lines around the center, so this should be a dead giveaway! You should expect the SharpStone logo to have a ™ symbol on the Presses (instead of ®). The third problem on the counterfeit Presses is that they always have rounded edges. The top and bottom edges of presses are not rounded on genuine presses and should be sharp. The fourth problem on counterfeit presses is that they never have the proper logo color. The logos on Presses should NEVER be white! They will always be a shade lighter than the color of the press.

The pictures above help show the quality difference between a authentic and counterfeit SharpStone Pollen Presses. SharpStone Pollen Presses are extremely high quality products and are manufactured to very high standards. As you can see from the picture below, the same cannot be said for the counterfeit Pollen Presses.


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