It’s not often I get excited by certain innovations in the manual, hand cranked grinder world.
Sure, there’s been some fantastic innovations in that space ever since the Porlex Mini came along 13 years ago and really shook the space up. Everything from intricate burr geometry designs, to ultra precise 8um adjustments on grind settings, to triple and even quadruple bearing mounts for rock solid burr rotations, and even things like hybrid grinders, doing double duty as electric grinders for home use, and manual when out on the go.
But as amazing and value-rich the hand grinder market has gotten, I still get my kicks from the innovations in the motorized grinder world, for the most part. Then I saw a new manual grinder from the feisty upstart company with the horrible branding name – MHW-3Bomber – that actually got me pretty excited. Because this new grinder has a wildly interesting innovation: it has a sieve and shaker system to separate out fines from your grind. Built right into the grinder.
That’s a bit of a game changer for anyone who happens to like no-paper filtration methods for brew coffee. If you’re a Kone user, use metal filters for your AeroPress, like using the Espro Bloom, or are a press pot aficionado, you probably know using a sieve system like the Kruve sieve can improve the cup of coffee quite a bit, and reduce the sludge in the finished cup. Problem is, the Kruve starts at $100 (IMO still well worth the investment!) and can go up to $200 or more if you go for most of the sieve options.
But today, we have the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 manual grinder, with a built in sieve system. And in many cases, the entire grinder with sieves costs less than the Kruve starter system. Right now the Blade R3 Grinder is $90 on Amazon (once you apply the 10% off coupon). So is it worth the money?
Well, this is not our formal review, but your TL:DR is: heck yes!
Heck, I even bought one on my own, I was so intrigued (since then, MHW-3Bomber has also sent us a test unit, so I now have two to compare, side by side!)
The Blade R3 Grinder
Before I even get to the sieving system, which has benefits and drawbacks, let me briefly cover the rest of the Blade R3 from MHW-3Bomber. It is extremely well made, top to bottom. It certainly does not feel like a $90 grinder; just in feel, fit and finish, it matches well with $150 to $200 manual grinders out there. The entire construction is metal, and everything fits together with precise engineering.
The Blade R3 has an external click dial for adjusting the grind fineness, and each individual click adjusts in the burr vertical movement by 16 microns. That puts it on par with some 1zpresso grinders, and and has better grind selection performance than the Commandante and other grinders currently on market. The grind number indicators are very easy to read, and the grinder comes zeroed out from the factory. The grinder can also be calibrated: it has a similar spindle / locking nut mechanism to some 1zpresso grinders.
On visual inspection, 3Bomber’s “custom” heptagonal (7 bladed) 48mm conical burr looks very similar to recent 1zpresso flagship grinders’ burrs, but not the current K-Ultra, J-Ultra or X-Ultra from 1zpresso, all of which are brand new designs. Once I get down to the full Snapshot Review for the Blade R3, I’ll give the burrs a much closer look. For now, here’s what they look like.
The burr stack is also similar to the previous gen 1zpresso manual grinders: the thick spindle (electric drill compatible according to the manufacturer!) is permanently attached to a bottom block plate. The inner burr slides down the spindle and locks into place on the block plate via a mounting bolt. The spring sits above it. In this case, 3Bomber’s spring is a lot longer than those found on 1zpresso models.
I should note, 1zpresso did away with the bottom block plates on their most recent grinders, and instead, hard-attach the inner cone burr directly to the spindle. They said this reduces static issues with their grinder. Here’s what the 3Bomber setup looks like:
The crank arm is very similar to those found on the Commandante, older 1zpresso and Kin Grinders, but has a longer reach. It is longer than the current gen 1zpresso J-Ultra handle, for example. The handle is beefy, made of wood and a bit different in shape compared to other grinders I have here.The mounting cap for the crank arm is made of metal and secures very well on top of the grinder.
The entire grinder can be disassembled without tools (except the adjustment external dial). This is fantastic for deep cleaning. Here’s the grinder, entirely disassembled, with all its parts:
The grinder is long, with a good grip portion that is particularly elongated. The catch cup is held in place by a gazillion magnets, and holds on even tighter than the current generation 1zpresso grinders, which is saying something because the K-Ultra, J-Ultra and X-Ultra’s catch cups are held on quite firmly compared to previous generation models.
Now to the catch cup itself. It is a four part affair: the main catch cup, a screw on base, a sieve disk, and there’s also a magnetized lid to use when shaking the catch cup full of grinds. The Blade R3 comes with five sieves, in micron size holes of 300, 400, 500, 600, and 850. As mentioned there’s a gazillion magnets (each component has 24 rare earth magnets installed).
There is one really weird thing about the Blade R3 you should note if buying: the capacity of the grinder is barely 20g if you are using the built in sieve system. This is weird because the grind chamber and “hopper” for beans above the cutting blades can hold a lot more coffee: at least 30g if not more. But the catch cup, at least when the sieves are installed, will top out at about 22-23g which I don’t recommend doing because that tops out the catch cup. If the catch cup is full to the brim, shaking the coffee for the sieving effect won’t work very well. You need some headspace in there, so 18-20g is the max coffee you should have in there when using the sieve.
Of course, you could use the catch cup without any sieve installed, and the capacity of it increases to around 25-30g, nearly matching the hopper up top.
Using the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 Grinder
Currently we’re testing a lot of manual grinders: three 1zpresso models, the latest Timemore external adjustment grinder, two from Staresso (including one that is rechargeable!), and a Kin Grinder. For the past 45 days, about 80% of the espresso and coffee brewed in my lab space and at home has come from manual grinders. I mention this because I’ve been able to do a lot of side by side comparisons with a lot of different brands.
Again, stressing this isn’t my formal review: the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 is holding its own. It isn’t matching the king of espresso grinders – the J-Ultra from 1zpresso – on overall espresso quality, but it is on par with the more expensive Timemore and K-Ultra. Considering the grinder is only $90, that’s seriously impressive.
The biggest issue I’ve had with the Blade R3 is static. The mix of materials (steel, aluminum, lots of magnets, and the steel sieve disks) plus the block-plate at the bottom of the burr set all seem to create a bit more static than I’m getting from the current gen 1zpresso models and the new Timemore. RDT’ing the dose helps a bit, but it is still there, and that moisture, as minute as it is, is also evidenced in the catch cup, with some grounds sticking stubbornly to the angled edge where the sieve meets the side walls of the catch cup.
In terms of grinding “action”, it is smooth and very low resistance. This is obvious because of the long crank arm design. The spindle is held in place with three anchor bearings, making the rotation of the burr rock steady and even. And because the spindle is very thick, using an electric drill with this grinder, if you follow Jim Hoffmann’s advice, is actually fine (you should not use an electric drill on more narrow gauge spindle grinders like the Timemore series).
Everything fits together well. The grind markings are extremely easy to read in most light conditions. The catch cup is held on so tightly it’s actually a bit difficult to remove, but there should be almost no worry about accidentally knocking it off and spraying coffee everywhere while you operate the grinder.
In short, this is a very well built, well engineered, precision instrument.
Sieving
I didn’t expect the sieves to work all that well. After all, the surface area of the sieves is like 1/6th the surface area of the Kruve Sifter sieves. But in practice, it actually works quite well, removing about .5g of fines from an 18g dose ground for pour over and using the 500um sieve, in my limited testing.
It even works better for press pot. I set the grinder up for 1200um particle sizes, used the 850um sieve, and for every 15g I ground (I would grind two batches to hopefully get 28g of coffee to use), it would sieve out about .75g of fines. This resulted in a lot cleaner cups overall from my press pot brews. Keep in mind you’ll have to grind about 8-10% more coffee to take the sieving amount into consideration.
The process is this: install the sieve of your choice, set the grinder to your set grind level, and grind the coffee. Once done, remove the catch cup, put the catch cup lid on it, and start shaking the bejeebus out of the container. Side to side motions, knock motions, up and down. Do this for about a minute. Then pour out the coffee from the catch cup. Later on, unscrew the bottom plate, and witness all the fines you sieved out. Magic.
There is the aforementioned problem with static. I’ve also noted coffee would get stuck in crevices and edges in the grinder, making it a bit hard to get all the usable coffee out
Oh, one more thing: 3Bomber, in their promo literature, says the act of shaking the container is calming and focusing, which has health benefits for you. Specifically: “sieving also relieves your pressure; enjoy it in the present moment!” More magic? 🙂
Should You Buy One
If all you do is espresso with your manual grinder, instead go with the 1zpresso J-Ultra, which is probably the best manual espresso grinder you can buy today. With the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3, the sieves won’t give you much benefit for espresso, and all that time shaking the grinds catch container will stale the coffee.
Also, if you want your manual grinder to crank out large (30g+ batches of coffee in one go, the Blade R3 might not be for you.
But if you want an all purpose grinder that gives you good value and excellent construction for under $100, then heck yes you should consider this one.
If you prefer using metal filters (or ultra rare, luxurious all ceramic mesh filters boo yah!) in your pour over, or metal filters with your AeroPress, or are a big press pot fan, this grinder might be the best choice for you, because of the sieving system, built in. The biggest drawbacks are a) the low capacity and b) the static. I did note there was less static when I did not use the sieves in place, so I’m pretty sure the mix of metals contributes a tad to this.
Right now, the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 is listed for $100 on Amazon, with a 10% off coupon available, making it $90. That’s a killer bargain for this device. We’re working on a full Snapshot review for this grinder and several other manual grinders, coming soon.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
One Response
Nice article! Ordered one too.. thanks