The Hario Skerton N is a hand-crank ceramic burr coffee grinder with an adjustable grind setting for methods including French press, V60, Chemex, and Aeropress, paired with a 100-gram glass storage container.
18 mentions · 5 threadslast mention Mar 2021
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
I love my Hario Skerton hand grinder but it seems to take forever to grind by hand. ... Compared to the Capresso, I think I prefer the powered Skerton. Grind quality is comparable but the Skerton is of much simpler construction and is easier to clean. Also, with the screw-on container, it does a better job of containing the grounds so there is less mess.
I've done my best to clean the Hario Skerton, but the oils are pretty well set in the burrs. I ran dry rice through it (found that idea on google) but it's still pretty peanut-y.
I currently have a hario skerton and think it’s good for when I need it, but it requires a lot of dialing it in as well as effort to grind.
I have slim version and it is better than my old skerton.
While I often recommend the Hario I wanted to show the difference in consistency that 100 dollars buys. If I go smaller with the Skerton I get Espresso-fine-ish clumps, and if I go bigger I get french press chunks. The last photo shows how the Hario gets the achieved grind about midway through the line of grounds, whereas the Baratza shows consistency throughout. ... It's all about consistency with grind, and while the Hario will suit the new christmas coffee people, understand what you get for your price range and what you need as a consumer :)
I bought the Commandante C40 after using a Skerton for several years. The grind is better (more consistent), the grinder feels better, my coffee is better. ... However, my favorite part of the upgrade was how easy it is to recreate a grind. With the Skerton, there were no marks to help gauge grind size. There are tricks to make it easier, but I never felt like I could get back exactly to a previous grind size.
This is exactly why I'm often hesitant to recommend the Skerton directly, especially for users who're after coarser grinds like for FP or some pourover methods. The Skerton performs much better and with much more consistency at finer grind settings and seems to really drop the ball as you need to go coarse. It is a good, cheap, grinder within a relatively narrow window of performance needs and price point.
I will second the c2, my skerton broke and I was almost going to replace it like for like but decided to splurge a bit. I can grind 23g in roughly 25-30 seconds and it’s so easy and smooth. The grind is very consistent and it’s easy to clean and get back to the exact grind setting.
The wobble is why I abandoned my Skerton, but with this it might become usable again - nice.
I have both the Skerton Pro and the Timemore Slim (not C). ... Due to the Skerton's dull burrs, it is SO much slower than the other two. Also it produces much more fines.
I had the original Skerton, it was trash, don't waste your money on it.
While it's a fair (and I think, true) complaint to say the skerton doesn't give you the control and granularity you want, I think a better way to compare consistency would be to make sure both grinds have the same max grind size.
Orphan Espresso sells a $15 lower bearing kit to correct the design flaw and prevent the wobble.
Porlex is similar quality to the hario and both should be avoided, especially with a budget like this where actual quality grinder like the timemore slim can be bought.
The Skerton works better the finer you grind. I actually had great luck using it for espresso, but those 250 turns for 20g of espresso was a workout, dammit!
The Skerton's burrs are a hard no at this point, I just can't be grinding for that long when I wake up.
Even with the video it was a nightmare. Personally I do not have the patience to mess around realigning the burr set.
i had a skerton and now have a kinu. the difference is *night and day*. darker roasts grind effortlessly (it feels like you're just gently moving the handle), lighter roasts give a little resistance but it's still quite easy. the only times you feel fatigue are if you have to grind a very large batch at once (40g+), and even then the fatigue is probably a tenth of what you'd get grinding just a normal amount on a skerton.
Coffee forum threads **describe the Skerton N as inconsistent once users move past fine-to-medium settings**, with grind uniformity reportedly dropping off for coarser methods like French press or some pourovers. Multiple posters report needing extra dialing-in and noticeable hand effort to reach a usable grind, and cleaning is described as difficult once coffee oils set into the ceramic burr. A handful of threads also flag axle wobble as a recurring mechanical gripe, with one user citing it as the reason they stopped using the grinder. Its simple screw-together build and tight-sealing container are called out as advantages over some electric competitors it's been compared against. **This reads as a budget hand grinder best suited to finer, single-cup brewing rather than an all-purpose mill**, and buyers who need fast grinding or consistent coarse output may be better served by a pricier electric or hand burr set.