How to make your time in trim jail more pleasant

Trim Jail – How to make your time in trim jail a more pleasant one

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS REFERENCING HAND TRIMMING ONLY – LOOK OUT FOR FUTURE POSTS REGARDING COMMERCIAL STYLE MOTORISED TRIMMERS.

There's a reason they call it trim jail. Once you find yourself in that room trimming your flowers, you usually need to serve a long painstaking sentence. But there are a few ways that you can improve your time inside without compromising on the quality of your flower.

Hattori Hanso Steel

Japanese steel is known to be the epitome of high quality blades across multiple industries. Whether it be a chef wielding their Gyuto forged from Damascus steel, or Kill Bill’s Hattori Hanzo, a fictional character based on a real life samurai from the Japanese Sengoku era. They both have one thing in common, Japanese steel.

When it comes to the tools of the trim trade, Hydro HQ only stocks the best in the business, and of course the best can only be made with high grade Japanese steel.

Chikamasa have been producing high quality flower scissors since 1910 in Sakai City. They provide a variety of options in the space, but in our industry there are a select few that have been seen to meet our customers needs most.

B-500 Line

Available in both straight blade (B-500SF) & angled blade (B-500SLF), with its distinct design, feather light touch, comfortable elastomer handle and it's high quality stainless steel and fluorine coated blades, the B500 series will make light work of your many hours in trim jail.

CRI-360SFBK (Florist Edition)

A more specialised product, this scissor boasts a slightly larger form than the B500 line, and some additional features for those serious about their trimming.

In addition to the high quality materials that Chikamasa is known for, this product includes a section of blade specifically for cutting wire, and a blade cover offering additional protection in storage

LP-450 (Lopper)

The LP-450 Lopper, is a must have for any garden. boasting high-quality carbon steel with a high quality fluorine coating, this lopper will handle those bigger jobs in your garden.

WET Trimming Vs. DRY Trimming

Apart from the equipment you use, the process and time that you trim your flower can make a drastic impact to how hard or easy your time is in trim jail. Depending on when you decide to trim, your final product will be affected in different ways.

What is the difference?

Wet Trimming refers to the process of trimming your flower immediately after, or soon after it has been harvested. The term wet is used simply to point out that the flower has yet to be allowed to dry. To perform a dry trim is to wait for the flower to be at a point in the drying process at which it can then be transitioned to curing.

Generally speaking, the process of wet trimming is known to be the easiest way to trim your harvest due to the plant being crisp and fresh with the leaves still large and accessible. When the flower has been dried adequately, the leaves shrivel up and attach themselves to your flower, making the process of trimming a lot more work.

Since the leaves retain moisture, drying with the leaves attached can make the drying process take longer, this is generally considered the better way to dry your flower as it produces a better quality product. In this case, you would be performing dry trim, and for the purpose of ensuring to retain the quality of your flower this is the most effective way to trim.

It is important to keep cool temperatures and low humidity throughout the drying process.

One way to perform a Dry Trim:

  1. Using the Chikamasa LP-450, cut the entire plant at the base.
  2. Depending on the size and density of the plant, you can hang it in parts, with the aim being to avoid too much of the flower on separate branches from touching, as this will improve drying and reduce the chance of attracting mould. For breaking down branches efficiently, the CRI-360SFBK has a serrated section of blade to cut through thicker branches.
  3. To determine whether your product is ready for it’s final trim and subsequent curing, you will want to snap a stem. If the stem snaps, rather than bending, it is ready to cure. Now you can start trimming away and breaking down your plant for storage and curing.
  4. Use the CRI-360SFBK scissors to break down the stems and trim your product down and alternatively switch to the Orange B-500 scissors for a lighter touch.