I've had more expensive pepper mills, but my favorite it this one. It is not expensive, but does go through batteries every couple of months!

Here is a link that might be useful: Battery operated pepper mill

This is the one that I have, except that mine was sold as a Turkish coffee grinder for less than half the price of this one. I guess the cost of brass has gone up - I've had it for more than 15 years now, but the good thing is that it is extremely durable! I prefer pepper grinders that have handles similar to the Turkish coffee grinder.

Lars

I went thru a lot of pepper mills before finding this one. I've had it for four or five years and it still works great. The only complaint I have is that the pepper loading hole can easily get rotated into the open position when you're using it. Solved that problem by wrapping electrical tape around it. I go thru a lot of pepper so I should have gotten the 'Magnum Plus' size. (You can grind a lot of pepper in short work with it.)

Anyway, I've had so many just about worthless mills that I don't mind the electrical tape. I didn't want to part with it long enough to send it back to the company for a replacement.
'

Here is a link that might be useful: Unicorn Pepper Mills

Could be coincidence, but over the years the two that I've found to have the most consistent grind - and are the two that have outlasted the rest - both have ceramic, um, "grinders"?

Mine happen to be WMF, but I've seen the same "crushgrind" name on the mechanisms of other brands.

I have a Unicorn also and I love it. Definitely one of the best modestly priced ones out there.

Alexa

I have the Magnum shown above. It's a very good peppermill and seems like it will last decades. However, to me, it's not attractive enough for the table and I use it exclusively in the kitchen. I only refill it every 4-6 months and it holds a lot of peppercorns. It's worth the money, as I have told dh several times. But I paid around forty for it at the time of purchase several years ago.

I have one like Lars'. Don't worry about cheap if you get something that you love to use and to handle and hold and look at every single day.

Thanks for the tips, folks! I love the looks of the brass ones, but the Unicorn might be more practical for me...

I'll try to check them out in person locally - thx again!

I have a small one that is part of a Verity Southall pewter over turned wood s&p set purchased 30 years ago. Sadly it doesn't hold much but works very well and is obviously durable. I really like the look of Lars' brass one.

If I need a lot of pepper for a recipe I often use my large mortar and pestle. A few pepper corns do go flying across the room, though.

I have a different kind of grinder for every kind of pepper we have collected. My favorite is one like this (no idea what brand name)that I bought for $20 about 30 years ago. I like really coarse/cracked pepper and this one stays set to coarse. DH likes his pepper finer and his favorite is a dollar store herb grinder that originally held tarragon. The thing has been refilled a bunch and still grinds beautifully. Go figure.

Here is a link that might be useful: pepper mill

I love that brass one. I would rather have that than the magnum I have.

Sometime before I got the Magnum, I had a brass coffee grinder/ peppermill very similar to the one in Lars second link. It was an OK grinder. Except that I could never get it adjusted to a grind that I liked. It was either too coarse or too fine. The other things I didn't like about it was that it was top heavy & tipped over easily and I didn't like having to fiddle w/ loosening it from the base/ grinder catcher every time I wanted some pepper. Ultimately, it got knocked over one too many times, hit the floor & the cast brass grinding lever broke.

So, FWIW from someone who has owned both, I much prefer the Magnum.

So, FWIW from someone who has owned both, I much prefer the Magnum.

...which happens to have a ceramic grinding mechanism ;-)

Just an observation...

I've had many pepper grinders over the years and none have been better than the Magnum Plus.

I've had mine for at least 7 years. Maybe eight. Ever since Jessica introduce me to the Unicorn peppermill. Matthew is as much of a pepper fan as his mother, so I bought him one last year for his birthday.

If you are going to buy one, go with the Magnum Plus. Like many things, big is better. Unlike bumblebeez though, I have to fill mine up more often than every four months.

It might not be the prettiest of pepper grinders, but it performs so well, that I have no problem letting it grace my table.

Ann

Yup Magnum all the way (snicker)

We first heard about it in Cook's Illustrated and DH went into immediate lust. I bought one for his Bday, and the card read 'Just for you, I got something long, black and hard, that will spice up your life'.

We still use it, my only gripe is it creates a lot of dust so I keep in nestled in a plastic lid from something like a Pringles container (what, me eat a container of Pringles? NEVER, I say...whistling....)

For inexpensive, I love love love the Trader Joe grinders. Refillable. Can't beat 'em for $2.00.

Well I have one of the Greek coffee grinder brass things...made by Atlas. It has a wide base and no thing that it fits in. It easily adjusts for fineness of grind, has steel grinder thingies, holds a boat load of pepper, I've had it for years and years....easily 10 years.....and I love it!
My son the foodie loves it and a year or so ago I bought him one. I paid about $40 for mine....his was $60...smaller, lacquered brass and the grinder isn't easily adjustable. He likes it fine but still likes mine better. Maybe I need to look into a Magnum for him.....
Linda C

...which happens to have a ceramic grinding mechanism ;-)

FOAS, do you mean the Magnum has a ceramic grinder?

Only the Magnum salt grinders are ceramic. The pepper mills are steel. Not that it really matters much what they're made of just so long as they work well and are durable!

Yes, ci_lantro, that's what I meant. I see I was wrong. I didn't realize that the first picture that popped up on your link was a salt grinder. Oh well, there goes my theory!

A friend had this and gave it to me. Looks like Lars'. I don't think it was that inexpensive, but considering the mill is over 40 years old, and should last another 40 years, it is not that expensive.

The folding handle makes it very easy to crank.

dcarch

Yes, the Turkish grinders do work well. There are many grinders that work great. When Matt first moved out to go to College I gave him my Turkish Grinder. And he still has a Peugeot pepper grinder that is probably at least 30 years old. But now that he has his own Unicorn, the Peugeot has been retired.

I have two purse size pepper grinders. One is the mini Unicorn and the other is made by Willam Bounds. That one is actually my favourite of the two. The Unicorn grind is adjusted by a small screw on the top. The William Bounds has a small adjustment wheel that adjusts the grind, fine, medium or coarse. I've had this one for over 13 years. Still works great.

Dcarch--that Frugal Gourmet mill is exactly like the mill I had, the one that got knocked off the counter & the cast crank handle broke. It's prolly still down in the basement on DH's workbench waiting (and waiting & waiting) to be repaired.

I also have Kuhn Rikon 'upright' grinders from Cathy. I use those for coriander, cardamom, etc. They generate a finer grind than I want for pepper so its nice that I have all the options.

Have had many grinders over the years but the one we like the best is our brass grinder like the one Lars has. For peppercorns I prefer hand cranked to electric grind. More control and consistent grind. We have had ours for well over ten years and counting. NancyLouise

I have two small William Bounds pepper grinders, both the same style, and the same style salt grinder; I have used all three for the past 30 years or more. They have acrylic containers and metal grinding gears and handles; easy to clean, easy to fill, still going strong, can adjust the grind for pepper and I plan to keep using them just as long as they last.

Also have a "coffee" grinder from Turkey brought back by a friend who visited there; used for spices.

Teresa

I have a set from Olde Thompson and truthfully, that's the best pepper mill I've ever owned. Well other than those McCormick disposable ones, those to me are the best. I'm not a gourmet chef or anything but for this ol' Bohunk, it's just fine and dandy!

Mine is also William Bounds, from Marshall's, it cost me less than $15 and I like it. I don't like the matching salt grinder as well, it also produces that powder that I get all over the counter.

elery has some really expensive and very pretty copper thing, he prefers the disposable McCormick grinders too!

Annie

I have one of the cheapest, yet best, mills you've ever seen. I learned about it on the Kitchens Forum I think. It's the Ikea "Spice Mill". It has the ceramic grinders (I have one Ikea mill for pepper and one for sea salt, and it is the only grinder I've owned where the sea salt hasn't ruined it). Did I say it was dirt cheap LOL? Plus it is glass so you can see how much you have left, it holds a whole lot, it cleans really easily, and the grind is adjustable from coarse to fine. But one of my favorite things about it is that it sits on the table or counter with the grinder part on top - that means no annoying pepper crumbs on the table.

P.S. I have a Unicorn mill too, and as others have said, it works really well. But I still reach for the Ikea Spice Mill first because the Unicorn grinder does leave pepper crumbs on the table, and also sometimes when I use the Unicorn, if I don't hold it just right, the filler-opening opens and peppercorns fly out. Plus, the Unicorn isn't very attractive. The Ikea one isn't gorgeous either, but can look pretty cute when filled with multi-colored peppercorns.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea 365+ Spice Mill

Another vote for the Unicorn Magnum. They generate lots of pepper with just a few twists.

When I have to grind a huge amount of pepper (say, for a big seafood boil) I use my cheapo blade-type coffee grinder. To clean up the coffee grinder, put a few crumbled saltines in the grinder and grind them; it absorbs 99% of the pepper oils so the next pot of coffee doesn't have a Tellicherry taste.