yakster wrote:Be careful, for some it seems a vintage hand grinder or espresso machine for that matter is like a potato chip snack, you can't stop with just one.
Ohhh...this is way too little...way too late!

Hello, my name's Rio...and I'm a Millaholic. I'm addicted to coffee mills. How I came to this sad ruin is a tale of woe and degradation that led, one small step at a time, down the primrose path to infamy, dishonor, and...ACME...the Association of Coffee Mill Enthusiasts
http://www.antiquecoffeegrinders.net/. And it all seemed so easy. An email here, a bid on eBay there, and before I knew it I was enmeshed in a downward spiral of unending shame and debauchery collecting coffee mills. But I digress...
I use several different mills for different purposes.
The double wheel Enterprise and the PeDe on the wall are what I use to grind my morning brew...and the wood Zassenhaus is what I use for espresso. The Enterprise uses plates to grind, and the PeDe has conical burrs...as does the Zass. The problem with the Enterprise and the PeDe is that neither one of them makes a consistent, uniform grind. They are good enough for regular coffee, but not for espresso.
For regular coffee I brew in an Aeropress and the puck shows the stratification of the grind with bigger chunks on top and the finer particles starting about half way down the puck. Not good for espresso. So I use the Zassenhaus for espresso because the grind is uniform and I can get it as fine as powder for Turkish coffee when I want...as well as for espresso. I also have an all brass, portable Zass that I use on the road that works really well.
Sooo...I guess what it comes down to when considering a hand coffee mill is what you want to use it for and what aesthetic requirements you have. I like the aesthetics of the Enterprise and the PeDe so I put up with their inconsistent grind. The Zass is OK aesthetically, but mostly I have it for the great grinding job it does...