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A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

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wnissen

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A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by wnissen » Mon Nov 23, 2020 4:45 pm

I bought a Unicorn Magnum pepper mill on the recommendation of this board many years ago, and have never regretted it. Turns "two tablespoons ground pepper" from a chore to an afterthought. As I recall the only negatives people reported were the table-unfriendly monolith appearance and the inability to handle the boldest of Penzey's extra bold corns. (Jenise, that ring a bell?)

I saw on Kickstarter that someone is attempting to take on the Unicorn, in an even more masculine, almost military, anodized aluminum: Männkitchen (shouldn't it be Männküche?). $149 on pre-order, but if you scroll down they have a graph that claims to compare several mills, and that the Männkitchen outperforms the Unicorn by a factor of almost 3x, on the coarsest setting. The graph shows that Unicorn outperforms by a factor of 4x a Peugot meant for use at table. The bottom cup design is a nice touch, I do have pepper all over my spice cabinet. I don't think I need a new mill, but for gadget fiends and mechanical engineers this might make a good gift.
Walter Nissen
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Jeff Grossman

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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Jeff Grossman » Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:37 pm

I'd rather spend $150 on wine. Grinding pepper isn't such a chore that it needs to be massively "improved".
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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Jenise » Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:10 am

wnissen wrote:I bought a Unicorn Magnum pepper mill on the recommendation of this board many years ago, and have never regretted it. Turns "two tablespoons ground pepper" from a chore to an afterthought. As I recall the only negatives people reported were the table-unfriendly monolith appearance and the inability to handle the boldest of Penzey's extra bold corns. (Jenise, that ring a bell?)

I saw on Kickstarter that someone is attempting to take on the Unicorn, in an even more masculine, almost military, anodized aluminum: Männkitchen (shouldn't it be Männküche?). $149 on pre-order, but if you scroll down they have a graph that claims to compare several mills, and that the Männkitchen outperforms the Unicorn by a factor of almost 3x, on the coarsest setting. The graph shows that Unicorn outperforms by a factor of 4x a Peugot meant for use at table. The bottom cup design is a nice touch, I do have pepper all over my spice cabinet. I don't think I need a new mill, but for gadget fiends and mechanical engineers this might make a good gift.


Several thoughts: love the look of it but first thought was that I'd be at risk of mistakenly grabbing my kitchen Alexa (forever on the elevated pass counter above my prep station) and trying to grind pepper out of her. (JK, but there is a similarity.)

As the unhappy owner of a Peugeot of similar size to the Mann, meaning I know a closer comparison exists, with no intention of defending a Peugeot product I'm nonetheless flummoxed that for comparison they chose that dinky model. They didn't have to resort to that to look good by comparison.

I keep my Peugeot on my prep station and my old Pfefferneuse or whatever it was called that I bought from Penzey's at the stove. Reason for both is that the Pfefferneuse is by far the most prodigious and the Peugeot is mostly used to top salads. However, the Pfefferneuse (and this is the larger of the two models they sold) hardly holds any peppercorns so I refill it weekly. The Peugeot holds a lot but it's so slow, so what. Both sit in small ramekins to catch the peppercorn detritis, so I would really appreciate the bottom cap.

About this Mann one, I love the comments that describe how it's built to hold the grind size. That's a constant problem with my Peugeot.

I'm blown away by the fact that this guy was seeking $10K and sold a million dollars' worth so far. If I could get one delivered tomorrow, I might be a buyer.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Barb Downunder » Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:02 am

Will stick with my Magnum, hard to beat for quick fill, great adjustable grind, base cup. Had it 25 years or more still in excellent order. Recently purchased Unicorn table s and p grinders which function well and are kinda funky. So the Magnnum can live in the kitchen.
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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Jenise » Sun Nov 29, 2020 4:21 pm

Just used my Peugeot to sprinkle pepper atop two lamb shanks on their way into the oven. Took ten grinds to get enough--and that was just on top, not all sides. I'm SO tired of that.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Jeff Grossman » Sun Nov 29, 2020 5:09 pm

Due to the Tellicherry Extra Bold, my grinder is hit or miss: when it misses, I get almost nothing (and probably that is just dust), but then I shake it once or twice, the peppercorns rearrange themselves into the gears, and then I get plenty.
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Re: A $$$ successor to the renowned Unicorn Magnum?

by Jenise » Sun Nov 29, 2020 5:17 pm

You're more persistent than I. I totally gave up on the extra bold.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

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