Dry Sift Hash is one of the simplest forms of hash to create. It requires minimal equipment and processing input, yet it has the potential to stand beside Bubble Hash as a quality solventless source material for rosin. But just because making Dry Sift Hash is simple, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy. Especially if superior quality is your aim.

Sifting dried and cured cannabis material allows us to separate and isolate trichome heads from their stalks, thereby capturing the highest-potency aspects of the cannabis plant. Dry sifting is a purely mechanical process, using your two hands and a set of specialty screens designed for the purpose. No solvents are used for extraction. It’s simpler than bubble hash, as it doesn’t require the washing and drying process, or supplies like a sprayer, multiple work buckets, ice, etc.  

The objective of sifting, or sieving as it’s also called, is to knock the trichome heads free of the stalks upon which they grow and mature. As the trichome heads are liberated from their stalks, they become small enough to pass through the tiny holes in the sifting screens. While the plant material remains above the screen, trichomes rain down through the screen where they can be easily collected. Dry sift hash is the original solventless cannabis concentrate. The high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes make dry sift hash a premium source material to use for pressing rosin. 

By itself, the highest quality dry sift hash is able to melt or vaporize completely, which is an indication of it’s purity and potency. It’s possible to achieve a full-melt hash using dry sifting techniques, without the additional equipment, time, and labor to wash Bubble Hash. 

History of Dry Sift

Hand-rubbed hash is the first known form of hashish, and sieving came later. Hand-rubbed hash is the simplest hash and involves collecting sticky trichomes directly from the hands after handling trichome-rich cannabis. In Morocco this type of hash is referred to as Gomma, the most ancient form of hash known. In India it’s referred to as Rubbed Charas. 

While hand-rubbing hash was almost certainly practiced as early as the Neolithic Era (end of the Stone Age!), sieving cannabis is a relatively new method of creating hash, coming onto the scene just in the last 70-80 years. This modern innovation of isolating and collecting cannabis resin is less labor intensive, offers higher yield, greater potential potency, better purity, and a longer shelf life than its hand-rubbed comparison. It’s clear that innovations of the late 20th century around dry sifting cannabis were a significant step in the evolution of solventless cannabis concentrates. 

The first methods of creating Dry Sift Hash involved collecting trichomes directly from the floor. Harvested and dried cannabis plants were deliberately handled over a clean carpet and then carefully collected. This was known as “carpet collection” and was common even into the 1960’s. 

From simple carpet collection came the method of dry sifting with screens that we use today. Solventless cannabis concentrates and their methods of extraction have always evolved with new technology and greater understanding of the cannabis plant. Today, the innovation is as exciting and transformative as it ever has been. 

Like washing bubble hash, there are many variations in the process that can lead to a premium product. A single, specific formula for creating full melt hash doesn’t exist. Most extractors have their own techniques that work well for their specific setup and desired results. Stick to the basic principles and remember that solventless extraction is as much art as it is science. 

When making Dry Sift Hash, remember to move slowly and deliberately, and maintain a flow and rhythm in your process. It’s not a race. Just stay dedicated and don’t rush, and your intention will shine through in the hash.

How To Make Dry Sift Hash

Here's the basic summary of Dry Sift Hash production:

Cannabis is harvested, hung and thoroughly air-dried, threshed (lightly broken apart), sieved, carded, and then cleared of contaminants using a variation of Static Tech called Paint Roller Tech before collection.   

Step-by-step, let's walk through the process. 

Step 1: Place your plastic cards and dabber tool in the refrigerator. They need to be fully chilled before coming into contact with the hash. Turn down the AC in the room as low as possible. The colder the better. If you can sift outside on a cold day, even better.

Step 2: Prepare your setup for the Paint Roller Tech by wrapping a sheet of The Press Club Parchment Paper, silicone-side out, around a paint roller, using a couple small pieces of tape to hold the paper taut around the perimeter of the paint roller. 

Step 3: Stack your sifting screens on a tabletop or countertop at a comfortable height to operate. The order of screens should go from largest filter pores on the top, to smaller filter pores on the very bottom. In the screen set we’re using in this example, that would mean 51 on the top and 355 at the bottom.

Step 4: Once your screens are set, put on the rubber gloves and plan to keep them on for the duration. Dump an ounce or so of dried cannabis material onto the top screen. Pick up a handful of material and gently rub it between your open palms, letting it fall back to the screen as you massage the material in a circular motion. As the material falls from your hands onto the screen, it should be very well broken down, almost powdery.  

Tease the pile of material back and forth with both hands over the screen. The movement and rhythm is similar to waxing a car, but with a much lighter and more delicate touch. Palms open, invigorating the pile of material back and forth over the surface of the screen. After 100 or so touches around the screen, the trichomes should be mostly removed from the material. Overly processing the material with your hands on the top screen causes more contaminants to fall through (unwanted plant material) and ultimately end up in your hash. 

Step 5: Remove the top screen from the stack. Notice the nice layer of kief that’s collected on the screen below. This is our 86 sift screen, which gathers a lower grade of dry sift that can benefit from additional clean up. To continue refining, we use the Carding Technique to sieving the hash through to the next screen. 

Very light pressure helps ease the trichomes through the pores of the 86 sift screen. The cold temperature of the card keeps the material in a condition that’s easy to work with. As resin and contaminants collect along the edges of the card, take a moment to wipe the card clean. Swap alternate cards from the refrigerator as needed so you’re constantly working with a cold card. 

Step 6: Continue sweeping the sift back and forth over the screen, ending the routine with a few light taps against the surface of the screen. These taps help to coax all remaining material through the pores of the screen. Then lift the 86 screen, exposing the 230 beneath.

You’ll notice this layer of trichomes is lighter than what was carded on the 86 screen, signifying a loss of plant material and contaminants. The material here on the 230 screen is prime for collection, after having been sieved through two screens. 

While the hash that’s here on the 230 screen looks fit for rosin production, and even smokable as it is, it’s still dirty. That greenish tint is a sign of significant plant contaminants still present. The problem is that we’ve already sieved the trichome heads to a considerable extent, because using smaller filter pores will let a lesser and lesser amount of the mature heads to pass through. 

Step 7: At this point, many extractors continue with another set of sifting. Depending on the specific sifting screen set you’re using, you may have additional screens that harvest trichomes within your desired range. 

The contaminants present on this screen are very close to the same size as full trichome heads, so we need to find another way besides the act of sifting in order to separate these contaminants.

One popular approach to giving Dry Sift Hash its final cleaning is a method known as Paint Roller Tech. It’s the last bit of quality control we’ll employ before collecting the Dry Sift for use. 

Paint Roller Tech

Step #8: Paint Roller Tech is an iteration of the original Static Tech, in which parchment paper and the force of static electricity help separate the last bit of plant particles from the mature trichome heads. 

The trick of Paint Roller Tech is to maintain the same leading edge along the paint roller with each pass across the screen. The leading edge will collect the contaminants, while the trailing edge contains the trichomes. We don’t want to switch and use the contaminated edge to collect the clean resin. 

Both the pressure used and the speed at which you’re dragging the paint roller across the screen are significant variables to consider. Gentle, steady movements are best. Experience is the best teacher and after a couple runs you’ll easily start to develop a feel for it. 

Here’s How To Clean Your Sift with Paint Roller Tech: 

Card the hash across the screen gently several times to create static buildup. Then, gather the sift into a pile closer to one end of the screen. Separate a small section of the pile to begin cleaning. 

Then, similar to the movement you used for carding the sift, use the parchment-wrapped paint roller to spread the small pile thinly over the screen. While maintaining the original leading edge, pivot directions and continue spreading the sift across the screen. Each time you move the pile of sift in a new direction across the screen, reorient the paint roller so that the leading edge still faces forward. Make several passes across the screen, making sure to keep the same leading edge throughout. 

At the leading edge plant particulates are stuck to the parchment, while resin gland heads slip underneath only to become stuck to the parchment paper on the other side. Along the trailing edge you’ll see a nice line of trichomes ready to be collected. 

Collecting The Final Product

Step #9: Now we’re ready to collect the Dry Sift that’s collected along the length of the paint roller, behind the front line of the plant contaminate. First, we’ll remove the contaminate from the paint roller. Begin by using one of your cards to remove the contaminate, scraping along the length of the paint roller in one smooth motion. Extractors often discard this material, although it does contain lesser amounts of resin glands and their cannabinoids.  

Step #10: It’s time to collect the cleaned Dry Sift along the other edge of the paint roller. Using the same technique with a clean, cold dabber tool, scrape off the hash from the paint roller onto a 5x5in square of parchment paper. If your process was correct, this pile of hash will contain a very high amount of full mature trichome heads, and a low percentage of trichome stalks and plant contaminate. This is what we’re keeping! 

After having been sieved through the first screen, carded over the second screen, and finally cleaned up using Paint Roller Tech, this Dry Sift Hash collected from the paint roller should be composed almost exclusively of mature resin glands. 

Finally, let’s not forget about the fourth screen in our set, the 355 LPI screen at the very bottom. This screen catches particles even smaller than whole, in-tact trichome heads. So what we see here that’s fallen all the way through the series of screens contains lots of tiny contaminants even smaller than trichome heads, but without the trichome heads. Those heads were caught by the larger screen above. While there’s still some medicinal value on this screen, don’t lose sleep over throwing it out. 

Storage

Step #11: From the 5x5 parchment where you’ve been collecting the cleaned sift, move the hash into small glass jars using a plastic funnel. Use your dabber tool to tap the funnel several times after dumping the sift through, in order to knock any trichomes free that might have stuck to the inside surface of the funnel.

Store the Dry Sift Hash in sealed glass jars in a cool, dark, and dry space. Dry Sift that’s destined for rosin production is ready to go immediately after it’s been collected. 

Now you’ve completed the Dry Sift Hash extraction process! Take a moment to admire your work. Whether you’ve ended up with full melt or food grade, you’ve got a starting material for rosin that’s purer and more potent than whole cannabis flowers.