Vic Firth Salt Mill No. 2

Vic Firth, timpanist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, first began woodturning by making his own set of drumsticks 40 years ago. One thing led to another, and pretty soon he was designing salt and pepper mills, combining his passion for the culinary arts and his expertise in woodturning.   

With a stainless steel grinding mechanism, the pepper is first crushed to release it’s aromatic oils and then ground to the consistency of either a rough crackle or a delicate dust. You simply tighten or loosen the metal nut on the wooden top for a fine or coarse grind. The salt mill follows the same principle except the grinding mechanism is made of nylon to prevent corrosion.  

They’re made of 95% Forest Stewardship Council-approved American wood. (Firth uses the scrap wood, sawdust and extra bits to heat his factory in Newport, Maine.) The mills come in either a dark cherry or light maple. At only 4” high, these little mills are easily tossed into a picnic basket taking up barely any room at all. 

Be sure to pour the whole, fresh peppercorns in the metal mill and the rock salt (also called gros sel if shopping for French sea salt) into the nylon mill. Best to use a funnel or be careful to not spill pepper and salt everywhere.

Loosen the crown nut on the top of your mill for a brassy, sassy coarse grind or tighten it for a finer, more nuanced grind.

Clean your mill once every so often by popping out the grinding mechanism, which is incredibly easy. Just unscrew the steel nut and take off the wooden top, then turn it upside down and slide out the screwing mechanism. Wipe with a moistened paper towel or cloth. Vic Firth mills are guaranteed for life. 

The mills are hand made in Newport, Maine from either cherry or maple wood. 90–95% of the wood used is approved and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Sawdust and scrap wood is used to heat the facilities during the cold, winter months in Maine.

The pepper mills are fitted with a patented stainless steel mechanism that pops out easily for cleaning. Salt, on the other hand, rusts steel so Firth first considered using a ceramic grinder. Of course, ceramic being white and brittle, if it were ever to break it could look a whole lot like salt, and mistaking ceramic shards for salt sounds unpleasant indeed. Firth now uses a nylon mechanism in his salt mills, which will neither rust nor crack. 

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