I bought this because I had several boxes of very coarse salt to grind up to use. I needed something that would pulverize the salt into powder for a brining recipe I was making. I used a mortar and a pesil for this in the past but I felt like I lost so much salt in the process .. and it was very messy.This produce works as advertized. I put the salt into the top, screwed it back on and was able to pulverize a lot of salt within a few minutes. And that was because I had to empty out the bottle at the bottom so many times. (I wish it was bigger)And it does it pretty quick. To be honest, by the time I had the top screwed back on, a good portion of the salt had already been pulverized. The presser is just heavy enough that any force will send whatever you are trying to pulverize thru the screen inside. Then a few twists of the crank and I was done.To combat some of the salt collecting on the sides and not being pulverized.. I just held the grinder on the side and tapped it against the table to get stuff moved around. Then a few more cranks and it was done. There really wasn't much left that didn't get pulverized. I used a small paint brush (like a child's) to brush it to the center to get the rest of it pulverized.And my only big complaint is that it is top heavy and cannot stand upright on its own. So once I put the salt in, I had to crank it right away, then empty the jar at the bottom. Not too good if you aren't prepared.Two things to note tho1. Remember which part screws in where. The funnel part should be screwed in on the side that has less clearance where the threadding is than the other part. Or just pay attention when you take it apart, unlike I did the first time and got a bit concerned I was going to lose my salt that I had already put in there.fwiw this also may be why some experience metal flakes inside, too much pressure pressing the press against the metal screen.. it is aluminum tho.. soft metal. So it could happen. Just don't apply TOO much pressure and make sure the funnel end is screwed into the right spot. It'll do just fine.2. I'll also echo the review that said to wash it out first. It does have an oily coating to it when I first took it out of the box. (this is for the gears). So water and a little dish soap took care of that. I'll also add that I'd dry it all with paper towels.. then let air dry for at least a day. Why? Water seemed to get inside the gear mechanism and came out during my initial tests with table salt. Not nice to have clumped up salt all on the sides that had gotten wet. So let dry first for a day or two!And finally, the device came with two additional bottles, a larger metal storage container,a cute little funnel, and two funny looking spoons that I didn't have a use for nor really could figure out what they are for. It also came in a nice box that I'm keeping to storage it in when it's nice in use.Overall, decent device. Helped making grinding alot of kosher salt alot easier, a lot less messy, and a lot less waste.