What is the fastest and best way to trim marijuana?

Why trim your cannabis buds?
Trimming cannabis serves several main purposes. Aesthetically speaking, cannabis looks better when well manicured. Cannabis that has been trimmed takes on a tighter, more uniform appearance, much like you would find on a menu at your local dispensary or in the photographs that line your favorite cannabis publications. Excess foliage is an eyesore and evening the buds often results in a final product that is far more visually pleasing.
Additionally, sugar leaves tend to contain a lesser concentration of trichomes. Removing these protruding leaves will expose parts of the nugs much richer in trichome concentration. Larger leaves protruding from the buds also tend to provide a harsher smoke, as the foliage is thicker and harder to wick away moisture. During the curing process, trimmed buds tend to leave a more uniform moisture content, proving a much more even and flavorful smoking experience.

The Necessities You Will Need for Trimming

Here is a brief list of tools and supplies to kickoff your trimming process:
Scissors/Pruning shears for trimming—Should be clean, sharp, and comfortable. You may want to have multiple pairs of small and large scissors for varying purposes, as well as to sustain heavy usage.
An easily cleaned tray and trimming space—Trays provide ease of mobility as you go about the trimming process. We also recommend buying a tray with a kief collecting compartment to preserve all parts of your cannabis. Cleaning supplies such as rubbing alcohol are essential to avoid resin buildup, and to preserve the quality of the end-product.
Silk apron and gloves—Silk aprons will help keep your clothes free of resin. In like manner, gloves will keep your hands clean and will help you sustain tedious trimming sessions.
Keep it fun—As we’ve previously said, you should try to keep yourself focused and satisfied when trimming. Thus, we recommend bumping some of your favorite tunes and songs. If you feel the need to be entertained or interested in a different way, we recommend listening to stand up comedy or podcasts, so long as you are utilizing anything that does not require your visual attention.
Bud Drying Racks- Screen racks can dry a lot of buds quick and do it in a compact area. You could trim your buds and put them in here from day 1 harvest, although the buds will lose their shape and flatten out a bit. If you hang the buds for a few days first, and then put them into the drying rack, you can keep that round bud shape.
Best way to trim marijuana
Dry Trim
Pros: slows down the drying process, excess leaves protect the nuggets if cured before trimmed, quicker initial harvest, bud has shrunken to its final form, and the natural bacteria on the surface of the plant can break down the plants chlorophyll and provide a smoother smoking experience.
Cons: Two-stage trimming process, can slow down the trimming process, more trichome damage, more humidity in the drying room.
The process of dry trimming beings the same — with your large shears, break down the plant into manageable branches and place into a large container. Since you'll be drying these buds on the stalk, how you cut your branches is important. You want to strategically cut the branch to create a hook on the end
Once you're back at your workstation with a container full of freshly chopped buds, it's time to remove all of the fan leaves. Fan leaves are the large, obvious ones with no visible trichomes. There aren't too many uses for these leaves but they are a great addition to compost piles, a nutritious alternative for livestock feed, or a potent superfood supplement for yourself.
After removing all of the excess fan leaves, it's time to hang these babies to dry. Your drying space is incredibly important as poor conditions can result in mold outbreaks — while it's uncommon, if you overfill a closet with wet buds you might attract some mold or mildew. Don't get me wrong, a closet works fine as a drying room but you don't want to stuff it too full. And you can't forget about putting a dehumidifier or two in there. A successful drying room can be built anywhere, really, as long as it is dark, cold, has some air movement, and is not too humid. Check out our Harvest Time Grow Guide to see how to build the ideal drying room.
And that's it for your first tier of harvesting! In about 5-7 days, your buds should be nearing optimum dryness. You can check to see if they are ready by bending the stalk — once it snaps, then you're ready to go. Since you can only trim so fast, I've found it's best to bin everything up at this point so that the rest of your harvest doesn't dry out too much while you're working on the finishing touches. This way, you can slowly work your way through trimming all of your flowers without feeling rushed.
Once your flowers are dry, it's time to complete the job with a close manicure. You'll notice that the leaves you left on have now dried to create a shell around the bud — your job in this step is to sculpt the bud into its final, glorious product. Since the trichomes are very fragile at this point, it's important to be gentle with your scissors. Using your sharp, clean pruning scissors, remove the exterior leaves to reveal the glistening flower underneath. If you work in a trim bin or over a baking sheet, you can collect this frosty trim to make edibles or hash!
Once you've manicured your buds to perfection, seal them up in a glass jar, turkey bag or another airtight container to begin the curing process. If you'd like to read more about curing, check out our How-To on curing cannabis properly.
How to Trim Cannabis Buds
Hand vs. Machine Trimming Cannabis
Machine trimming cannabis ticks a lot of ‘convenience’ boxes and is a reasonable tactic for commercial growers. When you use these devices, the flower tends to look virtually identical from strain to strain. As a result, you end up with an aesthetically pleasing bud, but machine trimming is not the best option for flavor or potency. Unfortunately, the machines used today shave off too much bud material which includes trichomes, the crystalline structures that cover the buds and are responsible for the scent and aroma of weed.
It is a fact that every marijuana plant produces buds that are different in structure, shape, and size. Trimming machines are unaware of these differences and are unable to spot the buds crystallized in resin. Worst of all, you can’t adjust the machine to handle different shapes, which means you are guaranteed to lose trichomes and potency. When you add in the cost of hiring or purchasing machines, along with the well-known maintenance issues, you have a trimming method best avoided.
If you are a small-scale grower, you can trim the buds yourself. Obviously, commercial growers must hire skilled employees to trim the buds by hand. Just to be clear, you can’t walk in off the street and automatically trim cannabis like an expert. There is a level of focus, training, and experience required to ensure the cannabis is properly handled and processed. For instance, there is a skill in learning how to hold the bud to ensure that the shape isn’t compromised, nor is the crystallized resin shaken off.
Remember, different strains have THC-filled resin in different parts of the plant, and there are also varying densities of trichomes in certain places. On the plus side, the growth of legalization within American states means there are more skilled trimmers available than ever before. If you’re an established operation, you can create your own standards without the aid of machinery. In summation, hand trimming is vastly superior to its machine equivalent.