Which to buy · Every setting
Mahlkönig EK43 vs Timemore Sculptor 064
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. Both are numbered 0–16 — and the same number is not the same grind.
Which to buy
Choose the
EK43 if you…
- pull espresso too — Mahlkönig says it suits filter, espresso and Turkish
- grind in volume — about 19–21 g a second from a 1,200 g hopper
- grind straight into retail bags — it has a bag clamp
Choose the
Sculptor 064 if you…
- brew pour-over only — Timemore focuses the 064 Turbo burrs on it and sold the 064S for espresso
- want a stepped dial with 36 settings
- are buying used or old stock — Timemore no longer lists the 064
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Timemore no longer lists the Sculptor 064: its Sculptor page now offers only the 078 and 078S, with the 064S marked sold out. The settings on this page are for the 064.
Sources: Timemore — Sculptor series burrs · Timemore — Sculptor series · Mahlkönig — EK43 · Mahlkönig USA — EK43
| EK43 | Sculptor 064 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Mahlkönig | Timemore |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 0 – 16 | 0 – 16 |
| Burrs | Flat | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 7 numbers | 3.5 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 7 numbers | 12.5 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 8 sits at grind index 27.5 on the EK43 but 58 on the Sculptor 064 — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| EK43 | Sculptor 064 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 0 |
| 4.8 | 1.1 |
| 7.1 | 2.1 |
| 7.8 | 2.6 |
| 8.5 | 3.1 |
| 9.3 | 3.9 |
| 10.7 | 6 |
| 12.1 | 8.1 |
| 13.4 | 10.2 |
| 14.3 | 11.8 |
| 14.9 | 13.2 |
| 15.4 | 14.6 |
| 16 | 16 |
| Sculptor 064 | EK43 |
|---|---|
| 0 | 2 |
| 1.1 | 4.8 |
| 2.1 | 7.1 |
| 2.6 | 7.8 |
| 3.1 | 8.5 |
| 3.9 | 9.3 |
| 6 | 10.7 |
| 8.1 | 12.1 |
| 10.2 | 13.4 |
| 11.8 | 14.3 |
| 13.2 | 14.9 |
| 14.6 | 15.4 |
| 16 | 16 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | EK43 | Sculptor 064 |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 3.7 | 0.7 |
| Moka pot | 7 | 2 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 7.8 | 2.6 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 8.8 | 3.4 |
| Siphon | 9.3 | 4 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 9.8 | 4.8 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 10.3 | 5.5 |
| Drip / batch brew | 10.7 | 6 |
| Cupping | 11 | 6.5 |
| Chemex | 12 | 8 |
| French press | 14.1 | 11.3 |
| Cold brew | 15.2 | 14 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Mahlkönig EK43
Timemore Sculptor 064
Dialing in the EK43
The grinder that changed what filter coffee was supposed to taste like, and still the reference for high-clarity brewing. Its very large flat burrs produce an unusually narrow particle distribution, which is why coffee ground on an EK often tastes cleaner at the same nominal setting than it does elsewhere. Stepless, so treat the numbers as targets.
Dialing in the Sculptor 064
Timemore's move upmarket into electric flat-burr grinding, with a genuinely usable espresso range unlike their hand grinders. Single dose oriented, and noticeably more consistent through filter than the C-series it sits above.