Mincers (grinders) were great my mum had one that fixed on the side of the kitchen table and she used to put the meat left over from the Sunday joint through it and use that to make shepherd's pie.
In fact they have made a bit of a come back in the UK and our top kitchen supply company Lakeland sells them.
http://www.lakelandlimited.co.uk/product.aspx/!10118
Yes, exactly! My grinder fits on the side of a table (or the pull-out cutting board) too.
You can't get the same effect from any other appliance, I don't think. Mine has 3 different sized grates.