I bought a new pepper grinder about a year ago. Its primary appeal was
its "easy fill" character: the clear plastic top simply unscrews from
the grinder bottom, so there's a good size hole to dump new peppercorns
into.

Except that the second or third time I tried to fill it the damn' top
wouldn't unscrew! I've tried the rubber holder-onners, even tried
vise-grips (but they're too small to tighten down).

I've also tried soaking the (plastic) screw ring in hot water... no
help.

At this point I'm reduced to using pre-ground pepper, which EVERYONE
knows is not a good alternative.

Short of breaking the top off, I'm out of ideas as well as out of
pepper.

Scrooge

(PS: Obviously any ideas will be welcomed. I do love freshly ground
pepper.)