Aurora AS610C 6 Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder with Waste Bin, Black/Silver, Large

I had a backlog of paperwork going back years now that I wanted shredding before discarding for various different reasons. The paper themselves were varying lengths, types and weights. This shredder managed to get through all of them very easily without a break for at least a couple of hours. The top did feel a little warm but it functioned nevertheless. When you lift off the lid there is a switch that deactivates the shredder for safety reasons, but the blades underneath ARE exposed, but should be receiving no power.There are little handles that you use to lift the lid off of the bin which you can then put aside to empty. The bin is a reasonable size, just be mindful that it can get full quite quickly if you have a lot of paperwork. I found you get a feeling for the shredder based on the noises it makes and when the cutters inside stop spinning. If it stops straight away and / or makes a slight drop in the noise level, then the bin is full and needs replacing. Ideally, you shouldn't let it get that full obviously, but it's a reminder nevertheless that it is. It also struggles a little bit to pull in the paper whenever it has too many to do, the shredder grinded a few times when I put say more than about five / six sheets in the shredder, so again you get a feeling of exactly what it can and can not handle. If your shredder is groaning, don't ignore it by repeating the mistake over and over.I've shredded one debit-card sucessfully and accidentally let in the odd stabled piece without any obvious detriment to the shredder. It also hasn't been oiled as yet, so it works out of the box.When you come to discard your shredding pieces, I would mix the pieces up for additional security. The pieces are reasonably small, I would've liked them a bit smaller personally, but they're sufficient and worthy of being binned / recycled nevertheless.There is also three switches: on, off and reverse. When it's turned on, you simply insert the paper into the opening and the blades should automatically start pulling in the paper. Off means the blades will not start (though you should unplug from the wall if you need added protection, for example pets or children). Reverse is useful for when it begins to jam; not had happen to me as yet. The switch itself seems a little too plasticy though, I'm not 100% sure how long that'll last, but then I don't plan on shifitng it on and off too frequently. I think there's a proper switch with a plastic cover on top (for ease) so I don't think this is a major problem.In short it's a nifty little shredder. I'm obviously amongst the lucky ones judging from the amount of people who've had problems with this thing, but for me it has worked, functioned and should last a sure amount of time. It's most ideal for home and small office with light and ocassional use.

I am delighted with this shredder. I note instructions say 6 sheets, and a run time of 2 minutes before needing a rest of 60 minutes.However, close reading indicates the 6 sheets are of very thin paper indeed - 75 gsm. As most bank statements tend to be 100 gsm or more, its obvious 6 sheets of 100 gsm is going to give your compact shredder toothache very quickly.I decided to feed no more than 3 sheets at a time, and was surprised to realise that I had been pretty well continually feeding for around 20 minutes, and gone through a LOT of paperwork. Not 2 minutes, 20 minutes - at which point the quiet, satisfied chewing changed pitch slightly, going higher and a tad noisier. That was my signal to stop spoonfeeding this little shredder with paper. The motor felt ever so slightly warm and i decided it was time to burp the little dear, empty the basket again and put it down for its afternoon nap.Not attempting to give it too big a mouthful of paper all in one go appears to make it happily hungry and avoids indigestion, upchucking or temper tantrums.its a nicely sized, compact shredder, the cross cut smaller pieces also means that the 'shred' packs down more easily so you get more in the basket than you do with the more old fashioned long strip shredders. This means, basket emptying doesn't need to happen so often.I must admit i felt a little uneasy at weaning this shredder onto small paperclips and small staples, which by all accounts it will happily munch, but I did decide it WAS ready to move onto solid food, and staples were happily crunched. I'm leary of paperclips though, and as I use these myself have decided not to feed them to the beast. And being well over a year away before the oldest credit card needs replacing, decided against sacrificing the card in a spirit of scientific enquiry. The instruction manual says it will shred one credit card at a time but this will stay theory, rather than practice, for the next year.Safety features include not starting if the lid (where the motor is housed) is not properly fitted onto the base. Well recessed canines and molars should mean that a curious child (or foolish adult) is unlikely to be able to test if the shredder likes fingers.Avoiding nasty messes on the floor when changing the nappy/emptying the bin is easily achieved by using a plastic bag as bin liner, hey presto remove bag and shred in one smooth operation.Along with this, I also bought a special diet for shredders which get flabby through overeating and may need a quick once a month detox  Aurora SP1000 Shredder Lubrication and Sharpening Sheets (Pack of 12)Aurora SP1000 Shredder Lubrication and Sharpening Sheets (Pack of 12)

Trying out this has been a new experience for me. First impression is that the operating limitations in the instructions are very conservative, i.e. 25 passes per day (2 min ON/20 Min OFF). I suppose that might have assumed a regular six sheet engorgement. My personal experience has been approximately 2 or 3 sheets at a time at a leisurely pace and the little monster has kept its cool all day long. Result : over two days three bin-bags full of shredded old bills and statements. Certainly at the price I paid this is an impressive little machine. Retired now, I am a design engineer and find the machine stylish and efficient. However, like a wind-up watch it is something with which one has to build a relationship, e.g. being especially careful not to overfill the bin. Upon ordering I had decided not to buy the suggested lubricating oil. A good decision as the instructions state : "It is not necessary to oil an Aurora shredder - - - " The single sheet Operating Manual is very clear and I suggest reading it carefully before powering up. Being my first shredder I have been spared having to consider odious comparisons with other types. This Aurora AS610C will do for me. Now then, where did I put that £20 note?

If you have a requirement to shred normal levels of home waste securely then I would definately recommend this model. My previous Rexel shredder finally gave up the ghost and I decided to replace it.I struggled with the various negative reviews, even on the models in excess of £200 and opted for the Aurora AS610C.It is very small and compact and shreds quite easily 2 pieces of A4 at a time, although it says it can manage 6X. It is much quieter than the previous model and faster and I am very pleased with its performance.For the £23 paid I dont think you could buy better. It does not shred credit cards, but to be honest how often do you need to do that, and when you do, you dont need a shredder.

I have just moved out of a flat where I have lived for almost 14 years and in that time I used my loft to store just about every bit of documentation I thought fit to keep. So on moving out I clearly had quite a mountain of paperwork containing sensitive personal data that I really no longer needed. I bought a fairly cheap shredder. No joy. It was constantly jamming. I then took it all over to my parents house and tried to set light to it in the garden using a stack of paraffin soaked firelighters. It was a damp day and everything refused to ignite so I had to fish it all out of my parents metal fire trough and cart a load of charred and now damp sensitive personal data documents home again. So onto Amazon I finally came and on reading the reviews I bought this Aurora Cross Cut Shredder for a very reasonable price. It's heavy duty alright! I watched with pleasure as it ate up 14 years worth of old papers and only jammed when I became over-zealous in the feeding of it. A very good purchase indeed. Definitely recommended.