You probably won't see the CIA shredding documents with a fleet of these, but.....

No matter how bad my credit is, it can always get worse, especially if someone gets a hold of my personal and financial information via the trash. I’m not particularly paranoid, but nothing with as much as my SSI number on it gets thrown out unless it’s shredded, and since our other shredder broke, unwanted documents with sensitive information have been piling up. When my wife got the employee of the month award she also received a gift of her choosing. Well, looking at all the choices in the gift catalog she couldn’t decide, and had me choose. It came down to this GBC Guardian Shredder and a sleek digital bathroom scale (Would a tiny 120 pound woman bemoan a perceived fatness?), the shredder it was.

I don’t remember the brand of our other shredder but we paid $20.00 (sans bin) for it. A plain old cheap, single cut, bulky shredder that broke quickly. The features, size and function of this GBC Guardian Shredder in comparison would justify a $30 to $35 dollar expenditure easily.

Optional Wall Mountable: A nice idea, but when you slide out the bin to empty it, a few shreds of paper always fall out from the cutting blades and onto the floor/desktop. It’s easier to pick a couple shreds from the desk than bending over (then again I could be lazy).
Thermal overload protection: The unit is intended for low volume shredding it is not intended for continuous operation and contains a thermal cut off device that automatically shuts off the shredder if run for an extended period of time. I don’t see it happening but if it does I just allow the shredder to cool and resume “normal” operations
Shreds staples and Shreds Small Paper Clips: I really don’t want to put anything like that in there intentionally, and if it does happen, I’ll let you know how that works out.
Manual forward and reverse mode: I ‘m not pushing buttons or flipping switches when there’s an….
Automatic Start/Stop shredding mode (like a bill acceptor)
Recommended Shred Passes Up to 10 a day? (I might do that in a month)
Throat Width 8-3/4" Nothing more than eight by ten or legal sizes get shredded here.
Maximum Sheets: 3-4 (One at a time is my rule.)
Speed (Feet/Minute) 8 (Wouldn’t that be more than 3 or four sheets?)
Throughput (Sheets x Speed)32 (I don’t have the slightest)
Shred Size (Inches)5/32 x 1-1/2 Confetti size strips, (also useful for packing fragile items)

Would you like some more details?

Wastebin Capacity: 1 gallon (Has a sight guage/window on the front)
Motor HPFractional: (could I power a mini go cart?)
Anti-Paper JammerAuto Stop (I haven't had a problem)
Size 12"W x 6"D x 9-11/16"H (Office white/beige, very smart looking and small enough to find a space practically anywhere...)
Shpg. Wt. 10 lbs. (...and extremely portable.)

Manufacturer Warranty 1 year parts and labor, 1 year cutting heads

Shred bags not recommended,(nor needed).

Frequent oiling of cutter blades is recommended in order to maintain sheet capacity. Shredder Oil (GBC1760049) Sold separately, I'm sure any comparable substitute will do. Platinum cutters, (I'm impressed).

Recommendation
In this day and age, if you don’t have something like this tiny, convenient, economical and inexpensive shredder in your household, you could be taking big chances. I'll have to round up from 4 and 1/2 stars to five on this one. It's perfect for my wife and I.

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