Aurora AS420C Desktop-Style Cross-Cut Paper Shredder, 4-Sheet Crosscut Desktop

This little shredder is exactly what I needed for my classroom. As a third-grade teacher, I often have small amounts of confidential student information – old permission slips, graded drafts of essays, or practice math sheets with names – that need to be disposed of securely, but I don't always have time to walk down the hall to the main office shredder. This Aurora AS420C is a desktop-style cross-cut shredder, meaning it cuts paper into small confetti-like pieces, which is much more secure than strip-cut. It truly fits right on my desk without taking up much valuable space, which is a huge plus in a busy classroom. It handles 4 sheets at a time, which is ample for my needs since I'm usually only shredding a few pages here and there. It's been a reliable little workhorse for daily use – not heavy-duty for stacks of paper, but excellent for those small, quick jobs. It feels well-made and sturdy enough to handle the regular, light use it gets from me. It's truly been a great addition to my classroom setup, helping me maintain student privacy efficiently.

This is a great, small shredder for home use. It only shreds 4 pages at a time so I was considering buying one that could shred 8 or more pages but they are all too big. This one is just the right size so I don't mind only shredding 4 pages at a time bc it works great and doesn't take up much space at all. I've included a photo of it next to one of the medium sized, 32 ounce gatorade bottles so that you can see just how compact it is in comparison. Even though it isn't huge, it holds a lot. I don't have to empty it as often as I thought I would have just by looking at it. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the small basket actually holds. I just shredded a whole shopping bag of old bills and documents to test it out and it didn't overheat at all and got it done super fast! It looks great, I love the clear basket with the little pockets on the side for holding your pens, the tool to clear paper jams that it comes with or anything else that you want to store there. By the way, I haven't had to use the paper jam tool yet and I just shredded a pile of stuff. I'm so glad I went with the more compact, smaller model shredder bc it works just as well as any office shredder that I've used. The only negative is that you have to fold pages vertically before inserting them though bc the paper slot isn't as wide as a standard sheet of paper. That doesn't matter though bc it shreds so quick and efficiently that folding some pages doesn't add much time to the task. If you want a cute, compact, efficient shredder for your home office or for just normal, everyday use then get this one. It's perfect! I will update my review if I run into any issues.

Talk about simple! It's ready to go right out of the box. About the size of an oblong gallon milk jug. Controls consist of on, off, and reverse -- simple. Really cuts paper up, which is what I wanted for security reasons, where no one could put back together if they wanted to. UI did a search about how to select a shredder for home use, and it was definitely recommended to buy a CROSSCUT shredder, which this one iks. The base is a thick plastic, and the motor/shredding apparatus fits onto the base snugly (doesn 't snap on--just sits securely down into the base) and lifts off with use of the handle when needed to empty the base. The handle lays neatly recessed into the top when not in use. The 1st day, I shredded a pretty large bag of old bills and receipts. After maybe 8-10 minutes of shredding, it is ready to be emptied (I just empty into a plastic bag), and then right back to shredding, as it never once got overheated. There is function where it cuts off if it does get overheated, but, as I said, this never seemed to be issue. As far as credit cards, I shredded one and it labored a little but got the job done. I don't think I would do this on a regular basis, but then I don't often need this done. It is also OK to shred staples but, here again, I didn't want to tax the machine so I just tore them out when I found them. The shredder seems to work best with 2 pieces of paper--e.g. folding a single piece of paper long side to long side (this makes 2 pieces/thicknesses and a perfect width to fit comfortably into the opening) even though it will take 4 thicknesses. I did put in the 4 thicknesses a few times, and the machine really slowed down & labored -- I can see how doing this over and over may cause overheating. It was just as easy to quickly fold a piece of paper in half as mentioned and stick that through. The shredder comes with a little tool to help dig out any pieces of paper stuck up in the "teeth" which I actually never used because I just used my fingers, being extremely careful not to hold it by the handle and not inadvertently cut it on. With all truthfulness, I didn't test out the little tool the 1st day because I had placed it in one of the side pockets on the base, and when I emptied the 1st shredding, the tool fell out and into the bag of shreds! Yes, it took digging through all the shreds to find it!! Because of this, I would recommend that the manufacturers devise a snap-on area on the outside of the shredder for this little tiny tool, as it just fits loosely in the side pocket and can (and maybe will again) get easily displaced or lost. Since that 1st day, I have used the tool and it works quite well to get little pieces of stray paper that might remain up a little ways in the teeth. Actually, that's not a big problem because when you start shredding again, the paper bits will come on out. Other than the easily-lost tool, I would recommend this shredder to anyone who has mail, old bills, receipts, etc. to shred; it's perfect (and nicely small and compact) for home use.

Very handy,works well for my needs

I love how small and powerful this shredder is. Yes I have to feed things like a 8.5x11 inch page into thirds, a trade-off for the small amount of space it takes up. Doesn’t fit a lot in basket which is fine cause I don’t want paper sitting around. Fits my goal of being able to shred confidential material securely and take minimal space in my small apartment. Looks cute too!

Works so good and a perfect size! This is a fairly quiet shredder. I so love that it is strong enough to shred my old credit cards. Does not heat up when using it. The paper is easily removed from the blades if necessary. I love being able to shred my personal documents. It is also small enough for my RV usage and a great price for this shredder!

Nice, small enough to fit on any sized desk or table. Price was $30. I have another desktop shredder I bought 5 years ago, but my son borrowed it. That shredder was $80 with a $30 rebate at Staples. It's almost the same size as this one, but more squared. I'm making him bring my old one back. That takes up to 12 sheets of paper, and has a slot wide enough to run an 8.5" wide sheet of paper through without jamming. This one has a narrow slot. The instruction book says the slot is wide enough for an A4 envelope, which is a regular sized business envelope, but I found that a bit optimistic. It's really about 3.5" wide instead of 4". And, you DEFINITELY CANNOT put more than 4 thicknesses of paper through at once, because it will jam. Badly. It comes with a pick tool, which isn't very useful. The metal points on the pick are OK, but the handle is flexible plastic. I couldn't get it to pry out much. I used a pair of very thin tweezers to clear the jams instead. It has a pocket on each side of the opaque white plastic container, apparently to hold the pick, or cleansing papers. That doesn't work well, though. The first day I used the shredder, I kept putting the pick back in a side pocket, then dumping it out on the floor every time I turned it upside down to empty it. Now the pick and tweezers live in a Styrofoam cup near the shredder. The top piece on this shredder is the shredder itself, which I actually prefer. My old one has a container that slides in to the base's casing. The old shredder itself doesn't come off, so if it does jam, I have to unplug it, and put my hand up in the casing and feel around. I can see the jams with the new one, which makes them easier to clear. Both will shred a credit card, although the new shredder really grinds. I don't think it would shred a CD or DVD. The main thing I don't like about the new shredder is that the cut up strips of paper are about 1/4" wide, but 3" to 4" long. Most good shredders cut strips 1/4" wide, and 1" long. Most identity theft experts say the strips shouldn't be more than inch long. Between the too-long strips and the dinky slot, it's not something I would buy again.

Great quality, perfect size and color, depth of basket is perfect and holds alot Highly recommended

This was exactly what I wanted perfect size. But when I opened it I couldn’t use it as it had a 2 pin plug. Who uses a 2 pin plug in uk. I might order another one in case they sent me the wrong lead and plug by mistake.

I have been wanting a home shredder for a while now, but I didn't want to spend on anything bulky or costly. This little friend is perfect. Compact and surprisingly stylish (for office equipment), it takes up about 1 foot of floor/desk space. It has a slider for 3 options: Auto, Off, Reverse, and a light to indicate that it is on/in use. Once you sit it onto the basket, it works right out of the box. It shredded old credit cards like a dream. It says it takes "4 folded sheets maximum", and according to the manual, this means 1 page folded in quarters, or 2 pages folded in half. I see other comments talking about their shredder struggling with 4 pages and that's probably why. It comes with a pick to help dig out any stubborn pieces stuck in the shredder teeth, but I haven't had to use mine yet, so it sits in the little side pocket of the shredder basket awaiting its time in the sun. The manual says to use shredder oil or vegetable oil every now and again to keep the teeth running smoothly, so maintenance sounds like it won't be an expensive hassle either. It also says that it can process staples, but I wouldn't risk it. Much easier/safer to tear the stapled corner off of the page before shredding. Overall, this is a great piece of home office equipment. Perfect for shipping labels (if it's on plastic, maybe sandwich between 2 pieces of regular paper so it doesn't melt in the shredder teeth), addressed envelopes, or whatever light bits you want to dispose of confidentially. Fingers crossed this sleek little shredder serves me for a long while!

La compramos porque había muchos documentos que romper, el espacio para los restos de papel es pequeño, pero realmente la calidad, funcionalidad y precio lo valen. Destruye una tarjeta de crédito en segundos.

Es muy útil esta pequeña trituradora. Su capacidad es poca, sin embargo cumple con el fin de destrozar tarjetas y por lo menos dos hojas dobladas, mi piel es sensible y me lastimo con facilidad las manos, asi es que para mi es muy practica y maravillosa. Cuando se calienta en automático deja de funcionar por lo que recomiendo no usarla en exceso sino en intervalos.

This is a good shredder and works well. I gave it only 4 stars because you can only do smaller amounts of shredding (about 4 to 5 standard letter size sheets of paper) before you have to empty the bucket and no matter how careful you are when you empty it little strip of paper go everywhere. It really is a good shredder, especially for the price, it's just a little messy.