Uh, shiny diamond cross cut shredders, exciting. Sadly their blades are not made of diamonds but their diamond cross cut shredding offers a good medium level of security perfect for your business or home office. To find out why they are called diamond cut shredders read on.
Why Use Paper Shredders?
Paper shredder enables you to conveniently dispose of sensitive data that the paper might hold. There are many reasons for using paper shredder; businesses have to respect the law and destroy all the information of their former employees, they also want to protect their confidential data from getting into competitors hands, and for private users, protecting your identity is the top priority.
Types Of Shredder Cuts
There are three main types of cutting paper; strip-cut, cross-cut and micro-cut in ascending levels of security. When we are talking about good security level we should leave the strip-cut out of the game since it only cuts paper into long not so thin paper strips that can be easily reattached.
Diamond Cut VS Cross Cut Shredders
Even though a diamond cut shredder is considered a cross cut shredder the difference lies in the shape of the pieces of the shredded paper. Diamond cut leaves the pieces in a diamond shape while, a cross cut leaves the pieces in a rectangular shape. If a person would try to put together a shredded paper from a diamond cut shredder it would be harder considering we write in parallel lines. Those parallel lines are much harder to notice when you use a diamond paper shredder.
The Definition Of Security Levels
The security level is expressed with DIN number; values go from P-1. P-1 being the lowest to P-7, being the highest value. Diamond cut paper shredders usually provide you with a medium level of security, P-3, and P-4.
- P-3– medium security level, particle size is less than 320 mm²/0.5 in², after shredding A4 document, you will get more than 195 particles
- P-4– medium security level, particle size is less than 160 mm²/0.24 in², after shredding A4 document, you will get more than 390 particles
This article will present you the most popular diamond-cut paper shredders available on the market right now with all their specifications and features.
Best Diamond Cut Shredder Reviews
Diamond Cut Credit Card Home Office Shredder
Amazonbasics 8-sheet Cross-cut Paper And Credit Card Shredder
This cross-cut or diamond cut shredder can shred up to 8 sheets of paper with no need for removing staples and paper clips. Strong blades will cut paper into small pieces, achieving P-3 security level.
It can also destroy credit cards, but you have to put one by one into a marked area for credit cards on the shredder throat. The entry throat is angled in order to prevent accidental injuries while loading the paper in the shredder.
The machine dimensions are 12.8” x 7.3” x 15.9” and the shredding head is above the 4.1 gallons trash bin with a clear plastic window to see when it’s full. To empty the trash bin you will have to lift the top up, and integrated handles will make this process easier, also you can put a plastic bag inside that will collect shredded paper and when it’s full you just replace it with no mess.
Once you set this shredder to Auto mode, the only thing you need to do is load the paper in the entry throat. Sensors will detect when the paper is inserted in the throat and the blades will automatically start. When a paper jam occurs you will have to manually switch the blades to reverse mode to remove it.
The shredder shreds for 3 minutes without stopping but then it needs 30 minutes to cool down. If it runs more than suggested the LED light indicator will show you if the engine’s starting to overheat and it will shut it off to prevent any damage. This shredder is good for light use in small offices or households.
Diamond Cut Medium Duty Shredder
Fellowes Powershred W11c Cross-cut Shredder
Fellowes W11C is another cross-cut/diamond cut shredder that can cut 11 papers in a single pass. There is no need for removing staples or paper clips. Blades will cut paper into diamond particles, reaching P-4 level of security for your documents.
It can also cut credit cards, but only one at the time. Shredder dimensions are 16.88” x 20.88” x 15”, shredding head sits on top of the 4.75 gallons wastebasket.
The shredding head is a bit heavy but you can easily lift it since it has integrated handle in the middle that helps you to empty the bin when it’s full. You can also use a plastic bag inside the bin to collect the shredded pieces and to prevent them from flying around when emptying.
To operate this shredder is nothing complicated, it has to be plugged in and when you just set it to Auto mode and then you just need to feed the shredder with paper and the sensor will detect that the paper is inserted and it will start the blades.
If you overload the shredder with paper it will probably jam the blades and then you will manually have to switch the blades to reverse in order to remove clogs. The motor can run for 5 minutes straight continuously, but then it will need 20 minutes to cool down.
Safety Lock is a really useful feature that enables you to lock your shredder so no one can play with it, especially if you have little kids or pets. This shredder is optimal for medium use in small offices or even households with more sensitive documents.
Diamond Cut Anti Jam Office Shredder
Bonsaii Docshred C156-d Paper/Cd/Credit Card Shredder
With this Bonsaii C156-D paper shredder you will be able to protect your sensitive information by destroying up to 12 sheets of paper stacked together, at once. The blades are placed in a way to cross-cut the paper into miniature pieces the size of 1/5” x 1-25/32” for a medium level of security for any type of documents you might have.
You can destroy any sort of A4 paper documents \ and there’s no need to remove staples or paper clips. Also, it can shred credit cards and CD but there is a specially designated slot for plastic material that will help you save your main blades from getting dull too soon.
A sensor that is placed inside of the entry throat will control the operation of your shredder once you set it to Auto mode. It will start the blades as soon as it notices that the paper is being inserted. This shredder can run for 3 to 5 minutes, and in case it starts to overheat, the thermal protection mechanism will shut it off for 40 minutes at least so the motor can cool down.
The shredding unit is placed on top of the 5.5-gallon trash bin with a clear view window to show when it’s full. The unit has integrated handle to make emptying the bin easy. If you overload the shredder with an excess of paper the paper will probably jam the blades. In that case, you will manually switch the blades to reverse to help remove the clog.
Diamond Cut Heavy Duty Paper Shredder
Bonsaii Evershred C149-c 18-sheet Cross-cut Paper Shredder
Bonsaii C149-C is a cross-cut or diamond cut shredder and it is perfect for medium use at offices or households that have more documents to shred. It can cut up to 18 sheets of paper in the single pass, and it will also tear up paper clips, staples, expired credit cards and even old CD/DVDs, but insert them one at the time to prevent the blade from damaging.
Entry throat is 8.7” wide and can fit most of the mail and A4 size paper without any problem. Paper is cut into 1/5” x 1-50/87” diamond pieces, giving you the medium level of protection. The shredded paper goes into 6 gallons pull out trash bin and through the small plastic window, you can see when it’s full and simply empty it. With this shredder, you will get four plastic wheels that you can attach to it and then move the shredder around without lifting it.
Using this shredder is really simple and intuitive; you just have to set it to Auto mode. The sensor will recognize when the paper is inserted into the entry throat and it will immediately start the blades to shred the paper.
Due to the installed cooling system, this shredder motor can run for 60 minutes without worrying will it overheat. Still, you should make occasionally breaks and try not to overload it to prevent any unnecessary damage.
Shredding speed rate is 5.3 feet of paper per minute and if the paper jams the blades, the sensor will auto-reverse the blades to remove the clog and you don’t have to do anything. Another bonus feature of this shredder is the low noise level, producing only 62 dB of noise.
Diamond Cut Comercial Cd/Creditcard/Paper Shredder
Amazonbasics Paper, Cd, And Credit Card Shredder
Another AmazonBasic cross-cut or diamond cut shredder on our list can take up to 17 sheets of paper. The blades will quickly cut the paper into diamond-cut strips the size of 6/32” x 1-7/16” providing you with the medium level of security.
Besides just paper material, these blades can also shred staples and paper clips attached to the documents, and also credit cards and CDs but only one at the time. The shredder dimensions are 10” x 14.4” x 22.4” and it weighs 22.9 pounds.
Shredding unit is on top of the 6 gallons pull out trash basket with a view window that enables you to see when it’s full. It can fit hundreds of pages before needing to empty it.
This shredder can shred continuously for 10 minutes and then it will need 60 minutes to cool down to prevent the engine from overheating. If the overheating starts to happen thermal protection feature will shut the shredder off.
Auto-start mode ensures that the shredder doesn’t work unnecessary, it will be in standby mode until you insert the paper into the entry throat and the sensor will detect that and it will start the blades.
To prevent paper jams you have to empty the bin on time and you shouldn’t overload it, but if it happens you need to manually switch the blades to reverse and remove what got stuck.
Conclusion: The Shiniest Diamond Cut Shredder Is?
The shiniest of the diamond cut shredders is surely the heavy duty Bonsaii EverShred C149-C, which excels in its lifetime, runtime, and shredding speed. This one is the best choice for medium size businesses with a high workload. For more cross cut shredders check out my article on Royal micro and cross cut paper shredders or if you are looking for the more secure but expensive variants take a look at best 10 micro cut paper shredder. You can learn more about another variant of the cross cut shredders in the form of the confetti cut shredders on this article about the best 5 confetti cut paper shredders.