Royal HT3SL Shredder

Pros: nice size, three-in-one machine, nice price tag, good functionality
Cons: paper fibers from the waste bin

Sitting atop my desk, somewhere between the printer and box of photos I've been meaning to place in a scrap book for the past few years is a Royal HT3SL Shredder. In fact, the proper name could include Shredder, Pencil Sharpener, Letter ...

Pros: None.
Cons: Read commentary/review.

This was my first shredder. It was small and compact and had the unusual features of having an electronic pencil sharpener and letter opener built into it. The cup inside which catches the sharpener shavings is just a cheap little plastic cup that you ...

Pros: It does match my office decor.
Cons: Entirely useless for any home or office needs.

Having little to no experience with paper shredder buying, my husband thought this little baby would be "just perfect" for my desk. (It was on sale and I think that might explain his enthusiasm.) As loathe as I am to criticize a "gift" from a beloved, I have to say unequivocally, this is a piece of useless junk.
(Sorry dear)
The paper capacity states 3 sheets- which really means only 1 sheet of paper folded enough to cram it into the "way too small" 5 in. slot. (Who makes 5 in. paper?) Not exactly "user friendly" when more work is required (you must re-conform each piece of paper, with creative folding) to get your paper into the stupid slot. And if you do exceed the 3 paper maximum capacity, the motor slows and complains loudly.
As for the envelop opener- can I say useless too many times? By the time you get the contents of the envelop aligned inside enough not to shred "it", you could have opened and read half your mail. About every 3rd envelop jams . Don't waste your time or money on this baby, even at a closeout prices!

Pros: Compact size and the cross shredding function worked well (put 15 pieces through it).
Cons: Cheaply made, envelope opener ineffective, pencil sharpener broke on second use.

We bought this shredder from Costco for just over $20 to use at home for shredding bank statements, credit card offers and other items with personal information on them. When we got it home I immediately opened the box, read the directions and began a test run. The down side, the pencil sharpener sharpened one dull pencil before breaking down on the next one. This happened with a previously sharpened number 2 pencil. The letter opener is awkward at best. Due to the height of the shredder it is very difficult to use with a legal size envelope and the guiding mechanism is crude and mostly ineffective. Costco refunded our money and I am currently researching for my next purchase.

Pros: non-skid feet, clear basket, small size, cross-cut
Cons: letter opener is poorly designed, loud, paper shreds don't fill basket evenly

PROs:
- non-skid feet
- clear basket to easily see when full
- small size to sit on desktop
- cross-cut instead of strip-cut

CONs:
- Mesh Basket lets little bits of paper escape onto desktop
- letter opener is a joke. It jams and rips apart the envelopes, from the get go. I even read the directions to make sure I wasn't missing something. DON'T BUY IT FOR THE LETTER OPENER.
- LOUD
- the paper shreds stack up on one side of the basket, eventually clogging the shredder, making the user open the basket to rearrange the shreds to the other side of the basket.
- it jammed up when putting a one-page credit card application through which had a fake credit card attached.

In summary: If you just want to shred the occasional bank statement or credit card offer, and you can get it for $20 or less, this will probably work for you. But if you want to actually use it to open letters and sharpen pencils, you'll be better off buying individual components.