HSM shredstar S10 1/4 inch strip cut with separate CD cutting unit - HSM1042w

The HSM shredstar S10 is the cheapest way HSM sells to get a genuine separate CD cutting unit onto a desk. It is a 10-sheet strip-cut machine rated P-2 under DIN 66399, which means it turns paper into 1/4 inch ribbons rather than particles, and it weighs 8.58 lb — light enough to move with one hand. The distinguishing feature within the shredstar home range is that it is the only strip-cut model in the small chassis: every other machine that shares its 13.58 x 9.65 x 15.16 inch footprint is a P-4 or P-5 particle cutter. That makes the S10 a throughput-and-price choice, not a security choice.

Key Features

• Separate cutting unit for discs and cards. CDs, DVDs and plastic cards go into their own slot with their own cutter and their own collection tray, so disc fragments never mix with paper waste. That matters if you recycle paper separately, and it means feeding a disc does not blunt the paper cutting head.
• P-2 strip cut at 1/4 inch. Strips 6 mm wide. This is the least secure of the DIN paper classes above P-1 and it is appropriate for internal, non-sensitive paper only.
• Automatic start and stop. An integrated light barrier starts the motor when paper enters the throat and stops it a moment after the throat clears. There is no button to hold.
• Automatic reverse. If the cutting head stalls on an overfed stack, the reverse function backs the paper out instead of leaving you to prise it free.
• 4.8 gallon bin with an inspection window. Roughly 125 sheets of strip-cut waste before it needs emptying. The window on the housing shows the fill level without lifting the top.
• Removable housing top. The whole cutting head lifts off the bin rather than the bin pulling out of a cabinet, which suits a machine that lives beside a desk rather than under one.

Specifications

Specifications taken from HSM's published technical data for article number 1042123. HSM does not publish warranty terms on the datasheet for this article, so no warranty figure is stated here.

What's in the Box

HSM does not publish an itemised packing list for the S10. What the datasheet does confirm is that the machine ships as a cutting head with an integrated separate CD cutting unit and its own 4.8 gallon waste container. Shredder bags and lubricant sheets are not part of the specified scope of delivery; order those separately if you want them.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the S10 if you are a single home or home-office user shredding routine paper — junk mail, delivery notes, internal printouts — and you occasionally need to destroy a CD or an expired bank card. At 10 sheets and 125 sheets of bin capacity it is honestly a personal machine, and priced accordingly.

Do not buy it for anything covered by a records-retention or privacy obligation. P-2 strips can be reassembled with patience, and most organisations that have written a shredding policy specify P-4 as the floor. If that is you, the HSM shredstar X8 uses the same chassis, the same 4.8 gallon bin and the same 8.66 inch throat but cuts 3/16 x 1 1/8 inch particles at P-4 and takes 8 sheets. If you want P-5, step to the shredstar X6pro.

Do not buy it for a shared office either. The 125-sheet bin will be the bottleneck long before the motor is, and a strip-cut bin fills faster than a particle-cut bin of the same volume because strips do not pack down. Two or more regular users are better served by the shredstar S25, which keeps the same P-2 strip cut but raises capacity to 25 sheets and the bin to 6.9 gallons.