Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update April 05 2013 It's been over 4 years since I wrote this review, and I'm still getting comment updates on it! I think a little follow up is in order. I would highly suggest everyone read through the comments after they read the review. They contain a lot of useful information from smarter people than me with similar experiences. They'll fill in any potential questions you may have (or should have) after. I also want to state that the review and comments afterward should never come off as "better than thou" or "know it all". (Although some user comments feel that way). Ultimately we're all trying to help out in the spirit of the review system here on Amazon. Thanks for all the up-votes over the years. Happy shredding! --- Original Review ---- This is a just a quick review to let you know about Fellowes (and other shredder branded oils) versus your standard kitchen vegetable oil. Remember that vegetable oils go rancid quickly; they're meant for eating and not industrial lubrication on a regular basis. The use vegetable oil trick is actually intended for people who use their shredders OFTEN, not OCCASIONALLY. I have a giant bottle of canola oil at the office for the big shredder, I use the branded oil at home. The amount of shredding most offices do is enough to warrant using vegetable oil since more than likely by the end of of a typical maintenance cycle, the oil is long gone from the blades and feeding mechanism. Do not use olive oil, corn oil, cottonseed, peanut, palm, or ANY vegetable oil with an odor. Unless you want your shredder smelling like food, stay away from any vegetable oil with a distinct odor. Canola oil is the best substitute for branded oil. Also look for lower grade canola cooking oil, the ones you often find in thrift stores or 99 cent stores. It should look more "watery" than viscous. If you think Fellowes is taking you for a ride in selling shredder oil, think again. It's like someone mixing food coloring and water to make "ink" for their printer. Sure the price is way more than it should be, but that also doesn't make the home alternative absolutely correct all the time. Use the Fellowes oil if you shred papers ocasionally and pretty much find yourself oiling once in two weeks. One 12 ounce bottle should last you QUITE a long time. If you're in a heavy office or shredding daily, then go for the canola oil alternative. The last thing you want is to have sticky, smelly blades that have rancid vegetable oils on them. Fellowes oil has no odor and is quite "watery". If I could buy this stuff cheap in the gallons, I would for all my shredders. Vegetable oils have the caveats I mentioned above, but they DO work if you're in a pinch or trying to save some money. As a side note, always use shredder bags when possible. They save you from dealing with the "dust" that shredders create. And yes, you can use generic 4-11 gallon trash bags instead of "shredder" bags! That's ok.