No, I don't know of a company, but I know how the first (and only) hand cranked shredder I ever used (late 70s) worked, which was terrible. Almost everything it was fed bound it up. The only leaves it would shred had to be very brittle, otherwise they just clogged up around the blades. Grass bound it up and twigs with any moisture in them bound it up.

Perhaps they've improved them, but I would find out, before spending much money on one, if I could find anyone who has ever loved their hand shredder.

Never heard of such a device but my guess is that you could adapt a hand-powered meat grinder.

where is the site to build one? My husband can weld thought he can build me one....

I researched this same question a while back. I recomend that you give up. Here's what I discovered. Whe you use the motored shreeders they are useless unless they have a high horse power. Hand cranking just won't do it. Here's what will. If you put them in a pile and just wait, they will break down by themselves. Trust me they will. Just have patience.

I got a good deal on a used shredder on craig's list. I often see listings for them. It makes a lot of noise, but I can shred leaves and use them for mulch right away. If I leave them in a pile they wind up about the same, it's called leaf mold.

I just thought I'd save you a lot of searching. I thought the same thing. I could get excersie instead of listing to a loud motor. That works for raking insted of using a blower but it doesn't work for shredding leaves.

freedee is right: this is a problem of physics, pure an simple. A human just can't develop the horsepower necessary to shred wood or even moderate amounts of leaves. It's not a question of design or plans, it's the math that's the problem.

If your hubby wants to build something cheap from scratch, however, I've seen people do this with an old mower. Take the wheels and handle off, mount it up on a sawhorse type leg arrangement, cut a hole in the deck for a feed-in, plug up the side outlet, put a net around the bottom to catch the shreds. I read someone's detailed description somewhere years ago, maybe even here.

For occasional use, a good machete and a wooden chopping block - such as a tree stump - is all you need.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/193008252ojcKpj shows an antique motorized chopper.

For small amounts of "shredded" leaves, you can just crinkle them up with your hands. Time consuming, but it works; I do it here and there.

This year I might try putting them in a big bag, then stomping them a ton of times.

Hey toxicursader, necessity is the mother of invention. You sound like the kind of guy who would simply lie down and accept your fate without a fight. Buck up and show some ingenuity. Those hand crank leaf mulchers are out there and they do a good job, you just gotta want it and dig for the right brand and the right price for you. If it's still too expensive, take the time to visit fleet farm or even the internet. Get some ideas and make your own.

Good advice for anyone who actually needs one. I certainly am not ruling out any product that exists, I've just never seen it. In fact, I don't need one myself, I have a 5 hp gas powered one if I need to shred anything. But my leaves go into big wire fence bins where they break down for 2 years to make leave mould.

Carmen, why don’t you show us these hand-cranked leaf shredders you speak of. Surely you didn’t revive a ten year old thread just to tell Tox to buck up?. Efficient hand-cranked leaf shredders don’t exist as far as I know, but I‘d love to see what you’ve discovered.

Yes, Carmen, buck up and show some engine-less utility.

tj

https://youtu.be/wU5xzijGGHg this was neat

the video is interesting, but I think its dangerous as designed and not very good for random material. Now something more like a paper cutter 'guillotine' would be better. For right handed operation you want a flat surface on the left hand side where you place the material, feeding it to the right as you go... hanging over the edge of the cutting tool. For the blade instead of a lopper for wood branch's maybe a longer bladed hedge trimmer...

Just need a giant pencil sharpener

One thing that comes to mind for DIY that would address the 'power' problem I mentioned earlier: use some kind of flywheel arrangement to build up momentum. Something heavy that could be cranked up to speed and would have the momentum to do work without stalling out. Like a car wheel on an axle. It could be bike powered, which would allow it to spin freely even when the rider is not pedaling. Bike gears might be very useful as well, to keep the amount of pedaling force reasonable.

Also called a "chaff cutter" apparently.

I'd like to have a hand cranked chopper to do apples. For cider. I wouldn't use an old rusty antique to make my cider. I did see a video, about 6 months ago, of a guy who restored an antique apple grinder. He took the whole thing apart sand blasted the entire thing. Looked new when he was done.

On YouTube you'll find plenty of homemade item like this - try forage cutter, chaff cutter, or shredder for search terms. Trust the 3rd world to find a way!!!!