We've been using a Flowtron electric leaf shredder for about 15 years and use it for LOTS of leaves each year. You need to be careful about not shoving wet leaves through it and we try to remove as many sticks as is reasonable so as not to shred the cutting line so quickly, but overall we're happy with the machine considering the small investment we made.
We make round wire bins that are about 4' in diameter and 4' tall and fill them with wetted, shredded leaves to make our leaf mold in the fall. We also use shredded leaves as a mulch for brassicas, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes after hilling, in walkways, etc. In the fall, after all the cleanup, liming, tilling and such is done, we cover the garden with a light coating of shredded leaves. The worms absolutely love it and at the end of the season you can see the worm casings covering the areas that have been mulched with leaves.
I don't put shredded leaves in with my compost anymore because I read that they don't decompose in the same way and will slow down the decomposition of the other materials. I'd welcome any feedback on that issue.
