US Patent 9566682 Skate blade retention mechanism

A skate blade retention mechanism for retaining a skate blade in a sharpening position to be sharpened includes a pair of elongated jaws configured for symmetrical jaw opening and closing movements about a centerline of the skate blade in the sharpening position. A biasing mechanism is configured and operative to apply a bias force to symmetrically bias the jaws toward a closed position with sufficiently high force to retain the skate blade in the sharpening position when the skate blade is located between the jaws as so biased. An actuator is configured to actuate the jaws against the bias force to an open position under user control to permit insertion and removal of the skate blade.