Patent ID: 7726031

Claim:
A knife system for efficiently replacing a blade, comprising: a body having a first end and a second end; a lever pivotally connected to said body at a first pivot point, wherein said lever has a closed position and an open position; a collet movably connected to said first end of said body; a blade removably secured within said collet; and a shaft connected between said lever and said collet; wherein when said lever is in said closed position said collet frictionally engages said blade; wherein when said lever is in said open position said collet has reduced frictional engagement of said blade thereby allowing said blade to be removed from said collet; wherein said collet is comprised of a first member having a first slot and a second member having a second slot, wherein a neck of said blade removably extends within said first slot and said second slot; a guide pin extending from said first member that is received within a guide aperture within said second member; wherein said second member includes a cantilever portion surrounding said guide aperture, wherein said first member pivots upon said cantilever portion with respect to said second member.