A clamping assembly to hold a woodworking knife in place in a woodworking machine. The clamping assembly comprises a clamping component comprising a body and an actuator. The body has three discrete contact positions distributed thereon: 1) a fulcrum located generally at one end, 2) a knife abutting portion located generally at the other end, and 3) a bearing surface located elsewhere. The actuator is for applying a clamping force to the body along a clamping axis located intermediate of the knife abutting portion and the fulcrum. The fulcrum is a surface having a normal that is at an angle to the clamping axis. The bearing surface is a surface wherein a line normal to the bearing surface intersects the line normal to the fulcrum at a position outside of the clamping component at a location farther askew of the clamping axis than the fulcrum.