An apparatus for compressing a material includes a plurality of levers and a plurality of jaws, wherein each jaw is attached to a lever, and wherein each jaw has a compression surface having an area. The apparatus also includes a compressing mechanism configured to move each lever in a non-linear motion such that the area of a compression surface exposed to the material decreases with the inward movement of that compression surface. Each jaw can be attached to a lever such that a gap is defined between adjacent jaws, the gap having a gap centerline. The compressing mechanism can be configured to move each jaw in a non-linear motion such that the gap centerline of the gap between adjacent jaws is predominantly tangential to an apparatus central longitudinal axis.