The present disclosure relates to a single piece base portion (10) for a locking mechanism (30) for a ski binding (1), in particular a cross country or touring ski binding. The base portion (10) comprising: a planar resting portion (11); one or more, preferably two, support sections (12) extending out of the plane of the planar resting portion (11). In particular, each of the support sections (12) comprises an axle pin hole (13) for receiving an axle (21) of a part associated with the locking mechanism (30). Further, the lowest section (14) of the axle pin hole (13) is aligned with the upper surface (15) of the planar resting portion (11).