What Is It... ...revealed!

The pictures tell the story. The "tool" is a kitchen tool - but then almost everything used to come in a sealed can. Heck, I think somewhere in my tools I still have a piercing spout for motor oil.
So, it makes sense that he / his father would have a can opener in with his other woodworking / home maintenance / construction equipment. I have a "church key" combination bottle / can opener in my tool box that future generations may puzzle over.

It does work amazingly well. Jab the center of the lid, adjust the cutter to the edge of the can, plunge it, grip can with one hand, turn can opener around until you either free the lid, or leave the lid attached and pull free with the point of the opener.

I think the downside of the tool is having to grip the can while using it - which is why the crank style can opener won out. It is at its worst with a small can like the pictured can of tuna. Simply less can to grip.

Here we have jabbed as accurately as possible.


Next, we engage the cutter, which has been moved and tightened for this size can.





Here we have pulled the cutter most of the way around the can. (This part is pretty quick, although we haven't tried a can race between electric, hand crank and this old fellow yet.)



And a last picture with the lid nearly removed and hinged up from the can.

What is it?

I picked up this tool at a garage sale yesterday for a couple of bucks. The old gentleman that was having the sale was in his 70s or 80s and had a number of tools that were his father's - including a handsaw with a nib that just wasn't in good enough shape to turn back into a user, but was most likely over 100 years old. The pictures are of a tool that he couldn't identify, but that my eyes passed over until someone else asked him what it was. I had a guess at it & snagged it, just because it was a fun artifact. Other than lightly cleaning it I didn't do anything else to it. My teenage son used it successfully and quickly the very first time - the tool functions like new!
Of course I had to try it & was amazed that it works better than modern replacements. As you can see, it has a point on the end, and an adjustable double-sided cutter that is set with a thumbscrew. The thumbscrew locks the cutter to the shaft of the tool. The cutter isn't particularly sharp, and is an arc, coming to a single point. Frankly, I don't think the cutter was any sharper when it was brand new. I showed my parents thinking that there was a chance that they wouldn't be able to identify & my Mom said that her Grandmother had one that she used all the time. She also said that they fell out of favor after the war (WW2) and that she hadn't seen any since then.
So, my question to you is: what is it? Instead of giving the answer away, I thought I'd give you a puzzler. If you know the answer, please don't post as a comment. email me with your guess and I'll send you a picture of it in use, or give you a hint if you are wrong - or heck, will just send you a pic / tell you if that is what you would prefer. Hope this is fun for you!