This is a very unusual cutter. No one has been able to identify it for me, not even r/whatisthisthing. I put it here not because works like the other tools in this section, but because there’s nowhere else it fits any better. The action is as follows: you raise the handle up, which opens the wide jaws by a small amount, and slides a blade all the way back (to the right in this picture). Then you insert whatever it’s meant to cut between the jaws, and push the handle down. First the jaws close, clamping the material, and then the blade slides forward, slicing through whatever is held in the jaws. Repeat, sliding the material towards the right each time. The shape of the frame on the back (right) side indicates that you’re meant to pass a long, stiff sheet through it on either side as it’s being cut. In a fascinating twist, the iron bar that holds the blade slides in a Babbitt metal bearing, which has been cast in place inside the iron framework of the tool. That’s a technology not commonly used since the steam age.
Location: Shelf 13
Have you used this tool? Think my description is all wrong? Have a better example? Comment now with any thoughts you have about this tool!
