2 hours ago, gfweb said:although the red handles don't look industrial at all.
You have to remember, though, that this thing could be a hundred years old and not only that, there's a possibility that it is European.
It could be something used in an obscure little Austrian factory to make celluloid collars, or it could be used to hold a cow's tail for slaughter or castration. We could beat this to death just by guessing for the next 10 years like they have done on the internet. We aren't likely to find anyone that has ever used one.