What the Heck is This? #1

Every now and then, I run across something that is simply perplexing. And like my mother, I have to buy it just for the oddity of the dang thing. She once bought what looked like a corn planter--with a suction pump action, we were quite confused. A few years later we saw the movie, "My Fair Lady," and the maids were hand-pump vacuumning the stairway with our vacuumn cleaner. LOL.

So after standing like an idiot at a thrift store---looking at this thing, I bought it for $3.99.

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 The biggest issue is it looks new?  Cast heavy metal, heavier than the aluminum color it seems to be.
 This item appears new, stored old stock?, or barely used.

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 Here you can see the  hand-forged rod flattened to hold the metal head parts to the handle.

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The 'tool' is well balanced because the end is weighted with this large rounded nail head which is the end of the rod that goes all the way to the metal head from the previous picture. The handle appears to be maple.

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Four diagonally-honed spikes, look to be steel and polished very sharp on the ends.  Holding it this way, I had to choke up to the top to get a good grip and balance. The letters are raised showing this is a cast piece of metal, incised letters were often stamped into a hand-forged item. 

Age is difficult to determine---when an old item appears unused or new.

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 For me, this was the most comfortable way to hold this, but the the pry teeth to the left are unusable.
 But in this position it would certainly make a great 'stabber'.

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 Holding it this way, teeth would dig into whatever it is for.

My friend, E, and I came up with a dozen possible uses in manufacturing, rugs, garden, upholstery, sail making, and a few others rather macabre.

What's your ideas? Please post in comments.

I confess I found the source....test your search skills and see if you can date/identify this vintage tool, if that is what it is? I will post the source on Friday, for those of you who are interested.


Friday UPDATE: This is a White Mountain ice cream churn company, since 1853---icechipper/scraper designed for making ice for their churns. This particular one was made probably between 1920-40's.
Never in a million years would I have guessed this without doing a search.

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Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

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 Sandi