Cutting to the Chase: Mystery Artifact

Hello there!

Here is this week's Mystery Artifact!

 As you can see, it looks vaguely like a set of tongs with pointed ends. They are set on a wooden base on a brass stand.

The handle moves up and down, allowing the pointed blades to cut.

So what do you think? How was this artifact used?

As always, please post your answers in the comment section of the blog below or on our Facebook page.  Good luck guessing this one - it might be tricky!