Wondering what this is. It opens and closes, and has an opening on the tapered end. I think it’s cast aluminum.
Answer: This mystery item was probably a kitchen utensil. If you think the tapered end looks like a chicken leg, well that’s because that was the intended purpose! This is known as a Chicken Leg Press Aluminum Mold. People in the kitchen would use this to compact ground beef or pork into the shape of a chicken leg. Ingenious item.