Sky wrote:
>
> I'd guess they're "grippers" to hold oyster shells whilst shucking them
> to help prevent major damage to one's hand(s). Otherwise, I have no
> clue at all.

I think you'd use a thick leather glove for that.

But that's close to my best guesses. I thought
it might be for picking cherrystone clams or
similar bivalves from a tank, but the business
end of the tool is a bit small for that. The
overall length is only 9 1/2 inches, so the
petalled jaws are only 3 or 4 inches across.
Any tool for that purpose should be for picking
more than a couple clams at a time.

Another thought is it is for gathering wild
mussels from rocks at the seashore. The heavy
build of the tool and the points on the business
end suggest wrestling something off of something
else. But the holes in the jaws are about the
right size to get plugged up by small mussels,
so they militate against that purpose.