A vintage metal kitchen tool recently sparked a lively online search when a Reddit user found it in their grandmother’s house. The device looked sharp and almost weapon‑like, prompting guesses ranging from a 19th‑century can opener to a multipurpose camping gadget. Some even half‑jokingly suggested it might double as a weapon.

As users chimed in, more seasoned commenters recognised the piece: it turned out to be an early style can opener—a much less safe and sophisticated tool than today’s versions. One Reddit user wrote:

“I still have a scar from when it slipped while opening a can as a kid.” 
The design required puncturing the lid and levering around the can edge in steps, leaving jagged edges and risk of metal shards.

The find resurfaced a small piece of kitchen history: prior to safer rotary and electric openers, opening a tin took effort and sometimes danger. Inventors like Ezra Warner (1858) and William Lyman (1870) advanced the can opener design, but early home‑tools remained crude.  While mostly obsolete today, such vintage items carry nostalgia (and a reminder of how much domestic tools have changed).