I have absolutely no idea what this is. We would really appreciate your knowledge and expertise in this type of item. I guessed that it was some type of old fashion pencil sharpener but they all nixed that idea, others thought it was something else.
it is about 5 inches tall, sits on a cast iron three legged base, has a winding motion with a wire or spring looking thing inside. The hole is about the circumference of a standard pencil. The upper round part is made of wood. We would love to know what it might be.