This unusual metal utensil is a vintage multi-wheel pastry or noodle cutter.
After dough was rolled flat, the cook pushed the tool across its surface. The closely spaced metal wheels cut several narrow, even strips at the same time, making it useful for homemade noodles, pasta, pastry decorations, crackers, and other baked goods.
Unlike an ordinary pastry wheel that cuts one line at a time, this design completed several cuts with each pass. Similar multi-wheel cutters are still used to divide sheets of dough quickly and evenly.
The sturdy all-metal construction made the tool durable enough to remain in family kitchens for many years.
The answer: It was a multi-wheel dough cutter used to make evenly sized pastry or noodle strips.
