That's the impression I get, too: that the jaws move together if you lift this tool by the handle. Makes me think that the lever was pressed down to do its work. Looks too rough-'n-ready to be, say, a surgeon's rib-cage spreader . . . but the tire bead spreader, perhaps to get access for applying a hot patch to the inside of the carcass, is possible. Can't judge tool's size, though, so that could be wrong.
