The kitchen lifting tool arrived today and I just experimented with lifting several objects in my office. It works surprisingly well, even on a smooth, straight-sided object like a CD-ROM canister. It is lighter weight than I thought it would be, which makes it much more feasible for its intended purpose than I imagined it would be.
The date is worn but still legible. I can easily see how the seller mixed up May 18 with May 10 as the number 8 is worn smooth.
It says "PAT'D MAY" on one piece of the lifter and "18 1875." on the other.
I figured out the use for the long tip on the hinge of the lifter. When you used as a stove lid lifter, this rests agaist the underside of the hand and leverages the weight of the stove lid. I'll post photos so that you can see this. It happens quite naturally when you turn it around and grip it and its purpose became immediately obvious to me.
I will post some photos shortly of the lifter in action shortly. It is better and more useful than I imagined it could be. It's looks are rather deceptive and it really does its job of gripping and lifting surprisingly well. The trick is in the straight bars on top. When the top of a cylindrical slippery object (like a ceramic coffee cup full of stuff) contact the straight bars over the top of it, it stabilizes the whole thing and grips really well. Quite a clever application of physics.