Nipper, Clipper, Crimper????

[Provincial]

I found this pair of pliers/cutter/crimper/???? on the dollar table at a swap meet Friday. They are marked "D.G.M." on one leg and "CHROM VANADIUM" on the other. The jaws have a circular cutout behind the mating surfaces, and the mating surfaces appear to be a cutter and an anvil for the sharp edge to work against.

My first impression was a blasting cap crimper, but the handles lack the sharp pointed end used to make a hole in the dynamite stick for the cap to insert into.

The spelling of "CHROM" may imply European origin. Germany? The "D" could be Deutsche, which is the German for Germany.

Here are photos:

 

[Beerhippie]

Blasting cap tools will be non-sparking.

 

[RPH]

Nail puller? With the rounded head acting as a fulcrum. Long handles for leverage.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The "D" could be Deutsche,

It could be. It's not a patent abbreviation. None that I am familiar with, anyway. Those would be D.R.G.M. - for Deutsches Reichs-Gebrauchsmuster, and D.R.P. - for Deutsches Reichspatent. I wonder if it's something akin to a standards organization, like DIN (Deutsches Industrie Norm), which is roughly equivalent to S.A.E. There is a Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde (D.G.M.), or German Society for Materials Science, established in 1909. And that's an early tool. Maybe they approved the compositions or something like that? That's just total speculation, though, and it seems like an odd thing to forge on a tool. My primary inclination would be a manufacturer's initials.

Blasting cap tools will be non-sparking

None of my vintage cap crimpers are BeCu, AlBr, or even copper coated for spark resistance. I'm not saying it's a cap crimper, I'm just saying that its composition doesn't eliminate cap crimpers. Having said that, all of mine have a sharp punch on one of the handles for puncturing the powder pack.

Nail puller? With the rounded head acting as a fulcrum. Long handles for leverage.

That's a good guess.