I think this is something we barbarians in North America aren’t as familiar with as Europeans are! All over the world I’ve seen methods for peeling oranges in the most beautiful ways, but around here we mostly claw at them and get that orange peel oil under our fingernails. I watched a child in Thailand make a beautiful, non-sticky, convenient flower out of her orange in under 10 seconds with a little knife and felt completely ashamed of our unimaginative uncouthness around these parts.

Anne, you win the prize, had there been a prize. It is in fact an orange peeler – http://old.georgjensen.com/English/Collections/Living/Small%20Gifts/Orange%20Peeler.aspx?pagenumber=2
and that’s what I’m going to use it for from now on. Thank you!

Could it be a shoehorn?

I did try to open a bottle with it once and gashed my hand, so I don’t think so, but that could certainly have been user error. I think Kevin might be right: it’s a letter opener (though Google turns up nothing still). And now I have to go hunt for the thing to try it! It’s in the kitchen drawer somewhere.