A second adaptation of these (public domain) pliers: http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/16219. (See http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/82841 for my first adaptation.) This time I added rubber grips to the handles.
These pliers have a minimalistic rig: a handle bone for opening and closing (with proper rotation limits), and a root bone for moving/rotating the whole object.
No UV-unwrapping and only basic cycles materials. I made an edge seam at the border of the grips so selecting them is easy (using L).

All credits to http://www.blendswap.com/user/avi9526 for making the original pliers, I just share this adapted version for those who might find it useful.