Quick & Dirty Cheap Tool Upgrade

First an apology: I'm a wood-butcher, not a consumate craftsperson like some of the regular posters here, nor a living legend like Tony Foale.

I came into possession of what is possibly the cheapest possible pair of MIG pliers ever made. They were apparently punched, and were only machined? on the flat faces. The needle jaws were misaligned by about 2mm at the tip, presumably from the the punching process. However, I didn't have a better pair and I am a cheapskate.

I started with simply filing the needle points so they aligned. This worked well enough (I really dont think there's much carbon in the steel, it filed pretty easily). This improved the tool enough that I got a bit excited and decided to record my progress. The next step was to file off all the sharp edges and then sand to a reasonable finish, 400 grit.
Attachment 31676
Attachment 31677

You can see from the second photo where the end of the left-hand jaw was filed down.

Naturally once a reasonable finish was obtained there was a need to protect it. Not having any commerical protection liquid, I visisted the kitchen for a poor man's blue. In this instance Kiwi Fruit, (also called Chinese Gooseberries) figuring they are acidic. Yes, I know other fruit and vegies work better, but I had a surplus. I simply skined and mashed a bunch and stuck them into a suitably sized container with the pliers and topped it up a little with water.

Attachment 31678

This type of bluing usually takes only a few days for knife blades in my experience, but due to a multitude of extraneous events I didn't get back to the kitchen window sill for a week.

Attachment 31679

The resulting finish is OK, but a bit inconsistent; either due to inconsistent sanding, or perhaps some pre-existing oil in some places. Either way it looks better with a coating of light oil. They now work better than originally and are reasonably rust-proof.

Any thoughts on how I can improve the handles?

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Thanks Little Rabbit! We've added your MIG Pliers Jaw Fix to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Little Rabbit's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-mig-pliers-jaw-fix"> <img src="/uploads/227261/homemade-mig-pliers-jaw-fix.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-mig-pliers-jaw-fix">MIG Pliers Jaw Fix</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Little+Rabbit">Little Rabbit</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/pliers'>pliers</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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If you can find what is here called "Liquid Rubber", that product is canned for dipping things akin to your plier grips.
But considering they aren't used outside MIG welding, and you are gloved as most of us, many cut off grip materials. I personally find them more easily manipulated withthat minor texture they have, like cast steel.