shaving handles?

[BigStickFishing]

I have a few rods that are older and I do not use any more. I am interested in possibly shaving down some of the fore grips or removing them so my right index finger will be more on the blank of the rod. I am just curious if this is even possible or if this will cause problems.

[fr8dog]

Well, if you don't use them, give it a try on one of them. Not being a smart-ass, I do that on stuff I rarely use to come up with ideas. Don't wreck the blank. If it doesn't work, you can re-do the grip. If it works, put up pics.

[BigStickFishing]

I will for sure give it a try but I am not exactly sure on how to go about it. How to start carving off some of the cork?

[RusslerRods]

I have removed several. Just take your time and be very careful not to cut into the blank.

[the_crab]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by BigStickFishing &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I will for sure give it a try but I am not exactly sure on how to go about it. How to start carving off some of the cork?

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A dremel tool with sanding drum is nice for this. Or you can just use sandpaper wrapped around a dowel or something. It goes pretty fast even just by hand.

[sarmst100]

I have rebuilt several rods and I start by "chewing" the cork off with channel lock pliers without squeezing the blank. Then I take a utility knife and keeping it 90 degrees to the blank I scrape all the old epoxy off. It has always come out smooth for me although sometimes I'll hit it with wet sandpaper.

[gitzitfish]

I've done quite a few for guys and it's really not all that hard. The cork comes off fairly easily with a utility knife. Just get it started and it usually peels off very easy. The key I have found after most of the cork is off is the lightly heat the epoxy with a heat gun, not too hot but just enough to soften it. Then I use the same utility knife blade held at 90 degrees and use a light scraping action. For the most part you usually cant tell a foregrip was even there when done.

Clint