I have a Falcon Cara T7 Amistad rod that i would like to modify a bit. It has the split grip rear handle and no fore grip. The cork handle under the reel seat has a slight bulge/hump that i dislike. Is it possible to sand it down without ruining it or making it look deformed? What all would i need to complete the job? I have attached a picture of the handle style of the rod. It is handle B in the picture.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_98389____SearchResults

i have  done this on a bps rod and it turned out fine,but remember all rod makes cork is different,but i used a dremel tool with the small sanding wheels,and i sealed the cork after i was done.came out fine for me and no problems with it since.just set your dremel speed on slow and take a little at a time.

i used an orbital sander with 180 grit paper and really molded the cork on a BPS rod. i also worked over a mojo rod to the point i could remold the the grip with grip tape. id tape off any part of the rod you dont want scuffed before you take sand paper to it though.

if you have an old junk rod around id practice on it first before you take a power tool to a good rod.

I have a couple cheap rods laying around i might experiment on 1st! I am scared to take any power tool to a $200 rod!

If anyone has pictures of this project completed that they could post that would be great too!

I have a couple cheap rods laying around i might experiment on 1st! I am scared to take any power tool to a $200 rod!

its duck soup man. its nothing like a hot knife through butter. you could always take some bite out and use 230 grit sand paper. just take your time.

how do them reelseats feel BTW???

how do them reelseats feel BTW???

Let me tell you the new design is AWESOME!!! They are VERY comfortable to hold and feel better when making overhead casts! I just ordered the Pro Grass model yesterday!

A basstard file and some sandpaper will do what you need also.

i have done a few.i will see if i have any pics.its alot of fun.i did a compre that my friend wanted.

heres some

Man, you didn't leave much cork on there did ya!?! I am going to start trying it on a cheap/spare rod first! THANKS

Hey BigBassGuy, where would one find a file, owned by a guy who's mother was unwed ? ....and if you did find one, how would this be beneficial to reel handle filing ?  :

BTW, I sand the cork handles on my rods lightly, about once a year, to take off all the gunk, and make the cork bright, grippy, and like new. Never tried to reshape the handle, but it sands easy enough, that I'm sure one could do that too.

Peace,

Fish

Hey BigBassGuy, where would one find a file, owned by a guy who's mother was unwed ? ....and if you did find one, how would this be beneficial to reel handle filing ? :

Peace,

Fish

Man i had been wanting to ask that so bad Chris! THANKS

;D

Here's a Quantum rod I did a little while back. A lot of the time once you remove the cork it's a mess underneath. Don't expect a nice clean blank. It's going to be scarred, have epoxy all over it, etc. Once you get that epoxy off, the blank is not going to look like the rest of the rod.

Come up with ideas on how to cover that section over and it will look great. Other wise it will really look homegrown. Nothing wrong with that, but just an FYI.