Sanding cork, after the rod is done?????

Got a custom rod, cork grips are a bit thick. Actually, other than grinding a little off the ends, I don't think that any shaping was done at all. Can they still be turned down? I have heard that it is difficult to get them fairly thin, and a lot more pits show up. The builder is in California. They offered to ship the rod back at their cost, and do the grips to my satisfaction, but it seemed like something that could be done locally.

(This post edited by skatemaster on 04/06/2003)