Need a different handle idea

okay,
i love the good old finger loops, but i dont ever use them. my original poi that i still have is just a ring big enough for one finger.

well, that had nothing to do with what i wanted. basically what i want is a handle that is like a glowstick. but i dont want a wooden dowel with an eyehook on the end of it. has any body made some good metal ones with swivels, does anyone have ideas on what i could use.

my friend has a 9 sectional steel whip and for the handle it is a metal bar with a kind of swivel head, that is exactly what i want, but dont have the welding tools to put it together. any one got any ideas?

thanks

as silly as this sounds, you might try going down to your nearest hardware shop (Lowes Hardware, Home Depot, etc) and go to one of the service counters (not the cust. service up front) and explain the concept. they'll look at ya a little funny (at least they do that to me) but they'll do their best to point you in some direction that might at least spark some ideas on what to do....
an idea i had would be getting some piping of sort and cut it to desired length. run some heavy wire through it, securing to form a triangle. to this you would (somehow) attach a swivel, onto which you could attach your poi rope/wire/chain/whatever. this is a very rough concept, and only on paper as of yet (for me at least), so i can't guarantee it's workability, or practicality, but it's a shot. hope you find something satisfactory!! for the glowstick idea, i was thinking of using some clear plastic-esk tubing that the wire could be run around...that way the glo wouldn't be completely hidden. don't know if this idea would hold up to the stress of swinging poi, though....

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"life begins between the night and the light."

A simple idea that might suffice:

Get a length of aluminum tubing in whatever diameter you like, a pair of screws, and a pair of screw-posts to match--the screw+screw-post combo should just fit the tube diameter. You should be able to find this stuff at any decent hardware store.

Cut the tubing to handle length using a hacksaw or tubing cutter. Drill a hole through the tube at one end of each handle. Use the screw and screw-post to anchor your chain. If you have any swivels, you can include them between the chain and anchor.

Ooh, here's another idea: get practice nunchaku. You can get these with padded grips. Break 'em apart and attach the chain to the halves.

[This message has been edited by adamrice (edited 20 November 2001).]

thanks people, i like the numb chuck idea, i want something that will be ver sturdy as not to accidentaly fly off.

the pipe idea is what i was fiddling with and i had thought to maybe enclose it in some braided leather

we will just have to see what i come up with

okay, i finished my first set of semi-professional looking poi with my handle thing.

first i have ball chain that all of you have been raving about and it is great, absolutely perfect for wraps. then i have a tube core wick, which was just my preference.

2 and a half inch wicks with a screw going through it to the metal pipe and a washer holding down the wick.

now the handle, i just got lucky. i had about 6 pairs of wooden crutches in my garage and the part that your hold onto when you walk with them is perfect. not the padded part, but the hollowed out wooden dowel on the inside. i used a great big eye hook that threaded in there perfectly and i put a swivel clip on the end of that.

i also made some wicks from the extra stuff that i had. i took 2 strips of kevlar and put them side by side and used a wire cage technique. so there are about the size of glowsticks.

thanks for the ideas all. figured i would let you know how the finished product turned out.