whats the best way to bend a handle

I am in the welding camp. Those shifters are heat treated and will snap. When you put the force of a freight train on it, like I do when I powershift, (ask maddart) it doesnt bend. I just put a pistol grip shifter in my 2002 Dakota. The Dakota has a nut attached on the end and the shifter handle screws on like an attena (spelling?). So I cut it low and mig welded it. The chrome actually looked pretty good near the weld and it was all covered by the boot anyways. I have thoroughly torture tested it and it passes with two thumbs up. If it is an F body shifter its pretty low on the totem pole of shifter handles so modify it all day.