Another reason for laminating a paddle blank is just to get decent vertical grain sections from cheap wood. For my first try I picked up a couple of pretty good flat grained hem/fir 2x4s that still had a few knots and ripped them down to 2x2s. I ended up with a clear paddle length section and four clear blade length segments, turned them 90 degrees and glued up a blank with reasonably vertical grain. Cheap, and the glue lines are nigh unto invisible. I also have a beautiful piece of clear vertical red cedar waiting to be turned into paddles when I finally get the SOF done and I can give it the attention that kind of raw material deserves.

I was in the Thule District of Greenland a couple of years ago and saw many paddles (and boats) which are used regularly for hunting. None were particularly fancy - no laminations,no tip or blade reinforcements, and made of what looked to be generic pine wood. Tools, not art. Which is not to say that they were not well crafted, just that they were built for function and not decoration.