Well, I see I'm a bit late on this one, but since I make paddles I figured I'd through my two cents in anyway. My paddles are made with cabinet grade Baltic Birch ply-wood and come in either 3/8" thickness which is made up of 7 plies or 1/2" thickness which has 9 plies. The reason I use that particular wood is two fold. First, being ply-wood my paddles are virtually unbreakable. In fact I guarantee that they will not break under normal use. Secondly, this type of wood has a low density and is very light weight which allows the spanker to have more control over the intensity level of the spanking. The 1/2" thickness will have a slight thuddy feel to it while the thinner 3/8" version will have a stinging effect, but over all they do allow for a wider range intensities and sensations over other types of wood. If you would like to see my implements you can do so by checking out
www.Paddles4Spanking.com. The site is still under construction, but I do have instructions there to request a product list, with pics and pricing information.