Not a matter of taste and preference at all. There are these three purposes served by this technique, to engineer a specific shape, introduce dimensional stability to an otherwise inherently unstable material i.e., wood, increased bulk for greater strength. The last one I could clarify by stating that it doesn't imply a lamination is stronger than solid wood but sometimes solid wood is not available or does not exist in the sufficient dimension and the size of a laminated element is in principle unlimited. OK, the fourth one is some people like to use it as a decorative technique, you know contrasting wood colors next to each other or something - not that I would hope to give anybody ideas now that could crop up on a public forum.
Where it falls short as a handle material, right from the point of conception, is in the tactile return or feedback given by solid wood. In my mind not insignificant and greatly diminished or eliminated even in the case of a lamination. A lamination in comparison, is something of a dead stick in the hand. I can hardly buy into this idea that a piece of solid wood the size of an axe handle could be hard to find. Maybe you want to elaborate on that one.
E.DB.
