Not sure where you are located, but with a name like "kudzu" I asume you're down south.

I carved my one and only GP from straight grain WRC. I bought a 2x8 and ripped it in two, making a paddle from one blank and saving the other for a paddle for my wife.

Only problem with this is that the local mom-n-pop lumber yard with the good WRC charges $8/linear foot for cedar 2x8. I have a $35 paddle blank or a $35 2x4, depending on your opinion.

I have wanted to try sassafras wood for a paddle. It's about 20% more dense than cedar, but still less massy than hardwoods. It's cheaper by far than cedar around here, but I have not found a suitable blank (2x4 for GP).

Check into sassafras - there may be sources nearby as I think it's mostly harvested down outh. It's used by some of the big name canoe paddle makers, so it's not a totally wierd idea.