Kegan- I think I know what you are driving at. You want to be able to use the full 3/4" board (for example), rather than having to waste 1/8" just to make a safe and proper fade out area from the handle. So you start laminating the riser with an 1/8" thick piece that has a 4" handle and 6" on each side of that, for a total of 16" for the first layer. Then the second 1/8" layer is 1" less in length on each end, for a total of 14", and so on, maybe 5 layers, total making the handle a total of 1 3/8" deep? I think this would be a very good approach. Like was said in a previous post, the key is to make a long, and gradual taper. I have run into this problem, and I will try this step lamination approach next time I get a nice board stave.
But what would be the difference between this "step lamination" approach and just gluing on a 16" (for example) riser made of one solid piece that was 5/8" thick all the way through? Cutting the taper into this one-piece riser can be challenging esp. if you want to avoid cutting into the stave itself. It is also difficult to pre-cut the fades into the riser and then glue on, but this could also be done.