Item AS97
This Item was Sold on 17 August
2009 for $159
Other collectable boomerangs for sale can be found on the
Collectable , Hardwood
or Art Boomerang links.
Historical Pricing information for this item and similar
collectable boomerangs can be found on the Boomerang
Pricing Guide
Herb Smith was one of England's greatest boomerang makers
and throwers. Herb started making Birch plywood hooks and
traditional boomerangs in the 1960s. He was one of the first
suppliers of boomerangs to the Boomerang Man in the early
1970s. Before Al Gerhards started making his S/L hooks, Herb
Smith was the only commercial supplier of long distance
boomerangs. One of the first boomerangs I ever purchased was
a large weighted Sussex Hook with a range of 80+ metres. I
became an instant fan. Herb was an early Long Distance World
Record holder with a carefully documented throw of 108 yards
on 17 June 1972 using a large weighted traditional model
called the "Gem". In the 1980s, Herb introduced the world to
Paxolin material, a dense and hard composite material that
significantly extended the range of his plywood models. Herb
continued to make plywood models as Sports boomerangs, even
after the introduction of the Paxolin models. The Paxolin
boomerangs were smaller and usually painted in two colors
and with simple line art banding. The wooden models were
often decorated with many colorful bands, flowers, birds and
occasionally other themes. Herb did most of his own art
work, but while he was a prison guard, he employed the
skills of master forgers in the prison where he worked. Herb
stopped making boomerangs for several years from the late
1980s until the early 1990s. Then in 1992, Herb got his
second wind and he began making Paxolin and finely decorated
Birch plywood models again. This continued for only a couple
of years. Herb lost his life to bone cancer in 1995. Herb's
models have become among the finest of collectable
boomerangs and the supply continues to diminish. This longer range boomerang was made out of 3 mm Paxolin
and painted black with silver tips. Signed on the underside
and dated 1994. This boomerang came out of Herb's personal
throwkit. It is in used, but excellent condition. There is a
channel on the upper surface of the dingle arm tip that
could be a flaw on the material or it could be an
intentional grove cut into the blade tip for some
aerodynamic purpose. Herb painted over the channel, so I
cannot inspect it. The range is too far for me to test throw
because I am left handed and limited to a range of about 80
metres on right handed boomerangs. I would estimate that
this boomerang has a range of 100+ metres. Remember, this is
a used boomerang from Herb's personal throwkit. There must
be a reason why Herb kept this one for his own use. This boomerang was supplied directly from the estate of
Herb A. Smith. The proceeds of the sale of this item will go
directly to Herb's widow - Anim Smith. The price of this
item will be reduced weekly until it is sold.