Rusty Harding is one of America's best known boomerang manufacturers. I first met Rusty in 1979 when Rusty and I lived in Florida only 30 miles apart. Rusty was already an experienced boomerang thrower and manufacturer. I had been throwing longer than Rusty, but Rusty put a lot more effort into making premium boomerang products. The quality products that I made and sold in the 1980s and 1990s was highly influenced by my association with Rusty. Rusty was left handed and his lefty booms were exceptional. He made a large number of sporting and competition boomerang models. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Rusty made boomerangs from his home in Vero Beach, Florida. In the early 1980s, Rusty moved to Lebanon, Tennessee where he continued to make boomerangs until the late 1990s. Rusty's old classics, especially those from Vero Beach, have become valuable collectables. The boomerangs that have the highest collectable value are the Concept models that were made out of lapped hardwood boards and with angles of 70 or 90 degrees. These were sometimes weighted. His Hurricane Hook and Contender [omega] designs are the most popular sporting models. Rusty died in November 2010 after a lengthy battle with coronary disease, so his models continue to grow in demand.

This beautiful lap joint boomerang was made out of Vermilion hardwood boards that overlap at the elbow and are reinforced with 6 small dowel rods that are pressed into drilled holes in the elbow. The angle between the blades is 90 degrees and both blades have a lead weight.Vermilion is a bright red wood from Africa that darkens with age and eventually turns purple in color so that it looks like Amaranth (Purpleheart). This Concept 90W is the third lap joint that Rusty made. Rusty kept the first one for himself, He sent the second one to Ben Ruhe for the Smithsonian collection and the third one was sent to Max Hoeben in Holland. This is the one that Rusty sent to Max. The dingle arm has " Concept 90W ; handcrafted from Vermilion (Africa) ; by Rusty Harding ; Vero Beach, Florida, USA ; July 24, 1979 ; #3 ". This boomerang is in excellent condition and it has a coating of high gloss Polyurethane to protect the wood. A wonderful collectable.