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 Rock Maple 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 70 degrees and both blades have a lead weight. This Concept 70VW is an early one, made in Vero Beach (#66). The dingle arm has " 70 VW " neatly printed on the upper surface and the dingle arm tip is painted with gold crackle paint. Both of these were added by Max Hoeben, the previous owner. The underside of the dingle arm has " Concept 70VW ; handcrafted from Rock Maple; by Rusty Harding ; Vero Beach, Florida, USA ; March 24, 1980 ; #66 ". This boomerang is in excellent condition and it has a coating of high gloss Polyurethane to protect the wood. A small area on the underside has the gloss coating worn off. A wonderful and rare collectable.