Item TB272
This Item was Sold on 25 July 2011
for $200
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This small hook was made out of 3 mm Paxolin in 1986. It is one of the first small Paxolin hooks ever made by Herb Smith. It is painted very dart blue and you can barely read the words "Made by Herb A Smith of Sussex, England" and "Chick-A-Dee". In fact, I had to scan the surface and use Photoshop filters to bring out the writing (see photo). The initials HAS are scratched into the tip of the surface of the dingle arm. I acquired this hook from Herb Smith's widow, Anim, shortly after Herb's death in 1995. It was from his personal throwkit and not one of his for-sale boomerangs. In fact, I have never seen this model for sale or any other copies, so it must be unique or quite rare. This hook has been part of my personal throwkit for 15 years. I am left handed and this is a right handed boomerang. This hook is at the maximum range that I can throw a right handed boomerang and it has been one of my personal favorites. The flight range is approximately 70 metres and it makes a very low perfect circle just a few feet above the ground all the way around. I usually have to bend the blades up slightly before each throwing session to keep it from hiting the ground. Sometimes, I add a coin to the upper surface of the dingle arm a couple of inches from the tip, using masking tape. This reduces the range slightly and makes it fly higher. It takes a straight out low throw with about 30 degrees of layover for optimal performance. It has some wear from use, but there is no damage to the paint. It is in very good to excellent condition. It has a fine patina on the surface from 25 years of throwing pleasure by both Herb Smith and myself. I really want to see this one go to a good home where someone will take good care of it.
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, a dense and hard composite material that expanded the range of his boomerangs beyond that of his plywood models. Herb continued to make plywood models as sporting boomerangs, even after the introduction of Paxolin models. The Paxolin boomerangs were smaller and usually painted in two colors and with simple line art. 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 a master forger in the prison where he worked to paint a few of his boomerangs. Herb stopped making boomerangs for several years beginning in the late 1980s and began making boomerangs again in 1992, Herb continued to make boomerangs for only a couple of years. Herb lost his life to bone cancer in 1995. Herb's models are among the finest of collectable boomerangs and the supply continues to diminish. |
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