Herb Smith was one of England's greatest boomerang makers. 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 boomerang world to Paxolin, a dense and hard composite material that significantly extended the range beyond that of his plywood models. Paxolin boomerangs were smaller and they were 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 a master forger who was an inmate in the prison where he worked. Herb stopped making boomerangs in the late 1980s and the boomerang world was without one of it's greatest craftsman. Then suddenly in the early 1990s, Herb started making boomerangs again and these were among the finest that Herb ever produced. Herb was only able to produce a limited number of boomerangs in the 1990s because he became ill with bone cancer and died in 1995. Herb's models have become among the finest of collectable boomerangs as the supply continues to diminish.

This small boomerang, made out of 3 mm Birch plywood, has minimal decorations, but the art is still typical for Herb's miniature models. This boomerang is signed and dated April 1987. The model identification ( Miniature Tornado ) is written on the underside of the lift arm. This one is in mint condition. I did test throw this boomerang. it has a flight range of 35-40 metres, but it is a tricky throw. You do need to throw this low and with some layover for best results. You can also tune it for your own throwing preferences if you have the necessary tuning skills.

This boomerang was supplied directly from the estate of Herb A. Smith. The proceeds from the sale of this boomerang will go directly to Herb's widow, Anim Smith. The price of this item will be reduced every week until it is sold.