Al Gerhards is one of America's most famous pioneers in the development of long distance boomerangs. Al was an active thrower, designer and competitor in the 1970s and early 1980s. His most popular model is the Standard Hook which was made out of strip laminated hardwoods. The standard hook was occasionally made without weights, but the majority of these boomerangs had a single lead weight on each tip with a unique serial number stamped in the weight on the lift arm tip. The earliest examples (1970s) had an additional half weight inserted into the underside of the elbow, but this was discontinued on hooks made in the 1980s because the elbow weight was often the source for delaminations. Al also made strip laminated large hooks, small hooks, omegas, traditionals and the awesome Big "U"s. The large hooks were called "White Lightning" hooks and Al used one of these to set a World Record in the long distance event with a documented throw of more than 125 yards back in the late 1970s.

This boomerang is the "Standard Hook". It is also a very special "Offset Laminated" model constructed in 1980 out of two blanks glued together horizontally and with the vertical laminations offset for added strength. This particular example was originally owned by Chet Snouffer who traded it to Rob Croll for a fine Janetzki boomerang 15 years ago. Therefore, this boomerang is not only a rare Gerhards model, but it was owned and used by two world champions giving it a fine pedigree. The photo below shows the number "024" stamped into the weight on the underside of the lift arm. Only offset hooks had numbers starting with "0". The photo also shows the Gerhards date and signature as well as Chet's and Rob's ownership markings and an edge view that shows the offset lamination interface. This boomerang is in excellent condition, but there is a tiny lamination edge flaw that might affect the strength. I visited with Al Gerhards in early 2006 and asked him about the integrity of his boomerangs after 25-30 years. Al assured me that he used strong epoxy glues and that he still throws boomerangs that he made 30 years ago without any problems. Al recommends that the owners of his boomerangs rub the surface with Tung oil or Gun oil prior to throwing if it has been in storage. The boomerang should be oiled at least once every 3 months if it is thrown regularly. However, I discourage the throwing of this fine collectable unless it is thrown under very carefully controlled conditions. I would prefer that the buyer make a copy of this boomerang for his own use and save the original as a fine collectable.