UnNatural Walnut Elbow [TB17]

John Cryderman (from Chatham, Canada) is well known for
making high quality strip laminated and Birch plywood
boomerangs. Many of these models are John’s original
designs. However, he occasionally makes replicas of
boomerangs made by other famous boom makers, such as strip
laminated hooks and omegas made by Al Gerhards of
Downington, Pennsylvania. John usually makes his strip
laminated boomerangs out of native Canadian hardwoods, but
he will often use exotic woods, such as Mahogany and Ebony.
Some of the plywood and strip laminated boomerangs are
decorated with inlaid plugs of exotic woods arranged in
pseudo-floral patterns. The vast majority of John’s
boomerangs are large in size and they require a strong
thrower in order for the boomerangs to make a full
return.

This beautiful traditional boomerang was made out of an
UnNatural Canadian Walnut Elbow. The UnNatural Elbow looks
just like a natural elbow, but the abrupt bend was achieved
by steaming and loading a straight hardwood board without
inducing a tensile surface fracture. The shape is similar to
Herb Smith’s Sycamore model. It is signed and dated 1992.
The flight range is about 30 metres. Because this is a heavy
boomerang, there is no hover at he end of the flight. Both
the upper and lower surfaces are coated with polyurethane,
but the coating is worn through in several places from
handling (see photo) and it could use another light coat of
polyurethane or oil to enhance the beauty of the grain.
There are a couple of small compression marks on the
underside. This boomerang is quite impressive when hanging
on the wall or when flying in the air.

Handedness: Right Handed
Span: 55
cm
Weight: 172 gm

Historical sale price: $116
Historical sale date: 2 November
2007