What are steel tip darts?
Steel tip darts are the most common type of darts in use today. It consists of three parts; the point, barrel, and flight. The point has a sharp tip made of steel to puncture the dartboard’s surface or wire mesh, which is attached to it with polypropylene glue that does not come off when you remove your darts. This allows players to retrieve and reuse their darts without damaging the dartboard. The barrels may be plated with nickel, brass, silver (which is an alloy of copper and zinc), or a cheaper metal depending on price range. There are also some very cheap novelty barrels that use plastic instead of metal for an unbelievable low price. Finally, flights vary in length and shape as well as material. There are three basic shapes: standard, kite, and slim; and four materials: plastic, nylon (or ‘poly’), paper, and thin rubber.
There are many different types of darts that you can buy to use for steel tip darts (summarized below). PDC and Steel-Point Darts are the most common in America, where they use a “Clock” system for scoring. There is also Bristle Dartboard which has many variants, but it’s most commonly used in pubs. You can play at home with electronic dartboards or multi-player boards. This article focuses on steel tip darts that are played with bristle dartboards.
Are steel darts good?
Steel tip darts are the most reliable and they are very competitive. However, you must follow the rules of the board or else it is considered cheating. Also, there are some dartboards that cannot be used with steel tip darts.
How do I throw steel tip darts?
There are four ways to throw a steel tip dart, which can be done in countless variations. These four types of throws are commonly called the “American”, “English”, “Sniper” and “Clock”.
What is an American throw?
To execute an American throw you hold the dart like you would hold a pencil, then rest the point on your ring finger, and throw the dart so it lands in the triple 20.
What is an English throw?
To execute an English throw you hold the dart between your thumb and index finger, rest it on your middle finger, then use that hand to power the dart into the board. This technique differs from American because of the lack of the use of your ring finger.
What is a Sniper throw?
A Sniper throw is executed by holding the dart between your thumb and index finger, tucking it underneath your middle three fingers to create a “claw” shape, then using that claw to power the dart into the board. This technique gained its name because of the increased accuracy from using all four fingers to aim.
What is a clock throw?
A clock throw is executed by holding the dart between your thumb and index finger, letting it rest on your index finger, then throwing it with a rotating motion of your wrist so that the dart lands in the triple 20 section. This made its name because the dart board is divided into a 12-hour clock, with three 20’s in the section closest to 2 o’clock.
Can you put steel tips on soft tip darts?
Yes, you can! If your soft tip darts have screw-off points you have to break the seal. Then take the point that came on it and screw it onto your steel tip dart. The only con to this is that you lose some of the accuracy.
What materials are available for steel tip darts?
There are four main materials used in making steel tip darts. They are nickel, brass, silver (copper and zinc), and plastic. Some very cheap novelty sets have been released lately with barrels made out of cardboard, which also has a lack of durability. Usually brass and nickel darts are the most common and least expensive, while silver is more costly but can last longer. Plastic barrels offer inexpensive options for beginners and kids to play with steel tip darts.
What is regulation distance for steel tip darts?
The regulation distance for dart play is 7′ 9 1/4″ (2.37 meters) from the face of the dartboard when measured to the nearest part of the steel tip darts.
Are steel tip dart boards quiet?
No, steel tip dart boards can be loud because of the wire bristle that is used to hold the numbers and playing surface onto a wooden or plastic board. They are much louder than electronic dart boards which use soft tips.
How to sharpen steel tip darts?
There is no proper way to sharpen steel tip darts, but there are many ways people do it. Your best bet is on a grinding wheel or some other kind of machine that can smooth out the point on your dart so you get more accuracy and consistency.
What is the best weight for steel tip darts?
A general rule for steel tip darts is that they weigh about 20 grams, which is either written on the box or in most dart guides. If you need a much different weight there are weight kits that come with extra tips that you can screw onto your dart to add or remove metal to change the weight of your dart.
Front weighted Steel Tip Darts
A front-weighted dart is a steel tip dart that has been weighted on the front by adding more metal to the barrel. This allows for better control and predictability as players can throw these darts with greater force. However, this means that they still have the same aerodynamic properties as a lighter weight dart.
Back Weighted Steel Tip Darts
A back-weighted dart is a steel tip with extra weight at the rear. This gives it more stability in flight but limits its maneuverability, so players need to strike the board more precisely instead of allowing the dart to rotate in mid-air or compensate for inaccuracies.
Xtra Light Steel Tip Darts
An xtra-light dart is one that has the least amount of metal, which means it weighs the least. It can be useful for throwing at shorter ranges but it’s accuracy will suffer at long distances.
Weight kit
A weight kit is a set of extra darts tips sold with or without accessories to add weight to your existing darts so you can change the weight of your dart. Weight kits can be useful for beginners and children who may find some darts difficult to throw, but can also be used by experienced players to change the weight of their darts.
You can also purchase dart boards to play with steel tip darts at home. Electronic dartboards allow you to play without worrying about other players or getting hit by flying darts. You can take away the human aspect of the game by computerizing it, but you also lose the social aspect of darting that makes playing at a bar or pub so much fun.
More articles that may interest you:
A complete guide about a dart game.
