Those who play darts regularly will know how important it is to take care of their darts. One of the most important parts of a dart is the tip. For optimal performance, it’s important to keep the point of your steel tip darts sharp.
In which case, you need to know how to sharpen your darts correctly. When appropriately sharpened, you’ll notice a considerable performance improvement.
This article will provide tips on how to sharpen your darts correctly.
How To Sharpen Your Darts
To sharpen steel tip darts, use a sharpening tool to shape the tip into a rounded point. The tip of your darts should be rounded but not too blunt and not too pointy.
When using a dart sharpener, place the dart tip into the sharpener and move your dart in a circular motion, using light pressure.
How Sharp Should Your Darts Be?
Firstly, you need to know how to sharpen your darts. To know whether the tip of your dart is too sharp, gently run your finger over the tip. If it feels needle-sharp, the tip is too sharp.
Below we’ve listed a couple of drawbacks of overly sharp dart tips:
- Damage to the board
- Increased bounce-outs
- Damage to the spider when hit
What Happens When Your Darts Are Too Blunt?
Using blunt darts will reduce the chances of them sticking into the board effectively and increase the potential of bounce-outs. Blunt tips may also cause damage to your dartboard.
A blunt dart tip will push the fibers on the dartboard rather than penetrate through them, resultsing in the face of your dartboard becoming damaged, leaving noticeable holes.
When throwing a perfectly sharpened dart into a dartboard, it will glide between the sisal fibers, and once removed, the fibers will return to their previous position.
What Are Burrs?
Over time your darts will become worn and develop burrs. Burrs are small formations of rough edges and ridges on the metal tip of your darts.
Burrs occur when your darts contact the metal frame or hit a hard surface such as the wall or floor. Burrs can be damaging to your darts and your dartboard.
When pulling your dart out of the board, burrs will act as small hooks, pulling out the sisal fibers when removing the dart from the board. Therefore, it’s vital to inspect your dart’s tips often.
How To Stop Your Darts From Getting Burrs?
To stop your darts from developing burrs, use a dart mat and place it below your board. Preventing damage to the dart tip when hitting the floor’s hard surface. Additionally, invest in a dartboard backboard to prevent further damage when your darts miss the board.
How To Use a Dart Sharpener
So, After purchasing a quality dart sharpener, you can start sharpening and maintaining your darts. To begin with, you need to insert the blunted tip of the dart into a sharpener. Now start to grind the tip slowly, with light pressure.
We’d recommend that you sharpen your dart for 10-20 seconds. After which, check the tip by slowly moving your finger over it. If you feel that the tip is still too blunt, continue to sharpen it to check back regularly.
What To Consider When Buying a Dart Sharpener
Be aware that failure to use a dart sharpener correctly can damage your darts. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the most common things you should consider when buying a dart sharpener.
- Bowl-shaped or cylinder-shaped sharpener
- Sharpeners made of stone
- Small and comfortable to hold
Conclusion
Over time darts become blunt, affecting your darts’ ability to stick to the board. However, when sharpening darts, you need to be careful not to over sharpen them.
Therefore, make sure to sharpen your darts correctly using the techniques discussed above.
