Caring your for darts will not only enable you to keep your costs down, it will enable you to play at a higher level with a quality set of darts.
For a darts player the biggest investment they will make (aside from the time they will put in improving their game) is in the purchase of a quality set of darts. Now given a quality set of darts will go for at least $60 USD or 45 pounds replacing your darts on a regular basis will leave you with a very light wallet or purse.
Now a good darts player should never blame their darts however if you aren’t regularly caring for your darts this may be setting your darts game back. Caring for your darts wont just help with your darts game, it’ll also help your bank account.
So how do you look after your darts? Below we go through some tips on caring for your darts and equipment.
Below are some tips to get the longest life out of your darts:
1. Keep your tips sharp
Probably the most important maintenance you can do for your darts is to keep your dart tips sharp. The last thing you want is darts falling from the board. Not only will sharper darts will stay in the board, darts hitting the floor tend to get damaged and won’t cause darts to bounce out from the board, potentially damaging your darts, breaking stems, etc. So what is the best way to keep your darts sharp?
Use a darts sharpener. Whilst you could go primitive with the use of a coarse material such as sand paper, the easiest way is to use a darts sharpener. A normal darts sharpener is usually a small stone with a small opening at one end for your dart tips to sharpen against the stone. Insert your dart into the dart sharpener and move the point around until you are getting the rounded tip you desire. Try the darts sharpener for 30 seconds then test the tip, is it at your desired level? If not, repeat until your dart tips are exactly how you want them.
The two dart sharpeners we recommend are Formula Sports Dart Sharpener or Harrows Aluminium Keyring Dart Sharpener (should you wish to add this to your key ring).
So how sharp should your darts be? They should not be as sharp as a needle; however you should be able to feel a rounded, distinct point if you gently pressed the dart into your finger or hand. Darts that are too sharp are dangerous and will also hasten the demise of your dart board, so dart tips with rounded point is the aim. Ideally you want to keep a darts sharpener handy when you are playing in case you need a quick sharpen up and you will want a proper sharpening every month or so.
2. Regularly clean your Dart Barrels (simple barrels with no paint or other coating)
Given your darts barrel tends to collect dirt you want to clean these regularly. Some suggestions to cleaning your dart barrels include:
- For a simple clean, use a clean rag or even some alcohol wipes
- For barrels that haven’t been cleaned in a while or there is a significant build up of dirt
- Prepare a bowl of warm water and add in a small amount of simple detergent or soap (vinegar is also used by some players to clean their dart barrels).
- Leave dart barrels in this water for an hour or so
- If you have a significant build up in grime use a small brush or even a toothbrush to clean away this dirt build up.
- Wipe darts with a clean cloth.
- You might also want to carry a small cloth with your darts when you play.
3. Replace Dart Stems and Flights regularly
Obviously dart stems and dart flights that are broken or faulty need to be replaced. Stems should last longer than flights however both should be checked thoroughly before each darts session.
Dart flights that are quite chipped or broken won’t fly properly and will significantly affect your scores so you want to be vigilant with the quality of your flights and replace flights sooner rather than later in this case.
If you are lucky and your darts remain nick free then keep the same set until they become damaged or broken.
You might also look at replacing your dart flights every time you replace the stems and before throwing your darts. Also make sure that your dart flights are settled correctly inside the dart stems.
Dart stems should last longer than flights however if your stems have been chipped or the opening for the dart flights has been damaged, replace the stems.
If you use plastic dart stems that are broken and hard to dislodge from the barrel, you can use a Shaft Extraction Tool to remove the broken shaft or you could use a small flat headed screw driver to scrape out stem remnant though be careful not to strip the thread of the barrel. Some also use this style of screw driver and heat up the tip of the screw driver to melt the broken plastic stem.
Also make sure your dart stems are tight before you throw your darts.
As with most things, the more you care for something, the longer it will last. Darts are no exception and the better you take care of these, the better your scores will be and the longer your darts will last.