Despite using premium equipment and following all the rules, if your dart performance is still disappointing, your darts probably need some attention.
Over the time, darts lose their sharpness and become blunt. If not resharpened, these blunt darts can drag your game down, resulting in missed targets and low scores.
No matter how expensive or good-quality darts you use, you must sharpen their points to keep those keen and bright.
Now as a dart player, you might know sharpening a dart is slightly different from sharpening a pencil. You cannot sharpen it a lot or too less. You need to know how sharp is too sharp and how to give the darts the finest points.
To make this easy for you, we’ve covered everything regarding sharpening darts in this guide. The importance, the equipment, everything. You will also get a step-by-step guide on how to sharpen darts later in this article.
Why sharpening darts is important?
Before you buy darts, there is a whole process you go through. You consider the key factors, look for options, compare those, and finally, take your wallet out to own the best darts.
So it’s normal for you to ask why to put extra effort into sharpening the darts you’ve bought so carefully.
Well, because darts lose their sharpness over time. No matter what brand or material you pick, it won’t be the same after a certain period.
Before we enlighten you about the importance of sharpening dart tips, you should know what causes a dart to lose its sharpness.
Darts are thrown at a high velocity every time you play the game. Gradually the points get pressed, falling over the dartboard frequently. It makes their tips dull and blunt. Moreover, new players or players who are trying different throwing style often causes miss-thrown shots. These bad shots form a burr on the point and shaft of a dart. These bends might seem small but can cause the darts to lack accuracy.
Also, sometimes cheap darts don’t have a perfect sharp tip, so the dart becomes dull and blunt after a few games. Not keeping darts in the storage box or throwing them randomly on strong surfaces for fun, too, can ruin your dart and turn those into useless equipment.
A burr and blunt dart impacts your game negatively. If you use a blunt tip dart, it will not stick to the board properly. Instead, it will bounce or fall off the board.
Blunt darts also bounce out when thrown toward the spider of the dartboard. As a result, you will not be able to hit your target and score as desired.
Burr formed on the dart tip, or shaft is equally responsible for decreasing your performance in the game of darts. If you have a burr on your dart, you will likely witness bad placement.
A faulty dart with no sharpness can also be dangerous for your dartboard. Dart with small bends or burr damages the dart board pulling the fibers out.
Sharpening your dart is important if your darts are blunt or have a burr. But sharpening is also required if the darts are too pointy. Like blunt darts, needle-like tips can cause more bounces and make you a bad player. In addition, pointy darts damage dartboards, walls, and surroundings.
How to sharpen darts with a sharpener?
To sharpen your darts, you can use either a manual sharpener or an electronic sharpener.
These tools almost look like pencil sharpeners and are commonly found in dart equipment stores. Some dart companies provide complementary sharpener accessories when you purchase darts or dart boards from them.
Dart sharpeners are made of stone. You will find them in various shapes and sizes, for example, round, cylindrical, and bowl-shaped. Dart sharpener can be small to fit in the hands or a bit larger as well. No matter the size and shape, these are affordable and easy to use if you know the methods.
Sharpening darts can be done in minutes if you follow the steps bellow:
Step 1: Find the right dart sharpener
The right sharpener is what you can comfortably hold and work with.
Though there are different size and shape options, technically there is no right or wrong one.
If you are fine using large-size sharpeners, you can go ahead. But generally, we suggest using small-sized ones as they fit in hand and are easy to work with. Similarly, round or cylinder are both good for sharpening your dart tips, but since we’ve seen most players loving the outcome of round one, we suggest trying that once.
Step 2: Instert the bunt tip inside the sharpener
Take the dart you need to sharpen. Locate the hole of the sharpener and insert the dart there. Don’t press it too hard inside the hole.
Step 3: Start grinding
Now rotate the dart slowly in a smooth motion to grind the blunt tip. The process should be even and gentle. It may feel like you are sharpening a pencil but don’t press it hard or move fast as we do with pencils.
After 20-30 seconds of rotating, check whether the dart still has a blunt tip or burr. If yes, resume the grinding procedure.
Using an electronic dart sharpener, you will not need to rotate the dart manually. The machine will do this for you in a few minutes.
To be clearer about this process, you can watch this video on how to use a dart shrapener.
Step 4: Store properly when done
Take out the dart from the sharpening hole, brush it with your fingers, and notice if you still feel an uneven surface or blunt tip or if the point has become too sharp.
A perfectly sharp dart will have rounded tips with enough sharpness to penetrate the dart board.
If you find so, the dart is perfectly sharpened and ready for the next match.
Now store the dart in a good quality storage box or carrying case to avoid further damage.
Types of Dart Sharpeners
You need to sharpen your darts occasionally to have the best experience in the game of darts.
But for that, you must pick the suitable sharpener that will result in a perfectly sharpened dart. Because often, you invest your hard-earned money into a product that disappoints you.
There are two types of sharpeners available for darts. If you aren’t aware of these, it can be challenging to understand the specifications. Choosing the best dart sharpener can be challenging from the hundreds of options.
But no more worries! We’ve explained the two types of darts and suggested a few good manual dart sharpeners and electronic dart sharpeners.
Now you can learn about these and choose as per your requirements.
Manual dart sharpener:
Manual dart sharpeners are great deals at affordable prices. In addition, they don’t need any batteries or electric power to run. Instead, you have to operate these sharpeners with your hand.
Manual sharpeners can give you the desired result if you sincerely follow the process of sharpening darts. Initially, you may need some time to get used to it, but once you’re familiar with a manual sharpener,you will love using it.
Among the many available options, we liked Aoyoho Star Dart sharpener the most. It’s a round dart sharpener made with superior materials. The size of this dart sharpener is small and compact. So easily holdable. It works great and takes comparatively less time than other manual sharpeners. Also, the packaging is excellent. By paying only a few bucks, this can be yours.
Besides, there are Cyeelife Dart sharpener and TIHOOD Round Special Dart Sharpener. Cyeelife dart sharpener has great user reviews. It’s easy to use and works smoothly to restore sharpness. Tihood Round Dart sharpener is another manual dart sharpener you can pick. It gives you perfectly rounded darts that won’t bounce.
Electronic Dart Sharpener:
Electric dart sharpeners are battery-operated. It doesn’t need to be rotated manually. You only need to insert the dart in the sharpener hole. The machine will take care of the rest. Thus you get to take some rest after your hectic match while your dart is being prepared.
Electronic dart sharpeners are time-saving and require less effort. It makes the dart point rounded and sharp and removes the burr at the same time. It also deburs darts, so the bent shape of the darts doesn’t ruin your game. In some electronic dart sharpeners, you can also choose the angle of sharpening. However, electronic sharpeners cost more than manual ones and are not largely available.
If you are interested in buying an electronic dart sharpener, we suggest you check the motorized part and the battery before spending money. Also, avoid cheap electronic darts, as those don’t sharpen the darts properly.
We’d suggest to try the PerfectDarts SLYDART Silver Bullet Dart Point MOTORISED Sharpener once. It can sharpen dull dart tips gently and effectively. Since it’s motorized, you don’t need to put much pressure. The price of this electric sharpener is also reasonable.
How to sharpen darts with Sand Paper?
You’ve learned how to sharpen darts using a dart sharpener. Undoubtedly, dart sharpeners are very effective and do the job nicely.
But often, budget issues restrict the user from buying a dart sharpener. Apart from that, sometimes the dart sharpener is not available to get, or you may not find it at the time of necessity.
All these situations can make you demand an alternative dart sharpener that’s affordable and can be found easily. And we’ve found the alternative is sandpaper.
You surely have heard or even seen how sandpaper works. It can smoothen or even rough surfaces with a little effort. It takes more time than a dart sharpener, but the result is worth the wait.
If you’ve some sandpaper handy and wondering how you can sharpen your darts using that, here’s the method to do it:
- Place a piece of sandpaper evenly on a strong surface.
- Hold the dart with your thumb and index finger and grind it back and forth on the sandpaper. Do this in light hands without pressing the tip too hard.
- Check the dart frequently after 10-20 seconds.
- Continue this way until the dart tip becomes harp and rounded.
This can also be done by wrapping the dart with sandpaper. In such a case, you must rotate the dart, holding it the same way mentioned above until you are satisfied with the sharpness.
Conclusion
Sharpening darts is considered a regular maintenance. It is essential to keep your darts in good shape. Repointing or sharpening darts can extend your dart’s life, so you won’t have to buy new darts frequently. It also prevents the dartboards from denting or damage.
Darts that are sharp enough, help to improve your game and increase your success rate. So, now that you learned to sharpen your darts correctly, we hope you check on them regularly, sharpen them occasionally, and score better!
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