Barrel
Process
for Manufacturing Tungsten Barrel
Barrel
shape
The barrel forms the main part of a dart. When we are speaking
of "buying a (new) dart" we mean getting a new dart
barrel. Nowadays barrels are available in almost every possible
shape, 
with
a wide selection of knurl or rings on the surface for a comfortable
and safe grip.
The
main barrel shapes are:
-
cylinder
- ton
- torpedo
Some barrel shapes. The selection to the left shows barrels
with 2 threads (soft tip), to the right are fixed-tip steeldart
barrels.
It's not possible to say which one is the "right"
one. Based on a very theoretical reasoning the long cylindrical
barrel could be the best of them because it is the slimmest
and allows the tightest grouping. Good for 140s and 180s.
But this reasoning doesn't help you when you are not able
to handle such a barrel. Selecting the right shape is a matter
of personal preference. Choose what feels comfortable for
you. This is much more important than an abstract or "academic"
reasoning about theoretical advantages or disadvantages of
some shapes.
Barrel
surface
The surface of the barrel is covered by knurling or rings
for a safe grip on the dart. Again there is a vast selection
of different surface shapes, and 
combinations
of them. And there is the possibility of a plain surface (which
beginners are usually unhappy with). Again, it can't be said
which variations are the best ones. Choose what suits you,
what feels good and what you think you can handle.
There
is only one thing you should avoid: painted surfaces. Paint
might look good, but usually it makes the dart only more slippery.
The probably only exception here is Unicorn's "gold"
brand. These darts are covered with a golden coat (I don't
know what material this coating is. But it's not gold) which
they say improves the grip. I have not experienced any differences
with these darts, but some people seem to like them. Try and
find out for yourself.
Barrel
Material
Today's standard material is Nickel-Tungsten. Tungsten is
a very dense material, so darts with a considerable weight
can be made quite slim. The invention of tungsten darts had
a big impact on the sport. With the new darts it was possible
to achieve much better grouping than before, and the averages
in pro games have improved dramatically. It is not an overstatement
when this development is referred to as "the tungsten
revolution". 
Before
the tungsten revolution darts were mainly made of brass. Brass
darts are still used by some players because they are much
cheaper than Tungstens. But brass darts are ancient technology
now, so I can't recommend them.
Because
of technical difficulties with manufacturing a 100% tungsten
dart is not available. All "tungsten" darts you
can buy are in fact made of tungsten alloys, with Nickel-Tungsten
being the most common one. When you buy a dart the amount
of tungsten in the alloy is given by a percentage number.
So a common "80% Tungsten" dart has 80 percent tungsten
and 20 percent Nickel. Tungsten darts are available from 80%
to over 90%. The more tungsten the slimmer - and the more
expensive - the dart is. If the high-percentage tungsten darts
are worth the higher price is an open question. Personally
I think that 80% tungstens are good enough for almost everyone.
Remember:
the only benefit from a high tungsten share is that the dart
can be made slimmer than a dart with the same weight and a
lower tungsten share. In no way do higher tungsten percentages
indicate some sort of overall better quality or better machining.
In
recent years a growing number of people has become allergic
to Nickel. With Nickel-Tungsten darts being the standard equipment
nowadays these people will have problems with their darts.
There are a few darts available with different tungsten alloys,
such as silver tungsten or copper tungsten. However, these
darts are very rare. The major dart manufacturers don't supply
them. If you are allergic to Nickel you will probably have
to look for these alternatives.
Barrel
Weight
Dart weight is a never ending story. A lot of people want
to know which weight they should throw, which weight is the
most common one, what's the average weight and so on. There
is no right answer to these questions. For the "average
weight" question there probably is an answer, but it
doesn't make much sense.
An
example of two world champions:
Dennis Priestley throws 14 gram darts.
Raymond van Barneveld throws 26 gram darts.
If
you ask the average question now the answer will be 20 grams,
but does this make sense when the weights vary that much?
For
a beginner steel dart player I recommend a barrel weight between
22 and 25 grams, which is slightly on the heavy side. The
reason is that you need to develop a basic throwing skill
in order to reach a certain initial level of play with darts
on the heavy side. You would probably reach such a level a
bit faster with lighter darts, but lighter darts don't force
you to develop a somehow decent technique which will make
later improvement a lot harder. Heavier darts also forgive
slight technical inconsistencies (in other words: errors)
better than lighter darts -- I like to tell heavier darts
more "good-natured" because of this. The lighter
the dart the more sensible it reacts to what you are doing
-- slight intentional adjustments as well as slight technical
errors or deficits.
Once
you have got some darting experience and a decent technique
you may find the heavier dart not that convincing any longer
because of its good-natured behavior. If you then think you
could use a dart that reacts more sensible you should consider
going lighter.
Soft
tip players won't have that much of a choice for their dart's
weight. The limit set by the machine operators and leagues
usually is below 20 grams. If you are a beginner in soft tip
the only advice I can give you concerning the weight of your
darts is start at the maximum allowed weight.
Compatibility
Standards
Compatibility means that you can for instance attach shafts
of one shaft manufacturer to barrels made by a different company.
Steel
tip and Soft tip
"Classic"
steel darts have solid attached tips. This means they can't
be used for soft tip darts. A classic steel tip dart has the
fixed tip on one end and a thread for the flight on the other.
Soft
tip darts have threads on both ends. One is for the plastic
tip and one for the shaft. You can use these darts for steel
if you replace the plastic tips with replacement tips for
steel darts. Such replacement tips are available in various
shapes.
However,
there are steel tip darts that also have two threads. They
are usually meant for use with "movable tips". Such
tips will reduce bounce-outs. These darts, although intended
for steel only, can also be used for soft tip. Just replace
the movable tips with soft tips. On the other side, most soft
tip darts can be equipped with such movable steel tips. Only
"most" because some movable tip systems require
a thread deeper than usual. For instance Unicorn's Hammer
Head system can be used on normal soft tip darts, while Harrows'
Power Point system can't.
Threads
The
threads of all usual tungsten darts are called "2BA"
which follows a british norm. Older brass darts often have
a 1/4 inch thread. These two threads are not compatible. 1/4
inch threads are as ancient as brass darts are, so there usually
is no need to worry about that when buying a tungsten dart.
Standard shafts or soft/movable tips you buy are equipped
with the 2BA thread, so problems with incompatibility of the
threads should not occur.
However,
there are some pitfalls. Some dart manufacturers supply darts
with "alternative" attachment methods. The GT series
of Bottlesen Hammer Heads is such an example. The shaft of
this dart isn't attached with a thread, it is attached through
just a thin whole and a rubber tube to fix it. This system
is unique -- as good or as bad as the thread system, but you
have to take into account that for shafts for this system
you will have to rely on the manufacturer. For other companies
supplying a shaft only for such special series is not economical.
Another
company that comes to my mind here is Unicorn. They are using
the 2BA thread, but the outside measures of their darts' flight
ends are slightly bigger than those from other manufacturers.
This means that Unicorn shafts won't give a plain cut between
dart and shaft on non-Unicorn darts. The shaft will slightly
jut out on any other dart. Of course all other shafts will
be slightly thinner than the barrel if attached to a Unicorn
dart.
The
bottom line is, if you are buying a new dart take your old
spare parts with you to see if you can use them on your new
dart. If you buy your first dart set, try to attach the cheap
standard spare parts of the shop to this dart, not the ones
that are shipped with the darts when you open the box.
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Standard
Size