Steel tip darts are the originals, the darts that everyone used up until the 1990′s when soft tip darts came on the scene in a big way. Steel tip darts are also the choice of all the big money tournaments, like the Las Vegas Classic and the British Lakeside competition. There is some animosity toward the soft tip darters from the traditionalist darters who believe that the only true darts game uses steel tip darts and Sisal dart boards.

Steel darts are made of steel with a sharpened point so they can stick into sisal or a wooden dart board. Over the years, the steel tip has undergone some innovations, like the Bottelsen No Bounce out darts, whereby the tip of the darts can retract into the object and absorb the sharp impact allowing a forward momentum for the dart to pass and stick into the board.

Another dart used is the Black widow darts, which follows a similar system called a movable point. This form of darts had the added advantage to swivel around the tip and had the same effect as spinning shafts.

These days darts are being manufactured from different materials. Tungsten is considered to be the current demand for material of the dart. It has a superior density with less weight as compared to traditional brass, which increases the chances of hitting three in a bed and scoring 180.

Although, the tips of the dart varies, but the other parts like the shaft, flights etc remains the same. Another difference between darts are their weights. For example, steel tip darts weighs around 18 – 28 gm range, but soft tip darts only weighs upto 20 gm to protect the delicate electronics.

As for maintenance of your steel tips, be sure to keep the point sharp, either by rubbing the tip on some grinding paper or using the shaped carborundum stone you can get specifically to keep steel tips sharp. If you are really flash, you can get battery-operated sharpeners that can do it for you, guaranteeing the correct angle to your point as well.

Darts is a fun social sport, the history of which can be traced back to the days of the longbow in Medieval England, and is still popular today.It has been said that darts were used in archery training because it helped with accuracy. They shortened the darts and had people throw them at the bottom of an empty wine barrel. It has been noted by historians that the use of the barrel lead to the development of the game of darts that we know today.

It was thought that darts developed into a sport in itself when soldiers being trained in archery took their shortened darts to local pubs and bars so they could refine their skills as well as exhibit their talents to the locals. When the bottom of the barrel proved to be inconvenient, someone created a cross-section of a moderate sized tree.

The game of darts itself soon spread and it was being played by old and young all over England. The rich and elite of the country were no different. They soon put their own stamp on the game. Darts can be traced back to the Pilgrims. It has been said that the game of darts was very popular on the Mayflower as it made its ocean crossing.

The rules of darts settled into what we know today at around 1900. The size of the board, throwing distance and even the size of the darts became standard. Many people enjoy the sport around the world. Today there are organized tournaments and organizations and leagues that specialize in the sport of darts. It is very popular and people make their living playing this sport all over the world.