Steel Tip Darts

What are steel tipped darts?

Steel tip darts are widely used around the world in the game of darts when playing on a bristle dartboard. A steel tip dart is made up of four key components: point, barrel, stem and flight. The point is made of a steel material, which is where the name ‘steel tip darts’ comes from.

A game of steel tip darts, which is played on a bristle dartboard, is what you will commonly see played on television by the professionals. This means you can try to emulate your very own professional steel tip darts game!

Steel tip darts have sharp metal points, so can damage walls and floors, and children must always play whilst being supervised by adults.  Over time you will need to replace your steel tip dartboard with a new one, as the points will eventually damage the Sisal material that the board is made of. Read through our 'How To Care For Your Dartboard' guide for some useful tips to keep your dartboard staying in good shape for as long as possible.

Types of steel tipped darts

The three most common types of steel tip darts are made of tungsten, nickel-silver or brass. Steel tip darts barrels made of tungsten are usually the most expensive but will provide you with the best quality. A tungsten dart is more durable, and you will see darts referred to in different percentages of tungsten, for example 90% tungsten. The higher the percentage of tungsten equals the higher the quality of the dart.

Tungsten is heavy, so the more tungsten content the dart has the smaller the dart needs to be to reach a certain weight; smaller darts makes them more suited for the more serious player who wants to improve their game, as your darts will cover less of the board, and you should be able to fit more darts next to each other in the treble sections of a dartboard! Brass and nickel-silver darts are a great option for beginners or casual players where this slight advantage is of less concern.

Who are steel tipped darts suitable for?

Steel tip darts are suitable for most ages, although the sharp points on the darts means younger players must be supervised when playing. If you want to introduce your children to darts at a young age, an electronic dartboard to play soft tip darts would be more advisable. In soft tip darts you do not use sharp steel tip darts, instead you play with soft tip darts with the points made of plastic.

A range of players will use steel tip darts, from beginners to the top professionals, who will use this type of dart when playing on television. For new players finding a dart and a style of throw that suits you can be a fun experience. It can take some trial and error to work out what darts are best for you, so we would recommend trying out different weights and styles to help find out what you prefer.

If you have any friends or family members who already play, ask them about their darts and if you can have a throw to try them out. We have a useful guide on 'How To Find The Perfect Darts For You' which has some tips on choosing a set from the 1,000+ we have available in our massive range. For beginners, we recommend starting off with 26-28g darts, as this will give you a better chance of keeping the dart straight.

For more information, our guide on 'Darts Barrels And Material' explains the various barrel shapes and different grips that are available which can help you decide the dart for you. With a little bit of patience, you can improve and progress your game and there are plenty of rewards on offer.

Are steel tip darts good?

Steel tipped darts are seen as the ‘purist’ choice when it comes to picking a set of darts. This is because steel tip is in the majority of countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, the most popular type of darts game. There are some parts of the world, such as in Germany, America and Asian countries, where it is predominantly soft tip darts which is mainly practiced.

Darts Corner stocks popular brands including Unicorn steel tipped darts, along with Mission, Harrows and Shot. Our most popular weight of darts available are 22g, 23g, 24g and 25g. We also stock the darts used by World Champions such as Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Eric Bristow and Lisa Ashton.

How to choose the best steel tip darts

We have a large selection of steel tip darts to choose from on our site, but you can refine your search with our filters to find the right type of dart for you. Our filters will let you choose the brands you want to see, and you can also select and deselect the specific dart weight, material, barrel shape, grip, colour, width, length and price to steer you to the perfect set of darts to suit your game.

If you need help choosing, then start with our 'Top 10 Steel Tip Darts' page. If you know your grip style check out our 'Top 10 Darts For Rear Grippers' and 'Top 10 Darts For Middle Grippers'.

For a beginner, we have available darts sets for less than £10, and it is worth looking at our steel tip darts sale in our clearance section where you can find a bargain. A more experienced player should find the grip they like and look towards higher quality tungsten darts as these will be more durable and last longer, which is ideal if you are playing for extended periods of time. Whatever you choose make sure it suits your style!

Darts Corner always has the best brands in stock, so if you’re looking for the big brands such as Mission, Harrows or Unicorn or you’re after a set of darts for a specific player like Damon Heta, Dave Chisnall or Fallon Sherrock, you’re sure to find what you are looking for!

Need some help choosing your set of steel tip darts? Check out our 'How To Find The Perfect Darts For You' blog for some useful pointers on picking your new arrows. We also have a 'How To Care For Your Darts' guide which offers some handy advice on looking after your darts and keeping them in the best possible condition.

Still unsure on what darts to buy? We also have a customer services team who can help you with any other queries you may have relating to steel tip darts. Contact us using this form on the website to get in touch with the Darts Corner team.