How to Sharpen a Dart

Darts like many tools may become ineffective over time. In the same way that a knife becomes blunt overtime so do darts points. Therefore, sometimes we will find that we need to sharpen our darts. In this post we’ll cover how to sharpen a dart, and much more.

Why do we Sharpen our Darts?

When a darts point becomes blunt it will begin to have a harder time attempting to penetrate the bristle of the dartboard. You will begin to experience more bounce outs, so to combat this we use tools to make our darts sharper again.

What do I Need?

All you will need for this is a classic darts sharpener. They are sold for quite cheap. I recommend the Tihood round darts sharpener. They are made up of a few sanding stones that grind against the point of the dart.

How do Sharpeners Work?

Place the dart into the darts sharpener and begin to move the dart in small circles. You will find the dart sharpener has a dip in it when you first purchase it. This is to ensure equal sharpening around the point. So, slowly move the dart around the sanding stones. Every so often pull the dart out and check how sharp it is. If the sharpness has improved move on to the next dart. If it has not, then simply continue with this dart until it has.

How Often Should I Sharpen my Darts?

The key is do not let your darts get blunt. Blunt darts will result in bad performance. However, do not overly sharpen them either as this can have detrimental effects. If you sharpen a lot, you will begin to ware away at the point. Additionally, if you do this unevenly it can begin to affect the weight of the dart. This also can have a negative effect on the dart.

You will know when it is time to sharpen your dart. Darts should be sharp to touch. If you notice that you are getting more bounce outs than usual and you touch the point, and it feels blunter than it should be then it is probably time to sharpen your dart. You do not need to sharpen your dart before every game or after every bounce out, players that sharpen their darts obsessively will find themselves spending a lot of money on points.

When not to Sharpen Darts

You do not need to sharpen your dart before every game or after every bounce out, players that sharpen their darts obsessively will find themselves spending a lot of money on points.

Definitely do not sharpen your darts before you have used your darts for the first time. Your darts will be delivered already sharpened so just start throwing them at the board to begin making them blunt over time. Once they are blunt you can then sharpen them.

Final Thoughts on how to Sharpen a Dart

Sharpening your darts is essential to ensure the top performance of any dart player however so many darts points are lost every year as a result of over sharpening. Only after you are getting more bounce outs than use a dart sharpener. After that you should be good to go for at least another few weeks before your darts should need sharpening again. Dart Sharpeners are an essential part of the darting equipment so be sure to get some.