Within this part of The Dart Thrower I will explain basic darts equipment. Which equipment there is, which materials it is made of, and what the advantages and disadvantages of these materials are. I will also have a look at darts tuning (how different flights and shafts influence the dart throw), which maintenance a dart needs (such as point sharpening), which tools there are available as add-ons, and what you should take care of when buying darts.

Tip	Barrel	Shaft or Stem	Flight	Add-ons
"Classic" fixed steel tip, soft tip or movable steel tip	Main part, often just called "the dart"	Holds the flight and keeps it in proper distance	Stabilizes the dart in the air	Flight protectors, metal and rubber rings

	A dart stripped of its parts. Parts from left to right: tip, barrel, shaft, flight, flight protector.
	The same dart assembled and ready for play.

This section of The Dart Thrower contains:

Barrels
A description of barrel shapes, materials barrels are made of, which weight to choose and compatibility standards (such as which threads are used).

Flights
Shapes of flights and what you have to know about them.

Shafts
Material and styles (length) of shafts.

Darts tuning
How to determine the correct shaft/flight combination for your game.

Soft and Steel dart tips
Not much to say about soft tips, but a description of replacement tips for steel and movable tip systems.

Maintenance and transportation
What you should know about darts maintenance, best way to keep steel tips sharp, which dart cases you should buy, which you should avoid and a description of useful maintenance tools.

Buying darts
What you should take care of when shopping for darts.