Dart Points Explained: Swiss Point, Conversion and Standard Points
Points are the cheapest part of a dart and the one most likely to end a game. They bend, they blunt, they snap, and they bounce out of the board when they do. This guide explains the three kinds of steel point you will meet in Australia, how to tell which one your darts use, and what you can and cannot change.
The three kinds of steel tip point
1. Standard fixed points
On most steel-tip darts the point is permanently fixed into the barrel. It is pressed or bonded in at the factory and is not designed to be removed. This is the normal arrangement, it is perfectly good, and it is what the large majority of darts on the market use.
The trade-off is simple: if a fixed point bends badly or snaps, the barrel is usually finished. You can sometimes straighten a bent point, and you can always sharpen a blunt one, but you cannot swap it out.
2. Target Swiss Point — an interchangeable system
Target's Swiss Point system threads the point into the barrel instead of fixing it permanently. With a small tool you can unscrew a point and fit a different one, which means you can change point length, style and finish without buying new darts.
Two things to know before you get excited:
- Swiss Points only fit Target barrels built for them. A Swiss Point will not thread into an ordinary barrel from another brand. If your darts are not Target SP barrels, this system is not available to you.
- You need the tool. The point locks with a combination of taper and thread, and it is not something to attack with pliers. Target makes a Swiss Point tool and a premium Swiss Point key for exactly this job. The tool also lets you back out a point that has broken off flush.
Swiss Points are commonly sold in 26mm, 30mm, 35mm and 40mm lengths, and the length changes the balance of the dart — a longer point shifts weight forward. If you are happy with how your darts fly, change one variable at a time.
We stock a wide range, including Swiss Plain, Swiss Nano, Swiss Firepoint, Swiss DS, Swiss Diamond Pro and the Swiss Storm Chrono.
3. Conversion points — moving between soft tip and steel tip
Soft tip darts use a 2BA thread, which means the tip screws in. That thread is also the key to converting between formats.
- To take a soft tip dart to a steel tip board, you fit a conversion point in place of the plastic tip. We stock Shot Tactra conversion points (34mm) and Shot Fynx conversion points (32.5mm).
- To go the other way from a Target Swiss Point barrel to soft tip, the Swiss Converter 2BA gives the barrel a standard 2BA thread so ordinary soft tips will fit.
- Shot's Threadhead point adaptor serves a similar adapting role.
One warning worth more than the parts cost: converting a soft tip dart to steel adds length and weight at the front, so it will not throw the same. Expect to adjust.
Grooved, smooth, or "turbo" — does the shape matter?
Points come smooth, grooved, knurled and ringed. The theory behind textured points is that they grip the sisal and reduce bounce-outs. The theory behind smooth points is that they slide in more easily and do less damage to the board.
Both arguments are reasonable and we are not going to pretend there is a settled answer. What we will say plainly: point condition matters far more than point pattern. A blunt or hooked point bounces out regardless of how it is textured.
If you want to try textured, we stock Winmau re-grooved points, Shot Shadow turbo points and Shot Tribal Weapon turbo points.
Sharpening: do it, but do it wrong and you will ruin your board
Points do not need to be sharp. A needle-sharp point slices sisal fibres instead of parting them, and that is how boards develop holes. What a point needs is to be smooth and slightly rounded, with no hook or burr on the tip.
The usual cause of bounce-outs is a tiny hook formed when a point hits a wire. Run the point over a sharpener in a rolling motion to take the hook off and leave a smooth taper. Do not grind a cone onto it.
Browse all dart points, or the accessories range for sharpeners and tools.
Quick reference
| If you want to… | You need… |
|---|---|
| Replace a bent point on an ordinary steel tip dart | Not possible — the point is fixed. Straighten or sharpen it |
| Change point length or style on Target SP barrels | Swiss Points plus a Swiss Point tool or key |
| Throw soft tip darts at a bristle board | Conversion points (2BA) |
| Throw a Swiss Point barrel at an electronic board | Swiss Converter 2BA, then standard soft tips |
| Stop bounce-outs | A sharpener, and the rolling technique above |
Come and try before you buy
We are a specialist darts shop and venue in Port Kennedy, Western Australia, with ten Target Omni-equipped lanes, and we ship Australia-wide. If you are unsure which point system your darts use, bring them in and we will tell you in about five seconds.