About Tungsten Steel Darts. There are two forms of pure tungsten. One is formed tungsten metal block (tungsten content>99.95%), which is extremely hard, but also very brittle and difficult to process. The second is tungsten powder (tungsten content >99.5%), which is used to make various tungsten alloys. Tungsten alloy The alloy made of tungsten and chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, iron, etc., has high hardness, heat resistance and wear resistance. It is used to make tools and is widely used in the field of machining. Therefore, tungsten carbide is also called modern Industrial teeth and darts are also made of tungsten alloy. The tungsten alloy used to make tungsten carbide darts belongs to tungsten nickel alloy, which is divided into two types: tungsten nickel iron and tungsten nickel copper.
Tungsten steel for darts. Tungsten nickel iron alloy is what we call dart tungsten steel. Tungsten steel used for darts is slightly different from tool tungsten steel. Its tungsten content is higher than that of tool tungsten steel, but its hardness is slightly lower than that of tool tungsten steel. Tungsten steel for knives has national standards and grades, and tungsten steel for darts has no definite standard due to different manufacturers. This is why it is difficult for everyone to search the tungsten steel data for darts on the Internet. The dart tungsten steel is made by powder metallurgy. The tungsten nickel iron powder is formed and sintered to be processed into tungsten steel bars. Tungsten steel has the characteristics of high hardness, high density and corrosion resistance. The tungsten steel material used to make the dart is a bar material slightly larger than the body of the dart.
For example, if the size of the tungsten steel bar to be manufactured is 7.1mm in diameter and 51mm in length, you can choose a bar with a diameter of 7.2mm and a length of 52mm, and then make it into a finished dart through various machining processes.
Tungsten powder. Tungsten carbide is usually represented by the English letter “WC”. The tungsten content declared by the dart manufacturer refers to the proportion of tungsten carbide powder. We can often see these two letters in the names of some traditional old darts. For example, WC 85%, WC 90%, this percentage refers to the content of tungsten powder used in the production of the material. Now most dart manufacturers no longer use WC in their names, and slowly fade this concept. So a dart made of 90% tungsten steel does not contain 90% tungsten. Some darts used spectrometers to test different brands of darts. The content of tungsten in tungsten carbide darts made of 90% tungsten steel is 85%~88%, and the other elements are nickel, iron, carbon, and trace impurities.
Tungsten content and quality of Tungsten Steel Darts. Is the higher the tungsten content, the better the Tungsten Steel Darts? Not necessarily. The higher the tungsten content, the higher the density and the higher the cost, but it does not mean that the dart is better. For darts, the most important physical properties are weight and center of gravity. The original intention of using high-density tungsten steel is to achieve weight while making the volume of the dart smaller, so high-density tungsten steel is used because its density can be higher. If there are two darts with the same length, diameter, weight, center of gravity, and shape design, but the content of tungsten steel is different, then the two darts are not different for use.
Why does the dart brand pursue a high content of tungsten steel of 95% 97%? One is weight. Such as Taylor G3 this dart. Taylor himself must use 26 grams of dart weight. According to the same size and design, 90% tungsten steel can only reach about 25 grams, so 95% tungsten steel must be used. Second, due to the characteristics of tungsten powder, the more tungsten powder is used in the powder metallurgy process, the more difficult it is to sinter and form. A high proportion of tungsten powder will also make tungsten steel materials harder, more brittle and more difficult to process, so manufacturing high-content tungsten steel darts is also a manifestation of the manufacturer’s strength. Third, the high content of tungsten steel does feel more high-end psychologically.
What is the highest content of tungsten steel? At present, the highest content of dart products on the market is 97% tungsten steel. Tungsten rod raw material is 99.99%, but it is not suitable for making tungsten carbide darts. In 2018, a domestic tungsten steel material manufacturer successfully developed a tungsten steel for darts with 98% tungsten content, but it has not yet been put on the market. The guess is that mass production and machining are difficult. I don’t know which brand will be the first to make 98% Tungsten Steel Darts.
