Saturday, July 31, 2004
Friday, July 30, 2004
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
28 gram GT's
These are some of my favorite darts although I do not throw them much anymore due to their weight. They are 28 gram GT's by Bottelsen. I have been gravitating towards a lighter dart lately and so these are getting more shelf time than not. Their salient taper is hands down the best in the business. They have no texture on the barrel in the form of grooves or rings or knurling but they do not need it. The dart is best gripped around the forward part of the barrel. These were the first expensive set of darts I ever bought. I got an awesome discount on them through the bar I played for at the time or I would not have bought them. If I had know then what I know now I'd have bough the 24 gram version. Note how the black coating has almost completely worn off. Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Jeff Pickup MPs
Barrels: 28 gram Bottelsen Black GTs
Stems: Medium Black GT Screw-in
Flights: Hammerhead Smooth Standards
28 gram Black Widows
These were indeed the second set of expensive darts I have ever bought. And as with the ones before them I got them only because of the 50% discount offered through my home bar when I played league several years ago. They are 28 gram fixed point black widows by Laserdarts. They are too heavy for my taste and if I'd known then what I know now, not only would I have bought the 24 gram version, or none at all. They are not my favorite darts by a long shot even though I used them for most of a season and I had some amazing nights with them. One semi-finals I had 152 left and finished in four darts. I shanghai'd the 20's first round and then nailed the double 16. I remember that night well. I felt like I could not miss, and I even had a non-dart friend there watching. We beat the opponents 12-0 that night and then went on to win the finals as well. Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 28 gram Black Widows
Stems: Medium Laserdarts "Spider-leg"
Flights: Standard Dimplex
UPDATE: I traded these away for the 23 gram GT Pluses in July 2008.
Monday, July 26, 2004
27 gram Axis
These are 27 gram fixed point Axis darts by Harrows. They are too heavy for a mostly mid-weighted dart. You can get away with 27 grams on a tapered dart, especially a strongly tapered dart like a GT but not these. They have a unique grip and the darts remind me a little bit if the Michelin Man. I almost never throw them, but I have an idea on how to make them better. And if not better then at least interesting. I hope a post within the next year will illuminate my idea. Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 27 gram Harrows Axis
Stems: Extra Short Aluminum
Flights: Smooth Standard Polys
26 gram Accudart Fastbacks
There are a few reasons why I know these are Accudarts. First, the stems that they came with appear proprietary and say "Accudart" on them. This combination nails it. Also, They came in an Accudart case. Last but not least, the collar of the moving point is extremely similar in design to the collars of the Accudart Penetrators that I have, although these move back and forth in the dart as well as spin. I am 99.9% certain that these are Accudart darts, I just do not know what model name belongs to it, or what "Line" it comes from.
This is a very skinny waisted dart and may have been Accudart's answer to the GT from Bottelsen. The thread size on the stem is a bit bigger than that of the GT but very very close. The GT scew in stems work on these darts. They are a bit loose but they do screw in tight enough that they will not come loose. However, the stems that come with these darts are just a hair too big to fit in the GT's. Additionally, their relatively small size compared to their 26 gram weight makes me think this is a 95% tungsten dart. This is not unreasonable given that the Penetrator line were also 95%.
Anyone with information regarding these darts, please let me know. Thanks!
Update: I put these in the mail to a friend of mine who collects Accudarts. I hope he enjoys them. I never threw them outside an occasional practice game so he may as well have them in his collection.
26 gram Ringed
I won these darts in the Paul Williams Darts sweepstakes. They are the first 26 gram darts that I have owned that throw really really well, and in fact I used them one night in league with some success. The darts are long enough to find a good grip, and the texture of the barrels provides lots of non-slip throwing of the darts. I understand that these are a paler imitation of the Phil Taylor signature darts but they are still a pretty good design. It makes me want to own a set of the phil taylor purists.
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 26 gram Tungsten
Stems: Short Aluminum
Flights: Smooth Pear Poly
Sunday, July 25, 2004
26 gram Nodors
These darts were a prize offered by Gazza at www.3inabed.com that I won in the Paul Williams sweeps. They seem like they are pretty good darts but the truth is I have not thrown them very much to get a really good feel for them. In my experience though, 26 gram is quite heavy for me in a non-tapered dart and I have a hard time keeping them from arching to the bottom of the dartboard. They just don't stay aloft like kighter darts. This likely more to do with my throwing style though. Perhaps someday I'll break these out again and give them an honest to goodness run. I will say this though: despite what appears to be a good grip design I found the knurling to be something less than grippy and they were a little difficult to hold well. We'll see how thi pans out in the future.
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 26 gram Tungsten
Stems: Short Aluminum
Flights: Smooth Standard Poly
26 gram Mavericks
These are 26 gram Mavericks by Freeflight. They are an old design and have a very unique texture on them. Along the length of the barrel there is a striation looking something like this: ~~~~~~~~ (zoom in on the photo to see it). They are fixed point and are your classic skinny pencil style dart, yet the tungsten must be a high percentage because despite a short quarter inch barrel the darts are very heavy. I also like the way the tungsten turned dark. The shortness of the barrel makes for a dart that has most of the weight in the front (what's that? A forward weighted, yet non-tapered dart? - Yes. All darts are forward weighted to some degree) which also provides an excellent throw. I threw these darts for about half a league season in Pittsburgh before shelving them. Just a tad too heavy for my tastes. You can also see that one of the darts is different. There is an interesting story behind this... You can read about it here:
Mystery Darts Reposted
Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 26 gram Mavericks
Stems: Medium Black GLD Nylons
Flights: Smooth Standard Poly
25 gram Target Sports
Another great trade. I sent my unknown 24 gram Bottelsens to Griff up in snowy Canada in exchange for these beauties.
For a 25 gram dart, which is normally several grams too heavy for me, they fly really well and they have a very satisfying thunk when they hit the board. Especially when they hit what I am aiming at. I am very satisfied with these darts even though I do not keep them in my immediate repertoire. I had bought a set of the Target Precisions before in the 24 grams but I ended up sending them back. I just could not get the grip right on them. These days, now that I have moved my grip forward on the barrel I might not have sent them back as I recall they were very nicely made darts. But at the time I was disenchanted.
I normally don't throw "short fatties" either, which makes these an unusal dart for me to like and recommend but lo and behold I do.
For a 25 gram dart, which is normally several grams too heavy for me, they fly really well and they have a very satisfying thunk when they hit the board. Especially when they hit what I am aiming at. I am very satisfied with these darts even though I do not keep them in my immediate repertoire. I had bought a set of the Target Precisions before in the 24 grams but I ended up sending them back. I just could not get the grip right on them. These days, now that I have moved my grip forward on the barrel I might not have sent them back as I recall they were very nicely made darts. But at the time I was disenchanted.
I normally don't throw "short fatties" either, which makes these an unusal dart for me to like and recommend but lo and behold I do.
25 gram Accudart Penetrators
These very special darts I received in trade from SLEEPYKRAMER of SEWA. The tips are not steel but rather a kind of carbon fiber. The tips spin but they do not move back and forth, and they are flexible. The result of this is that they make a very cartoonish "BOING!" sound when they hit the board. Awesome darts.
25 gram Accudart 301's
In May 2011 I put these in the mail to a friend of mine who collects Accudarts. I hope he enjoys them. I never threw them outside an occasional practice game so he may as well have them in his collection. In fact, as I recall this very same friend sent them to me as a thank you for lending him some of my darts. Very fitting that they should go back to him during the course of my life purge.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
25 gram Great Whites
These are perhaps my least favorite set of darts. It makes you wonder how Bottelsen can make something as sophisticated and refined as the GT, and then turn out something like this. Actually, I am certain there are many many darters in the world who prefer this style barrel, so Bottelsen can hardly be blamed for my inability to throw it! I think maybe the reason I do not like them may have a bt to do with their weight. They are 25 grams which is more than I am used to throwing in this barrel style. If I had gone a few grams lighter I might be singing a different tune right now. The darts are 25 gram fixed point Great Whites by Bottelsen with "Edge" grip and black coating. They make a skinnier variety. This dart is a 9/32" barrel and I know they also have a 1/4" line which might have been more to my tastes. I never throw these darts and I'd like trade them away to someone who is looking for something like them. Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 25 gram Great Whites
Stems: Short Aluminum
Flights: Smooth Standard
24 gram Unicorn F136's (Hex)
The wooden shaft/flight combos you see in the picture are not usable as the threads have worn off the wooden stems. They are loosely inserted into the barrels for picture taking purposes. In the few times I have actually thrown the darts in a game, I used a 1/4" aluminum stem with dimplex flights (which worked well!!). The barrels themselves, and the threading inside the barrels are in good shape and have no problems.
Update: These were birthday gifted to my frieend Glen in July 2008.
24 gram Piranhas
Update: I sold these darts on eBay in May of 2011. A part of my "life purge" as I am thinking of it. These were really awesome darts and I was a little sad to see them go, but the truth is I don't need so many darts so why have them. There are other sets in my collection that are more preferred for various reasons so these had to go. I am remembering now the circumstances around their purchase. They were very much an impulse buy during a business trip to Atlanta. But they were a lucky find at the same time. Very awesome grip. Great feel.
24 gram Dagnabits
Friday, July 23, 2004
24 gram Bumble Bees
My beautiful wife, whose opinion is invaluable to me, has determined that this is the best possible configuration for these darts. As always, her taste is flawless. And indeed when we still lived in Seattle and we would occasionally go to the bars she would use these darts exactly like this. I have also thrown them so configured and they are surprisingly easy to throw well. My normal opinion of micro shafts is that they belong on really long darts or no where at all, but here they work. These darts I bought from Mueller a few years ago and when I bought them they were called 20/20's. These days you see them around the net as "Chunky Stubbies". I think of them as my Bumble Bees. I do not throw these very often and that is partly because I used to think that they are so hard to configure well. They need either a really long stem or a short aluminum stem, and require a standard sized flight. Since then however, I have learned how to throw a small flighted dart. I think I'll give these another run.
Points: Fixed
Barrels: 24 gram 20/20's
Stems: Micro Aluminum
Flights: Smooth Mini Polys
23 gram Unicorn Hustlers
Thursday, July 22, 2004
23 gram Warriors
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
22 gram Vectors
The top configuration is best. It angles normally when it enter the board. The bottom picture in which the darts are still ADM equiped is still pretty good, but it angles down quite a bit when it enters the board.
It is worth noting, although I like the top config better, I have never ton-80'd with that config, whereas I have logged two ton-80's with the bottom one!!
Update: I sold these darts on eBay in May 2011.
21 Gram Unknowns
These are darts that I received in the mail from Bilbo of SEWA. Bilbo has a huge collection of darts that at one point he had posted online for all to see but the last time I visited that link you needed an account to view the photos. I saw this set in the collection and they looked interesting to me so I asked him about them and what do you know? He sent them to me! In return I sent him some old Unicorn darts complete with packaging which I hope he dug. These particular arrows are short, light, and an all around fine dart.
Update: I cannot find these darts. I must have left them in a bar or at a friends house or something.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
20 gram Puma Kings
These are pretty good darts on the whole. I am sort of on the lick lately of finding high percentage tungsten darts in the lower weights and when I got these I really liked them although I do not throw them that much anymore. There's just something odd about the groove placement that does not jive completely with my grip.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Sunday, July 18, 2004
19 gram Hawkeyes
I call them Hawkeye's because they are Black & Gold. I am pretty sure they are Halex darts but I do not know what they are called model wise because I could never find them again in the store and I am pretty sure Halex is not in the habit of giving distinctive names to their darts (at least in the past). At any rate, I bought these in my soft tip days. I went through a pretty rough bounce out period and I figured it was because my darts were too light. So I went and bought these and the bounce outs kept right on at their regular pace. As it turns out I solved the bounce out problem by throwing steel darts at bristle boards instead of plastic darts at plastic boards. Now bounce out are very rare. Here is the break down of them as pictured:
Points: Fixed Conversions
Barrels: 19 gram Halex Brass
Stems: Short Dynastar Aluminum
Flights: Black Dynastar Kite
18 gram Kort Haus Mavericks
These darts served my extremely well last season. They are really kick ass darts and I think I'll hang onto them for a while. The story of how I got them is pretty good. Be careful though I am a revisionist sometimes without looking. One night last season (this would have been the Fall 2008 season) I wandered into the Kort Haus for a match against one of their teams. I noticed that above the door Ed (the proprietor) had hanging a glass display case of darts stuff in it. So I drug a chair over to the door, stood on it, and peered into the case. I saw them sitting in the back, lonely and covered with dust. I asked Ed how much he wanted for them. He said he couldn't let them go for fewer than 45 dollars. I offered 30. He said he couldn't do it so I said okay and continued with the match. A few hours later when the match was over I asked him if he wanted to sell the darts or if he was content to let them sit up in that case for another decade and he said he just couldn't do 30 bucks. I offered 35. He said okay. One of the best purchases I ever made.
18 gram Wazza Customs
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