Nodor Darts
Nodor Darts
Who invented the dart board? I guess we will never know, it was probably some archer in the middle ages who converted the bottom of a barrel or tree slice into the first dart board and threw his arrows at it. Dart boards were made of wood for many years mostly from elm and had to be soaked in water overnight to stop the board from splitting. However we do know who invented the first Bristle board, that was Nodor in the 1930's, they were approached by an inventor who had an idea to make a dart board from rope! It must have sounded crazy at the time, but it worked. They took some rope strands all the same length and compressed them tightly together and hey presto the first "Bristle" board was born. This was a huge advance on the traditional wooden board. For a start no more soaking and the board was self healing and long lived. It was an instant success.
Nodor got a patent for the design and so were the only manufacturer for 25 years or so for the life of the patent. After the patent expired other manufacturers entered the arena most notably Winmau . And you thought Nodor was a funny name. Apparently the name Winmau was made up from the first three letters of the two names of the wife of the company director "Winifred Maud" hence Winmau.
Nodor and Winmau then slugged it out for dominance in the dart board market with one company trying to take over the other for many years. During this time Winmau came up with their famous Blade board with ultra thin wire separators and Nodor came up with the first staple free bulls eye dart board.
The bristle boards were used in all the big tournaments that started in the 70's and are still used today in the prestigious tournaments like the Las Vegas classic and the British Lakeside tournament.
Then came Electronics, the electronic dart board came on the scene and changed the game overnight. The odd thing about electronic boards is they are covered in hundreds of small holes for the special soft tip darts to enter. At first glance you think how can the dart get into those holes so exactly? The holes are centered at the base of a dimple like the dimples of a golf ball, guiding the soft tip darts to the holes in the board. And it works very well with nowhere near the amount of bounce outs you might expect. There are sensors beneath the holes which trigger the electronics to record the score and deducts or adds the score to the previous one automatically, depending on the game. This was a great boon to darters as they no longer had to keep score and the boards could be networked to collect all the scores from the boards on a computer, great for tournaments.
The difference with the electronic dart board are that you have to use soft tip darts, and the tips are made of plastic so as not to damage the board. (Never use normal steel tip darts on an electronic board) Also the maximum weight of dart allowed on most electronic dart boards is 20 grams.
You can now have the best of both the steel tip and soft tip game now with the introduction of the new BristleTech boards which have bristle type fibres that can take the steel tips as well as the soft tipped darts and still work with the electronics. This could very well be the technology that will dominate the dart world from now on.
So there you have it, we have come a long way from the elm wooden dart boards and I'm sure there will be even more developments to come, especially with the combination Bristle type boards and electronics. Electronic darts is very popular on both sides of the Atlantic now and maybe even the professional game will embrace it before long.
Written by Steve Porter who has visited many bars researching his chosen sport of darts. Visit his website to choose your Dart Board.
This Is Darts Episode 13
 |
 UNICORN NODOR TUNGSTEN DARTS w CASE  US $9.99
|
 NODOR PINK LADIES TUNGSTEN DARTS 85 VARIOUS WEIGHTS FULL SET US $23.69
|
 Nodor Supamatch Bristle Dart Board ND600 US $59.99
|
 NODOR DRAGONFLY TUNGSTEN DARTS 95 VARIOUS WEIGHTS US $36.34
|
 Nodor 80 Weapons Grade Tungsten Alloy Darts Set NR601 US $15.79
|
 NODOR CHAMPIONS CHOICE BRISTLE DART BOARD US $45.84
|
 NODOR SUPAMATCH DART BOARD nd600 US $59.99
|
 Nodor Striped Metallic Steel Tip 3 Darts 18g Spare Flights Case Game Set NEW US $59.95
|
 NODOR PENETRATOR TUNGSTEN DARTS 95 VARIOUS WEIGHTS US $37.92
|
 Nodor Professional 90 Tungsten Steel Tip Darts US $51.07
|
 Nodor Striped Brass Steel Tip Darts US $20.14
|
 Nodor Professional Tungseel Steel Tip Darts US $22.83
|
 Arachnid Nodor Dart Accessory Kit US $17.74
|
 Nodor 80 Weapon Grade Tungsten Alloy Dart Set NR609 23 US $15.79
|
 Nodor 80 Weapons Grade Tungsten Alloy Darts Set NR603 US $15.79
|
 Nodor 80 Weapon Grade Tungsten Alloy Dart Set NR608 19 US $15.79
|
 NEW 3 Nodor Striped Metallic Steel Tip Darts 18 Gram spare flights shaft case US $15.99
|
 Nodor Professional 80 Tungsten Steel Tip Darts US $42.40
|
 Nodor Black Brass Steel Tip Darts US $19.40
|
 Nodor Gunmetal Steel Tip Darts US $22.80
|
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
 |
DMI Bandit Staple-free Bristle Dartboard List Price: $79.99 Sale Price: $42.95  |
|
This World Cup-quality dartboard is notable for its thin, interlocking steel bands embedded in the bristles. Because the bands are so thin, the board has 10 percent more playing surface than other typical dartboards, resulting in fewer bounce-outs... |
 |
Nodor SupaMatch Bristle Dartboard List Price: $79.99 Sale Price: $57.60 |
|
The official American Dart Organization tournament board, the Nodor SupaMatch bristle board is ideal for players looking to maximize their scoring. The regulation-size 18-inch-diameter board offers such features as a razor-ribbon wire spider that virtually eliminates bounce-outs, a complete staple-free SupaBull II bulls-eye, an improved scoring area, and a movable number ring that prolongs the life of the board... |
 |
Arachnid 4 Player Touch Pad Dart Scorer List Price: $99.99 Sale Price: $69.99 |
|
Listen to when the automated voice tells you to throw, then send the dart straight at the bullseye! The Arachnid(r) Touch Pad Dart Scorer features a voice prompt and other high-tech advances such as solo play, player handicap features features and single in/out, double in/out features... |
 |
Nodor Professional Tungseel Steel Tip Darts Sale Price: $12.79 Used From: $11.51 |
|
NODOR NEW Tungsteel Steel-tip Dart Set features: Tungsteel plated barrels, Striped Aluminum shafts, 2-D or embossed flights, 20 and 22 gram (gram weights will vary), Set Includes: 3 darts with spare flights and plastic shafts, and Slim Trac case... |
 |
Nodor Black & Brass Steel Tip Darts Sale Price: $9.97 |
|
NODOR Painted Brass Steel-tip Dart Set features: Aggressively honed barrels for maximum control, Black aluminum shafts, 20, 22, and 24 gram (gram weights will vary), Set Includes: 3 darts with spare flights and plastic shafts, and Slim Trac case... |