There are 4 parts to a dart: The point (steel tip or soft tip), the barrel (the part you hold in your hand), the shaft, and the flight. The most common metals used in darts are brass, nickel silver, and tungsten. Brass, the most cost-effective metal, is perfect for the casual home recreational dart thrower. Nickel silver is also cost-effective, but will not tarnish like brass. Tungsten is a denser metal than brass or nickel silver and allows the dart to be heavier in weight while maintaining a smaller mass. Basically, if you had 2 barrels that were the same weight, but one made of brass and the other made of tungsten, the tungsten barrel would 3 times smaller than the brass barrel.