Belgian Vogelpiks > Anatomy of Piks

Anatomy of Belgian Dartboards and Piks

We seek to educate you not only about how to play the game of Belgian darts, but also to learn about the materials used to make the boards and pik darts. Having a deeper understanding of the components will help improve your game and also ensure you are purchasing quality products from the few manufacturers out there.
Vogelpik Dartboard Anatomy
  • Board Size — Piks boards come in two standard sizes with a 7 inch and a larger 9 inch width model.
  • Board Material — The materials vary that make up Vogelpik boards but they are all designed to be able to heal the holes the steel tip the dart creates. Some are made with rye straw and others are made of compressed pieces of wood such as basswood.
  • Ring Dividers — The ring dividers are metal bands that separate the 6 unique scoring areas on a Vogelpik dart board.
  • Mounting Hardware — Mounting hardware consists of metal holes where screws or bolts can be inserted into the center to hang the board. Some boards have one or two mounting hardware holes.
Vogelpik Dart Anatomy
  • Tip — The tip or point of a pik is made of steel and is a great material that offers a sharp end to accurately stick into the board. Also, the steel can be sharpened if they become dull. Read more about this in our piks care and maintenance article.
  • Barrel — The barrel of the Belgian Vogelpik is the main and thickest part of the body and houses the lead weight. The barrel and shaft are made of a variety of different types of woods such as birch, cherry and walnut.
  • Weight — The lead weight contributes to the pik having a heavy front end compared to standard darts. Due to the added weight in front, most pik players hold it further up on the tip or the barrel where the center or equilibrium of the weight distribution is. Learn more about how to grip a pik.
  • Shaft — The shaft is what extends from the barrel all the way to the back of the dart. It adds length to the pik and stabilizes the trajectory when combined with the feathers that make up the flight.
  • Flight — The flight consists of 4 feathers equally spaced and attached to the back of the shaft. The feathers are typically made from turkey and may have slightly different angles such as a traditional V shape or a slightly more rounded corner on the back.