Has anyone been to Blades of Bowie (in MD) recently? I get my skates sharpened there, but haven't been since December (I don't jump a lot, and find that my blades only need sharpening every 6 months or so). I went to their website to see about summer hours (and Bowie vs. Piney locations), and found that the website is "under construction" and that the shop is under new mgmt. Is Chuck still there? I believe he was the shop owner, and he's the one who sharpened my skates. If he's not there, did he go to another rink/shop in the area?

Yes, I know I could call to find out, but I thought I'd ask here since it's probably that those who have been to the place recently might know more info than I could get over the phone.

TIA!

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

I think you should call them and ask. Here are the numbers:
Bowie location:
3330 Northview Dr.
Bowie, Md. 20716
Phone: 301.249.0755
Piney Orchard location (think they are owned by the same people):
8781 Piney Orchard Parkway
Odenton, Md. 21113
Phone: 410.672.7063

My coach usually skates at Bowie...but I don't usually talk with her over the summer.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Bowie Ice Arena, is closed during the summer, so the Bowie pro shop is too, until 7/22.

I just called the Piney Orchard location . Nick (an employee) answered, said Chuck isn't in today, but didn't say anthing about that being permanent.

Hmm, http://icemagic.com, which he also ran, says it is under new management.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

Well, that's not too far off.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I haven't heard anything about the shop being run by anyone else but I was planning on making the trek this weekend to get my blades sharpened..hmmm....

On the off chance that Chuck is not there, does anyone in the MD/DC/VA area know of any other good blade sharpeners other than Mike in Waldorf?

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The Bowie Ice Arena is actually open again as of today. They always re-open July 4th weekend. I am actually planning on going there sometime this week, so I will post back if I find anything out.

Query lists some places on his site that are bootfitters in MD, Maybe they do sharpening too.

I drive from Fredericksburg to Waldorf , so I only know Mike.

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Great forum quotes:
On Falling: '...it doesn't matter, it's what you do AFTER you fall that's more important' ISK8NYC

Chuck is at Blades of Piney Orchard during the weeks that Bowie is closed. He worked on my blade alignment about 10 days ago. He was away on vacation last week, but I believe he will be back at Piney Orchard this week. Later in July he will be back at Bowie. I recommend you call before looking for chuck at Bowie - I heard, as Query mentioned above, that the Bowie shop will not open again until later this month.

Mike will be away for a while this summer - don't know exact dates.

Another excellent tech is Tim Burt out at Ashburn IceHouse. www.ashburnice.com (appointment highly recommended - he's very busy!!)

Mike's away all sumer???? Eeeeeek!

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Thanks for the info! I feel better now. A lot of people I skate with go to some guy in PA, and I was not looking forward to that drive if Chuck was no longer around.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

No, I don't think it's all summer. I'll post again If I find out the dates.

He will be at Liberty (I know cause we are meeting up there for my fitting). Maybe after that he is going on vacation?

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

IMHO

Mike is a very good sharpener.
Chuck is a very good sharpener.
Don Giese is a very good sharpener.

I haven't used Tim Burt, but many say he is a very good sharpener.

All listed at http://mgrunes.com/BootExpert.html

You may be happiest if you stay with the one you like. Besides, switching sharpeners means switching sharpening wheels, which wastes a lot of metal.

Piney Orchard is close to Bowie that you can drive there to find Chuck instead of at Bowie if you can't wait.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage