The closest to that area, but not walking, that I can think of, is Boehm's Cycle & Fitness at Selby / Snelling. I can't think of anything sport-y near the U like that.

A couple teammates had theirs sharpened at Mariucci when we had the chance to skate there one Saturday...And they HATED it. Don't know if it was coincidence/accident, but they said they had no edges.

At the advice of a few forum posts, I thought I'd save a little gas money and try Strauss in Maplewood. Bad mistake!!

Keeping the post brief: Grey haired guy in the back with the bad attitude?!?!? Don't let him touch your skates .... you'll regret it!!!!!

I ended up driving the extra 20 miles to my old haunt to have the crappy job this guy did fixed.

Best of luck,

Paul

I purchased my CCM's at Dave's Sport Shop in Fridley and have had them sharpened there since new. Someone "in the know" highly recommended Boyer's Blades so, I decided to give him a try. Big mistake! Without my permission, Al completely changed the radius of my blades. Took me off the balls of my feet and put me back on my heels. Went to AHA Beginner School the following night and couldn't control my own feet! I took the skates back to Dave's and had them returned to the original factory specs. I'll never go to Boyer's again nor will I ever leave Dave's! (One difference could be I'm a center, not a goalie..?)

I had a really bad experience at Boyer's as well. Not so much with the sharpening as the service. Went into the little shop and watched him yammer with some guy he knew for about 10 minutes about flim-flam and falderall . . . nothing having to do with skates, hockey, knives or any other customer-business owner issue, just BS. Then he finally looks at me, standing skates in hand and says, "Yeah that'll take about an hour if you want to stop back." I don't think so . . .

Went to Dave's in Fridley and got the usual first class service.

~Lee

???? really? Strauss is by far the best imo

boyers blades in osseo is pretty bad. when i was there he talked with someone he knew for a full 15 minutes while i was waiting just like lee said. right down the street on 8975 Zachary Lane North in Maple Grove is Northstar Skate Sharpening. they do a great job and have much better service.

What was wrong with the job at Strauss? keep in mind that at this time of year, most of the workers are bike experts. I know the guy you're talking about, and he's done my last 5 skate sharpenings.

The only other place I'd even ever consider taking my skates is a little tiny shop just off of 96 and 61 in White bear. Can't really remember the name, and it's hard to find a time when they are actually open.

Editted: Sorry, the play it again in Roseville is good too. Though, I'm a little partial because it's my cousin, and I rarely get charged.

Having read these posts, it is obvious that there are very differing opinions on the quality of sharpenings at various locations. I guess it comes down to a personal preference and comfort level I suppose. Probably why I stick w/the same place in the rare occasion I do get my skates sharpened.

Another question for the skate sharpeners in here. (if there are any)

What possibility is there for a sharpening to screw up a radius/profiling/countouring job? Do skates need to be re-profiled from time to time due to sharpenings?

I certainly don't claim to be a skate blade (or any other blade, for that matter) sharpening expert but, from my understanding, Dave's Sport Shop uses radius templates. They're some type of metal bars that, once your radius is determined, are used to guide your skate over the sharpening wheel. Thus, theoretically, your radius should never be lost through repeated sharpenings...
m.