Wicked Edge GO WE60 Series Portable Knife Sharpener

We received a package form Wicked Edge the other day containing the latest model from the company the WE60 GO sharpening system.

The packaging was different to the current offered WE100, WE120 and WE130 models, It was a white box with Wicked Edge branding down both sides and a branded sleeve over the top of the box.

The packaging has the updated Wicked Edge logo and was very presentable. Once we removed the sleeve and proceeded to open the box, we were greeted with a new packaging material inside.

The WE100, WE120 and WE130 all contain a plastic moulded carried for the system and parts, the WE60 GO used a more environmentally friendly egg carton material Aka pulped paper. The paper material held the system and accessories snugly.

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After pulling out all the kit contents we could see some of the key features with the WE60 series sharpener. Including the beautifully machined and anodised base and the new designed guide rod and ball coupling.

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To assemble the guide rods, we need to remove the retaining ball from the slider. These appear to give the bolt something to bite down on if the rods are not fitted to the system.

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Once the retaining ball is removed and stored away its time to insert the guide rod to the coupling. The ball end is cleanly machined and polished for a friction free movement.

The easy-to-read angle guide is great for use when not using an angle cube for setting the angle. Now the guide rod is assembled we can clamp up a knife and check out the new 3 finger jaw design. The unique feature about the new jaw design is it allows blades with a distal taper, full flat grind to be clamped with better pressure along the spine. This means blades like Spyderco and most kitchen knives will have a superior central hold.

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Clamping a basic kitchen knife was easy and familiar, the clamp design was easy to use and held the blade securely in place without any movement with some force. The two predrilled holes in the base cater for the user that wished to mount the system using tapered head screws to a surface like a work bench.

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Using the provided C-Clamp it was quick and easy to secure the system to the work bench.

We wanted to investigate the potential sharpening angles the system could offer straight out of the box without any low angle adapter used. Wicked Edge states the system has an operating degree range of: 13-31 degrees per side (26-62 degrees inclusive). So, we pulled out our Angle Cube and tested this on the supplied "Practice Knife". The widest angle we achieved with the knife in the top-hole position of the jaws was 31.65 degrees and the shallowest angle was 17.95 degrees. We also tested this on the larger Santoku kitchen knife with the widest angle being 27.45 degrees and the shallowest angle coming in at 14.50 degrees.

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We next decide to strip the system down and see how the angle slider worked and had a drool over the CNC machined parts. The main slider component is made from a single piece of Aluminium with a threaded section for holding the guide rods, then there is a hole through the body for the main bolt to pass down into the body.

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The new guide rod support system was compact and felt fantastic to use, the supplied 200/600 was able to leave a nice working edge on our kitchen knife.

For a compact system the WE60 is a fantastic entry point to guided sharpening and should defiantly be considered if you are in the market for a sharpener.

We would suggest adding the 800/1000 grit diamonds for a more refined edge. The great thing is the WE60 is compatible with the Accessories that clamp into the jaws: Scissor attachment, Chisel attachment and Low angle adapter.