NEW! Carbon – WE40
- This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 08/13/2024 at 11:49 am by
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Hey Forum!
The team here at Wicked Edge has been working for close to 2 years to develop a sharpener that provides the same level of craftsmanship and precision, at a more affordable price. After tons of prototypes, revisions, testing, and lots of feedback… we landed on a solution.
We just launched the pre-order for the newest model in our lineup, the Carbon-WE40. The base and slides are injection molded glass-filled nylon which provides incredible rigidity and durability but is much faster and more cost-effective to manufacture. The nylon provides the strength needed and frictionless movement in all of our non-load-bearing parts. The Guide Rods and hardware are still stainless steel, the same ones found on the 60-Series.
We also redesigned the Standard Vise. Since we launched the original Wicked Edge, the Standard Vise was never a great solution to clamping. It wasn’t self-centering, could be over-torqued and bent if the screws weren’t tightened correctly, etc. The new Standard Vise addresses all of this and makes it much simpler to clamp a knife. The Standard Vise is actually 2 independent vises next to each other so you get much more flex and clamping strength when securing distally tapered blades. We’ve also designed blade stops in 3 different sizes. These blade stops simply slide down between the jaws and reset on the screws, providing a solid platform for the spine of your blade to rest on. No more Spydercos slipping in the vise. The Standard Vise is still made out of type 2 anodized <span style=”font-weight: 400;”>6061T6 aluminum.</span>
We are super excited about this sharpener for a multitude of reasons. It will allow more people to have access to a sharpener that provides absolutely incredible edges, the usability and new repeatability tools provide a much better experience, and we honestly just think it looks really good.
This sharpener comes with our new Standard 200/600 Grit Diamond Stones. These new stones produce the exact same results as our current Premium ones but have about 1/2 the lifespan. For many people who aren’t looking to sharpen constantly and just want to be able to keep their handful of knives touched up, these stones are perfect. We will also be offering Standard 800/1000 Grit Diamond Stones.
These are all currently available for pre-order. The Carbon – WE40 is $185 with the 800/1000 stones at $45. We will start shipping out orders in the Fall.
You can find out more on the product page or on our landing page which provides more information.
We’re very excited and proud of this sharpener!
Ryan Tuchin
Wicked Edge Customer Support Manager
3 users thanked author for this post.
I use a WE130 with the Stabil-Rizer to clamp and sharpen my paring knives at 15°. No LAA. But, as you say, even with the Stabili-Rizer Clamping System there are limitations. Not often.
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Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)This looks like a great entry level sharpener. I currently own the WE120 and the WE66. I much prefer the WE66’s clamping system, but it doesn’t do really small thin knives well like paring knives. Even after I added a riser, it still has it’s limitations and doesn’t sharpen really fine angles on small blades. My WE120 doesn’t have those limitations with small blades, but the clamping system has it’s own issues. So it looks like the WE40 has a better clamping system than the original series, but obviously not as good as the new DualCam Vise. Does the WE40 allow the really small blades to be sharpened at finer angles? If so, it might be worth replacing my WE120.
Do you mean a riser block that goes underneath the vise, or a Low Angle Adapter? I use my WE60 for really tiny blades. Going by the photos it looks like we might have the same problems with the WE40. I really don’t know why WE believes that the base of the vise needs to be so broad. If they would bring the base in 1 1/2 inches or so it would fix the problem. If I had the WE40 (since it isn’t very expensive) I would see if my son could cut the base of the vise and reweld it and then I could check it out, but I don’t have one yet.
The Stabil-Rizer. Even with the riser, the WE60 has more limitations on shallow angles on small knives like paring. Using a paring knife as an example, I was able to do 16° angles on the WE120. Before I added the riser, I was only able to do around 24° on the paring knife and actually scraped the clamp. After I installed the riser, I am able to do around 19° on the paring knife. Not ideal, but I can live with that since it’s just a fruit knife.
On the same note, I can no longer do one of my cleavers after installing the Stabil-Rizer on WE60. Due to the height of the blade, the largest angle I can sharpen is about 22° when I would rather have something like 24°. So I still use m WE120 for that, but I have to use a bigger allen wrench in order to secure the blade better. That’s why I’m debating if the WE40 would be able to replace the WE120 for those outliers.
That’s a WE Blade Stabilizer is in your photo. A Stabil-Rizer is an different aftermarket accessory. Also, mine is on the taller WE130 vise. The geometry of the two different vises allow for different clamping advantages.
It might be harder to see in the photo, but the Stabil-Rizer has the blue +4° label on it.
I don’t have a WE120, but I would bet that you would’ve had better results using a Low Angle Adapter rather than the riser block. The quickest and easiest way for me to sharpen tiny blades is to use a Tormek SVM-00 small knife jig. It’s quick and easy.
I was also coming close to hitting the clamps on some of my really low angle Japanese knives. I didn’t really want to use the Low Angle Adapter since I would lose the benefit of the new Dual Vise clamp, so I figured the riser would give me a little more room.
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