I am new to the Wicked Edge sharpeners and just purchased a WE40.
Do you verify the sharpening angle with an angle finder or just go off the marking on the sharpener?
Did the question from the original post change?
The sharpeners are calibrated as I described in my previous post. That said, only when a knife edge is clamped at 5/8" above the vise jawline, will the markings off the sharpener closely match the actual angle. You can set the angles only as close as you can discern where to position it.
With the slider style adjusters on the WE40 if you want to know that the angles are precise and accurate you should always work with a cube. I check the angle setting with a cube for each and every grit change. I always work with a cube.
If you have an angle finder, use it. The calibrations on the WE only apply to edges that are about 5/8" above the top edge of the vise. If you are sharpening a wide knife (e.g. chef’s knife), the angle could be quite different.
Replicating the original angle to which a knife has been sharpened - as with a factory edge for example - use a Sharpie to blacken the existing bevels and adjust the rod angles until the black is evenly erased. Then moved the blade forward or backward to match the angle along the belly. This is what we call “finding the sweet spot.”