Thanks for the update.
Please keep us informed as you progress.

Excellent, look forward to more updates on the learning curve

I was able to find a few trash knives at a thrift store today to practice on

So I'm now about 15 knives sharpened on the Wen setup. I'm able to get a really nice edge at this point. Nine out of ten on sharpness.
One minor pro tip I figured out is to check the wheel for smoothness after each "dressing" with a stone. There is usually some small bumps that can be smoothed out by running my finger over it for a few seconds. These hard bumps would otherwise be being drug across the knife being sharpened.
Two new things I intend to incorporate.
1. putting a protective film of masking tape on areas of the knife that will be unsharpened. To minimize any scratching when I get clumsy and possibly let those areas touch the wheel.
2. Think I'm going to splurge for a diamond dressing stone. Can be had reasonable at Harbor Freight. I think this will dress the stone a bit more finely and hopefully without any of those troublesome little bumps mentioned earlier.

Thanks for the update.