You might be better served to go with a more simple and easier to work steel while you're starting out. I personally believe 0-1 tool steel is one of the best steels to start out with, and I still use it. It works fairly easily, hardens deep (meaning even if you are a bit uneven in the heating of your blade during your heat treat, you'll still get a nice hardening), and it makes a very usable knife. A lot of seasoned makers still choose 0-1 for various reasons, and it is also one of the most common and cheaper steels out there. Sounds like you'll be using a material removal (stock removal) method. The other method is actually termed forging a blade (fire, anvil, hammer), but unless you're the among the most skilled makers out there, you've gotta grind the blade to final shape reguardless. Get precision ground O-1 flat stock in whatever thickness you want. I would recommend starting out with a thinner blade (around 1/8th inch) as it will take less filing to bevel the blade.
Laymans Terminology: Heat treating is the process of hardening the blade from its more easily worked (annealed) state into something that will hold a good edge. Done correctly, it makes for an extrememly hard steel, but it is brittle and would not stand up to hard use and may even break if dropped or even if just left in that state. Tempering is the process of relieving some of the stress caused from the hardening process and making the knife tougher. Done correctly, it will take some of the hardenss out of the steel, make it less brittle, and make it tougher for general and hard use.
For heat treating, all you HAVE to have is a decent torch (you can make a one brick forge for heat treating with a propane torch...do a search) and a bucket of canola or other such oil and a means to heat it to ~140 degrees (for a very low tech/basic heat treat). Obviously, you'll have better consistancy with a heat treat oven and good quenching oil, but usually starting makers don't have access to those. Also, others will use a charcoal forge for forging and heat treating.
Heat the steel as evenly as possible into the glowing red range and check the steel with a magnet. This is very difficult to do without some sort of heat concentrating device like a one brick forge. Once the steel looses its magnetism, keep heating a minute or so longer and then immediately quench in the oil. You've got less than a second to take the blade from heat to oil. Keep the blade in the oil until it's just hot enough to hold, then briefly wash it off in hot water and place it in your household or a toaster oven heated to around 400 for 1- 1&1/2 hours for the tempering process. Let it cool to room temperature and then bake again at 400 for the same time period.
Tell us what kind of tools you have to work with. You can make knives using just a decent set of files, sandpaper, and a drill, or you can work much easier using a belt grinder (with practice). Using a bench grinder will be very difficult to grind the blade bevels. I would say you'd be better off to use the grinder to complete the profile of the blade and then hand-file your bevels.
I would recommend going by Hastings or Barnes and Noble and looking in the crafts section for a book or two on knife making. They're usually by the wood working books or smithing books.
The search function on this site can be your best friend. Do a search for filing a blade, etc. and you will find information you need. Also, the stickies at the top of the forum have some priceless and very useful information in them. Spend several hours reading up and researching what you are doing. The longer you are involved in this hobby/profession, the more you will learn. Pay attention to the guys who have been here forever, they have pearls of wisdom you will only learn otherwise by spending a lifetime hammering/grinding blades.
Good luck, welcome to the forums, and have fun!
--nathan
