Welcome to shop talk. Fill out the info in your profile. Knowing where you live and a bit about you may let a nearby maker offer you some help, materials, or shop space.
Best way to get supplies shipped to Hawaii is in USPS flat rate boxes. Suppliers like Alpha, Jantz, K&G, Texas Knife Supply, etc. are all familiar with shipping to Hawaii.
A-ebl is an excellent knife stainless steel. Avoid the error of many new makers in making kitchen knives too thick - .10" is very thick, .06-.07" is what most of us use for kitchen knives. An excellent carbon steel is 26C3.
Handles can be made of many things. Wood is the easiest to work with hand tools. You want a small saw, a combo rasp, and lots of AO sandpaper. A combo micro-plane/rasp or saw-rasp is nice to have, too. Finishes like Tru-oil will work fine for hand worked handles. Handle blocks and scales are available from most all knife suppliers.
Making knives is not a clean hobby. The metal filings and dust will get everywhere no matter how much you try to contain them. It may be best to do the work outside on a picnic table or folding table. The only tip I can give you for working inside an apartment is to put a blanket on the work table and fold it up on the dust/grit to take outside and shake out. One on the floor under the table wouldn't be a bad idea, too. Working wet will greatly reduce airborne dust. Water with a few drops of dish soap and a teaspoon of baking soda is a good work solution. You can even file wet. Sanding is far easier and cleaner when done wet. Some folks with limited space have worked over a bathtub or sink.
A small and cheap 1X30 with disc grinder from Harbor Freight or similar stores can work for learning. It can be run off an extension cord outside.
The best files for use will be name brand files like Nicholson, Simonds, etc. The magi-cut files are very good for stock removal. You want a flat bastard and a second cut. If using files only, a finish cut is also good.
The abrasives (sandpaper) you need for the metal work will be 100 grit through 800 grit.. Get a good wet-or-dry brand like Ryno-wet or 3M. You will want lots of it if doing finishing by hand. Remember to change the water, wash the blade, clean up the sanding area, and wash your hands every time you change to a finer grit paper. If you don't you will get stray coarser grits contaminating the sanding at finer grits and causing scratches.
DMT diamond stones (actually resin bonded metal plates) are good but aren't cheap. A 8" or 10" DMT Duo-sharp stone with coarse/fine is a good investment for working down a hardened bezel and putting a starter edge on. You also want the base stand (often comes with the set) A set of two Duo-sharp stones in X-coarse/coarse and fine/X-fine is really useful.
You will also want a good sharpening stone with a medium and a fine side. Norton and similar brands are the most used.
