Welcome. And as a fellow AT'er also I will pass on some general things I've learned in my limited time to just mull over in addition to the counts guide (which is fantastic). This is basically what was told to me when I first got here and has stuck ever since thanks to many of the great folks here who have helped and continue to help with me. There are a few things you're going to want to consider.
First the type of steel you plan on using. You can go with something like a high carbon or stainless. High carbon you can likely heat treat (HT) yourself stainless you'll likely have to have sent out unless you happen to have a fairly specialized shop. For high carbon 1084 is about the most forgiving you can get for a DIYer. Keep in mind there is also the possibility of having a company do the HT for you which is nothing to be ashamed of. It guarantees it'll be done right and you'll also know the hardness of the steel.
Second, think easy. There is a lot of time, blood, sweat, tears, and aggravation making a knife. And if you get addicted to it (which is almost inevitable) you'll have plenty of time to make more. The idea is you don't want to try and paint the Mona Lisa when you've never picked up a paint brush. Full tang knives tend to be the easiest, things like inlays can sometimes be done but again is a lot more advanced than making a knife. Again you can always incorporate these things down the road.
Third, fill out your profile. You might get lucky and realize someone here is close to you and might be able to help you out face to face.
Gonna stop numbering here because there is a lot and I'll probably miss some things. Draw some knives, come up with designs if you want post them on here and people will critique them if you ask. Once you have a design laid out make a mock up of one out of cardboard, or if you're ambitious wood. See how it feels in your hand there are a lot of things that look good on paper that don't feel right in the hand. Figure out what tools you have available. A knife can be built with a hacksaw, files, sandpaper, and a ton of elbow grease. Everything else just makes the job go a bit faster and allows you to make bigger mistakes quicker. Everyone wants to build their "dream" knife right out of the gate, few if any, do. The idea is like anything else.... Get the basics down, see what is involved, actually make something sharp and pointy that is functional and know what it takes to do it. Then you can perfect from there. Heck you can make the exact same knife over and over and with little tweaks here and there, different materials, etc make it look better. Chances are it will be anyway since every time you make a knife you usually learn something. Hope that gets you started.
