Knife????

There's a lot that goes into making a knife. Things like size, grind and steel type are important. The most important part is the heat treat (that's were it's quenched to harden and tempered). An inferior steel with a proper heat treat will always out perform a better steel with a bad heat treat.

One end around for someone who doesn't have heat treating equipment is to use a good file (I like Nicholsons and Black Diamonds). I work them in the hardened state then temper them. They make most excellent knives and by working them hard it takes the guess work out of the heat treat. If you are truly interested in knifemaking you should join forums like knifenetwork.com and http://www.theironforgefire.com/

For laughs I'll include a pic of one of those file knives.

Dags for forges and knife making. Carbon steel is the best for a DIY project, tool steel is a good alternative. Learning to temper any tool properly takes time, heat and clear bright sunshine to catch the color just right.

best to use tool steel which has a high carbon mix and can be hardened and tempered and will keep a sharp edge for a long time