A couple of ideas to contribute here, in no particular order.

Heat-treating can be done with propane (MAPP is hotter, though and works faster) if you have a good way to contain the heat. If you take one soft firebrick and drill a hole about 1" in diameter for about 6 inches deep, then another 3/4" hole from the side, you can blow the torch in the side and the whole thing turns into a micro-forge. Look for Wayne Goddard's book The $50 Knife Shop at a library for details. I've heat-treated several blades in one of these and it does work well.

When you are hardening a blade, use a magnet to determine whether it is ready to quench. When the magnet no longer sticks, the blade is ready to dunk.

I use a mixture of vegetable oil and parafin for my quenchant. It is semi-solid at room temperature, but gets the blades hard.

Knife making is not all that complicated, but the devil is in the details. Just as anyone who can run a sewing machine can make a kilt-like garment, anyone who can work a file and hacksaw can make a knife that cuts. However, making a nice kilt or a fine knife will take a bit more work and some real experience. What impresses me about this project is that it look so much better than most first knives (or tenth knives, really). I think it was a great thing to do and a wonderful thing to share.

-Patrick