Well this doesn't look like much but at least I got a start. I built a fire and tossed in a few files and a couple of pieces of industrial cutter blades. I let it burn while I spent 4.5 hours mowing and raking the yard. It got away from me since I haven't had time to mow it.
I'm hoping the steel will be soft and annealed by tomorrow. The fire was still going when I came inside at dark. Somewhere in that bed of coals is a handful of future knives.