True - Yes.
To the same degree hardened as quenching - No.
It is called cold working and not really an option for knifemaking beyond primitive attempts at hardening an edge. Where is has uses is in non-hardened things that are machined and then need more wear resistance.
Shock Hardening, AKA explosive forging, is done to harden things from low alloy steel. IIRC, this converts lamellar pearlite into lath martensite in low carbon steel. Again, not suitable for knives.
Work hardening is caused by disruptions of the grain boundaries, not by phase changes. In low carbon steel it can increase toughness. In high carbon steel it may damage the blade by creating micro-cracks.
Cold working is used in copper and bronze to make hardened edges. It is the process used to make copper/bronze weapons.
