A possible improvement could be made by cryo- deep cold treatment. If you use dry ice in acetone it will not cost much. More economical to do several blades at once. I use a small ice chest. But as others suggest, might not be a great idea not put so much effort into steel that is not good for knives to begin with. But if you are just playing around learning. maybe develop a standard, a meaningful reference point to compare improvements to. I personally like the 'brass rod test.' I guess you can look that up. I use brazing rod. You sharpen to a known sharpness, I use 600 grit belt. Not super sharp, it's just a rough fast test on a unfinished blade. Cut paper, swipe the brass rod like you are trying to cut it, count how many times you can swipe rod and still cut paper. Most factor knives go 30 to 50 swipes. An ok standard for custom is 200. 400 is possible. This gives you a comparison when you work on this knife and want to compare to future work or other blades. There are flex tests, brittle tests, but this would get you started. Salt water would be better than soap water. Good high carbon will warp or crack unless you know what you are doing. Oils are much better. But yes, depends on kind of steel you choose. A W mark on steel means a water quench. I do not work with the W series steels much. Moving up from a spike, I'd go next to the old reliable 1084 just good carbon does not cost a lot, and great knives get made from this. You could spend years just learning about 1085. Good luck!!!