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One of the reasons, probably the main reason, we recommend starting with 1084 is that it is a very forgiving steel with regard to heat treating. Straight from Aldo you should not need to normalize and, straight from Aldo, I would think that the steel would tend to bend so much that breaking it would be difficult.
The only grain size that matters is what you have after the HT is finished. If you have to normalize to get a fine grain then do so, otherwise don't. Working out things like this, finding the correct temperature for the steel you have, getting the quench correct, through experimentation is what makes us knife makers. Make some coupons, do the tests, and find out what works with the steel you have. When you think you have it right, make a blade and do all the edge tests, cutting tests, and then break it to see if the grain matches your best coupon. If the knife performed the way you wanted it to and if the grain looked as good as your best coupon then you have your process. It would be very difficult for anyone to give you more specific instructions than that with any assurance that the instruction would really answer your questions because we don't have your steel, your heat source, your oil, and we can't really see what you see. Follow the process I outlined being as careful as you can to be consistent with each step and you should find your answers...
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