Here's a 2x42 grinder for $126, it will be better than a 1x30. Tru-Grit.com sells a big selection of belts for 2x42. Note this is not a high quality grinder, but better than the 1" wide grinders and it can take a 1x42 belt as well for shaping handles. Either that or invest in a lot of high quality files.
https://www.zoro.com/dayton-beltdisc...45/i/G2309045/
As for a forge, look at your local community colleges, some have blacksmithing classes and even knife forging classes. A college near me has both. You may find you do not care much for pounding steel and I noticed you talk about chef's knives. Just know you are not going to be forging stainless, you need to be an expert and have a super hot forge to do it. You also cannot heat treat stainless in a forge without a lot of other stuff like thermocouples and exact heat control. Just so you know. You will be working with high carbon steels like 1084 which is inexpensive so if you mess up it isn't a big deal. As for anvils you saw what everyone said and same for a forge.
Please note you can send your knives out to professional heat treaters like Peters or Texas Knife Supply. Also you will need some good files and a good vise. A cheap drill press would be better than a hand drill. The $50 Knife Shop by Wayne Goddard is also a good place to start. You'll also need to buy some wet-dry sandpaper in varying grits for hand finishing. I may have a grinder, but every knife I make gets hand finished as most makers will tell you that theirs do as well. Up to 600 grit for starters. I even use diamond compound for polishing blades by hand.
You can make a knife almost entirely by hand except maybe drilling the holes, so yes you can do it cheaply. Files, hacksaw, a vise and sandpaper will get it done, my first grinder was a 3x21 belt sander clamped to a table so you can certainly improvise. Even an angle grinder can be used if you already have one.