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Welcome! I hope you find this hobby as rewarding as most of us do.
A couple of things:
What is in the other half of your garage? I hope it's nothing that doesn't enjoy being dusty as hell all the time. Stock removal makes dust! All the steel goes into the air and lands all over the place. Since you haven't the room for a small forge, then its a sure bet that you have no dust collection system. Just be mindful of that.
If possible, keep the small propane forge (that you will certainly get) near the garage door. Just open the door when you fire it up. Winter wont matter--its a forge.
If you MUST use a torch, line a paint can with Insulwool, secure it on its side, cut a small hole to set your torch head in, set two firebricks at the mouth to retain heat, and work in the gap between them. That is a poor man's propane forge. It takes about as much space as your computer screen.
I use 1095 and have success with peanut oil at 130-140 degrees. I heat it with scrap steel bars and check it with a meat thermometer. Warm oil is key. I have also used canola oil and olive oil. I like peanut because it comes in 3 gallon quantities for turkey fryers.
Design a knife you like on paper and work hard to bring that design to fruition. That will teach you precision and will help you toward making a knife with the performance characteristics that you desire.
Enjoy!
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