unknown stainless steel and other information help

[xyszha]

i am new to making knives this is my first knife, i got some stainless steel for free and i do not know what kind of steel it is, my concern is... do i need to get stainless steel heat treated? and do i need to know the type of steel in order to heat treat it properly? if so is there any way of telling what kind of steel it is? i believe it is 1/8 thickness not sure on that either. here are some pictures of what i have so far http://www.geocities.com/xyszha/121_2108.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/xyszha/121_2112.JPG
it is all done with a file, ive been trying to get that grove where it tapers down from thicker to less thick steel from middle to the edge of the blade if you know what i mean but it turns out more rounded and less noticable any ideas on how to get it more in groved i take it most people use power tools to do this. any suggestions welcome

[fitzo]

Check it with a magnet. If it doesn't stick, it's not heat treatable, and you have some valuable practice....

If it does stick, that still doesn't mean it's hardenable to blade needs. To be honest, it is not worth it for a newbie to mess with "mystery steel". Anywhere you send it for heat treat they will have to know what it is. To try and do it at home might take multiple tries, as the conditions vary depending on the steel. That takes special equipment. In my opinion, just not worth it except for practice.

[singertat2]

lookin good so far do i notice a lil striderish influence in the handle??