As T*O*F states,,use the HSS blanks as-is. Any of the store bought blanks of HHS, Cobalt, (carbide of course) or any number of proprietary steel names you might find. These are eccentially lathe tool blanks and not ment for the machinist to have to worry about HT,,just shaping.
1/8" is a very common use size for engravers. I went to 3/32" and found them even better as they took less time to shape. The point after all is what counts and that shouldn't be very big. Haveing to hog off extra material just to get the shape is time consuming.
A grinding wheel will get you there quicker but it's very easy to 'burn' some of the alloys and leave them less than full strength. Just like grinding a spring, you don't want to see it change color while shaping it.
Some of these alloys can take heat,,some cannot.
A better way is a belt grinder with a very course grit belt.
It will run cooler while cutting,,cut much faster than the ginding wheel and you can see what you're doing alot better than with a wheel IMHO.
I use a 100grit belt for shaping bits and keep a can of water handy too for the quick occasional dip.
If you handle it right you can actually let the belt cut a bit , then back off of it just enough to stop cutting but the course techture of the belt whips enough air accross the surface to cool the bit in a couple of moments,,and back to another few cuts again.
Then finish the flats and angles on a diamond plate in a fixture if you have one. Use your eye and hand co-ordination if not. I got away with doing it the latter way for 30 years till I finally broke down and bought a hone. Great investment for someone that does alot of work. Saves alot of time.
Carbide bits I use a dedicated wheel on a grinder just for carbide to shape them and then finish up on a diamond plate.
All that said,,the bits can be rough shaped on nothing but oil or water stones by hand and then the finished angles, heel, face etc put on with the same technique using finer stones by hand. People have done it that way for centurys.
I knew two engravers when I started that actually used a foot operated axe grinder/sharpener that was commonly found in farmyards years ago for the rough shaping. Did an excellent fairly quick job of it. No chance of over heating the tool bit. Easy on the arms too.
I used wooden handles on my gravers when I first started cutting. With a hardwood, they never split or mushroomed over. Gravers stayed in place fine. I was using round Stellite rod for gravers then. 1/8" dia leaving the end that went into the handle blunt with only a trace of a chamfer to allow it to be hammered into place in a predrilled hole.
The Stellite worked great as did the wooden handles. I did change to steel handles (1/2" sq? x 10"lg) with the set screw attachment for the graver a bit later.
I liked them even better. Easier on the hands and I liked the extra weight.
I continued to use those till I couldn't use a hammer & chisel anymore.
Try and retry different styles. You'll soon find what suits you best. Fatique and cramped hand muscles will be your best source of direction as much as quality of cut after some long sessions at the bench.
The few handles that you reject for engraving tools will never go wasted as they will become handles for all sorts of other hand tools that will cover your engraving and builders bench.
