Just had my best bud in Oregon take a week long course on sword making from a Japanese master. Each student made a sword from start to finish with the master's assistance. The video and photos show people grinning from ear to ear. i can find the info if anyone is interested.
If you are looking for some cheap or free steel, talk to a farmer. They probably have some old files, rasps, and disk openers laying around. My first knives were made from broken files and disk openers with a bench grinder, a good file, emery cloth, and a cutting torch. It can be done with less. The disk openers were good for learning how to even up the lines of the blade, and working out the heat treatments. Make a few unfinished ones, beat the snot out of them, learn what you did right/wrong, and try again. Not saying that I was right or wrong, but I didn't want to spend money on bar stock until I knew what I was doing.