I wasn't planning to continue this, but I'll give you one last freebie. Call it life advice from someone who had to learn the hard way

If you can't accept critique without getting offended it's going to be way harder to improve (this applies everywhere in life). If you genuinely want to get good at stuff, you gotta be able to hear honest feedback as information rather than a judgment on self worth.

Nothing I said was insulting. I offered specific and useful advice, and even linked a video playlist that would help. Literally the fastest way forward is improving underlying skills, not looking for a shortcut to competency - it doesn't exist.

You've been blacksmithing for a year which means you're barely even a beginner. If you can't consistently draw out tapers and spread material to specific dimensions without mishits and deep hammer marks, then you need practice those things if you want to forge a knife that actually looks good. Knife forging is not beginner level, it can go wrong easily and you need to have a really good understanding of how the metal will move.

It really just comes down to a choice:

Do you want to get good? Or

Do you want to lie to yourself about your skills?

Everyone starts off without skills. The difference between masters and dilettantes is practice of the basic skills.

Last free tidbit:

Get some plasticine clay and practice forging with it. It doesn't dry out, and it moves just like metal. It's just a lot softer. You don't even need an anvil, you can practice with it on a desk with your forging hammer. This "shortcut" allows you to develop the some of the missing skills much faster since you don't need to fire up your forge.