My only suggestion would be to replace the top die with a slitter to eliminate the possibility of a crooked cut, and don't ask how I know that.
John http://www.gearhartironwerks.com
Annealing allows the steel to relax, plus I always have other billets and blades in various stages, some of which needs to be annealed for cutting, restacking, slitting etc. Might as well do everything at once for thermal mass.