[Ecky]

I've actually never considered magnetizing only small sections of a continuous steel object before. I'm not even certain you can, or how the field would propagate (would it cancel itself out?) and I'm not having any luck searching for an answer.

My best guess is that it isn't possible. I imagine the fields would cancel.

EDIT: It appears to be possible. It would likely be a very weak magnet depending on how the poles interact, and would be prohibitively expensive to manufacture. It's a fun thought experiment though.