Blacksmithing is one of the most expensive of World of Warcraft’s professions. On the other hand, it is also one of the most rewarding of the professions. Specifically designed for Warriors and Paladins, it is able to make chain and plate armor, and almost every type of weapon you could think of. In its higher levels, it can make weapons that rival boss monster’s epic drops in quality. If you are willing to pay the price in materials to be able to craft items, it will be a highly rewarding profession.
Blacksmithing, as stated earlier, is specifically for the plate-wearing classes, the Warrior and Paladin. However, there are a fair amount of chain recipes, so if your Hunter or Shaman is in need of armor, you may have good use for the Blacksmithing profession.
Mostly, Blacksmithing is for creating armor. A fair amount of the recipes are weapons, however. In addition to the many, many armor and weapon plans, there are also a few different side items. You will be able to create various levels of Skeleton Keys, very useful for unlocking doors and chests. You will also be able to create Weapon Chains, an enchantment of sorts that will make it so that a weapon will not be affected by the Disarm ability. You can also make Mithril Spurs, a boot enchantment that will increase the speed of your mount.
You can also make Sharpening Stones and Weightstones. Sharpening stones are one of the essentials for any Rogue, Warrior, or any other class using a bladed weapon. It will, for a half an hour, increase the damage of a bladed weapon. The amount that the stone increases the damage by depends on the quality of the stone. Weightstones do the same thing, except they will do it for blunt weapons, like maces, hammers, and staves, making it useful for any class that tends to use blunt weapons. Paladins would find these useful. Like Sharpening Stones, Weightstones have more of a damage increase if they are higher quality.
If you are a shield user, than Blacksmithing supplies something for you, too. Shield Spikes are an enchantment, which will make your shield do damage when blocking attacks. The amount of damage also depends on the quality of the shield spike. There are four different types, Iron, Mithril, Thorium, and Felsteel. Felsteel will do the most damage when you block, while Iron does the least.
When you get high enough in skill, you will be able to choose a specialization. You may choose either Armorsmithing, or Weaponsmithing. Furthermore, if you choose Weaponsmithing, you may specialize further as a Swordsmith, an Axesmith, or a Hammersmith. These will give you the ability to create extremely powerful weapons, some of which only you, as a powerful Blacksmith, will be able to use.
Blacksmithing is expensive. There is no doubt about it. But, those costs can be cut down extremely by taking up Mining as a secondary profession. And if you are able and willing to take up the cost of leveling up Blacksmithing, it will prove to be a profession that will net you a lot of good weapon and armor pieces. You will even have the ability to create a Legendary weapon, an accomplished feat if you can successfully attempt it.