Ok, I have tried it: I choosed male, Nomads, Craftsman's apprentice, Mining/Smelting, Craftsman or worker, Horse rearing, Wanderlust.
That leaves me with 0% blacksmithing, 10% fletching, 35% Mining/Smelting, 5% Leatherworking, 55% Horse rearing and 5% Tailoring. Then I purchased tools and iron. When trying to craft something at the blacksmith I can't craft anything - no blade, no armor, even no arrowheads. It's impossible to craft something with 0% skill. Therefore it's impossible to improve that skill.
As we can see: leatherworking and tailoring both have 5% - so blacksmithing should have also at least 5% initially.
When I would be able to use a smithy in RL I bet I could come up with something that looks like a blade. At least with something to stab somebody or cut someone's throat - and I'm as far a blacksmith in RL than a cow would be.
