We were just at Colonial Willimasburg in Virginia, and my sons were fascinated watching the blacksmith make nails. I specifically mentioned that I always thought the term "blacksmith" came from them being covered in soot, and he told me that, in fact, it did not. The term arises from the metal used (usually iron), which turns black during the heating process through oxidization. The term "smith" comes from "smite", as they hit the metal to shape it. This is in contrast to the foundry, where metal is poured, never beaten. :0)
what The Pook says is true; you can't count on someone in the industry to know the origin of the word. I'm inclined to agree on the black part of blacksmith (a whitesmith works in tin and wrought iron is black in finished state) I have trouble with the smith/smite part. OE
smitan, from which we got MnE
smite meant 'daub, smear, defile.' OE had the verb
smišian, 'to forge, fabricate, design.' Whether they are related sometime back before English I'd leave to the likes of Nuncle.
