To get started, it's best to have a forge of decent (50+) QL. The reason for having a good forge is that the higher QL a forge has, the longer it will stay lit. It will also heat items up faster.
In order to practice blacksmithing and it's subsequent skills, you will need the following tools: whetstone, hammer, pelt, and water (usually in a barrel).You will also want can only improve items to the QL of your tools and resources. This is why it's important to have the best (high QL) tools and resources you can get your hands on. You can only improve items to the QL of your tools and resources.
What I find handy, when working to increase this skill, is to make multiple copies of an item and work on them all simultaneously. It's best to have an item for each queue slot that you have access to. For example to start off, you'll want three items to work on. 20-29.99 mind logic allows you to have three actions queued. When you reach 30 mind logic it would be beneficial to work on four items.