My game of Skyrim seems to be bugged, but considering that it's Skyrim, and that I have almost 140 mods installed, I'm not all that surprised. What's bothering me is that something or other seems to be preventing me from improving my Smithing in any way. I've made approximately a [censored]ton of iron daggers and have not a single skill increase to show for it. I thought it might be because I used supplies from that Smithing chest mod, so I tried straight-up buying what I needed, but that didn't change anything. I'm now considering trying console commands to up my Smithing.

My question here is: if I use console commands to raise my Smithing, will it contribute to my overall level progress, or will the blue [censored] in my level bar stay where it is without progressing any further? Will using console commands here help me level up, or will I be cheating for no reason? (Because honestly, I only really grind Smithing so that I can level up and get perks from other trees).

Any answers, guesses, or ideas would be much appreciated!

Smithing skill increase is tied to item value. Iron daggers don't work much at all anymore because they're so low-value.

Find some gold or silver and some gems and make some jewelry. Also, try trainers.