[Falonthas]

this mentioned something that rings a good bell in my head

why not have an apprentice style system for crafting? then instead of PC grinding to be the best crafter of this or that they would have to pass structured tests to move from apprentice to journeyman to master

and have those ranks be seen as status in the world

it reminds me of the dragonriders of pern books
you have many mastersmiths but of them all there is one chosen as "the mastersmith"
many journeyman serving under various masters across the realm
and apprentices who are just learning the basics of their craft

items made by apprentices would have to be seconded by their master of record to sell anything they make and it would bear the mark of such work

journeyman are the majority of the crafters as only the best of the craft are elevated to master status

then you could have staying with the smithcrafts
one who specializes in each metal and has his own separate hall for teaching those who would learn his specialty

most would simply be smiths, iron and steel like mentioned above

for those special items, you may have to travel to the far reaches for the one special hall that makes those items

in that local area the items would be commonplace, but across the isles they would be rare indeed