Thats one thing that really irritates me about the Blacksmith, the magical properties of the gear are totally random. I upgrade him religiously because Im a head case like that but stopped using him after I had to craft the same shoulder armor four times before I got stats I could use. A failing in the game IMO, the Blacksmith should automatically produce the correct gear for whichever class is crafting it at the time.
At least the class items, like wizard hat or barbarian belts, should get the right stats. There's nothing fun about 10th wizard hat with strength and dexterity on it.