I didn't farm intentionally at first. He had a partner and I had to block their attacks or get overwhelmed... then I noticed almost every other time I blocked I'd improve blocking skill, so I kept at it until I hit 100. After I reached 80 it took about 8-10 blocks to improve the skill one point.

That's the Blades sword. It's a steel weapon (I enchanted with frostbite). Not that powerful, but looks cool.