Crafting across 4 races

[gaspode1]

I think one of the things I most enjoy about Ryzom is how thought provoking it is!

Anyway, my next question which I'm sure some helpful people out there will know the answer to is:-

Crafting, particularly of weapons & armour, seems to have a similar item list across all 4 races. There may be exceptions to this as I have not done an exhaustive comparative study. Any exceptions may or may not be important.

I assume that cosmetically the items for the 4 races all look different - is my assumption correct?

However, in principle, in terms of stats, is a Zorai light armour sleeve the same as a Tryker, or any other races, light armour sleeve (obviously, I mean for a given quality created using a given set of materials).

I've only just started crafting so I'm trying to get my head round whether particular items for any particular races can be considered 'best' in some way and I should therefore try and craft those items. If differences are purely cosmetic then I will have different reasons for picking whatever I decide to craft.

Hope I've explained the issue clearly & look forward to hearing from the world & it's cousin as to how it hangs together.