On the inventory page and also in a shop? It this possible or am I missing something very obvious?

Putting one of the swords my characters started with up to the eye it says "This is a sword!"

lol.

I'm hoping for something a bit more descriptive stat-wise.

Equip the armor and take a look how armor class and attack/parry value are affected.
Equip the weapon and check attack/parry value changes. For damage who have to look at the character wielding it during combat.

RoA2 allows to identify weapons more easily.

You could make a list on your own or simply look at a pre-made weapon list.

I was hoping for a better mechanic but thanks for the info. I'll look forward to RoA2!