I'm not sure what the initial equipment is that is listed in the items.000 file of a new game. Some of it is just low quality stuff that isn't going to have random bonuses (rakes, pots, etc), just some set damage or armour rating. The rest may be pre-generated stuff the game can just pick randomly to drop, or placeholder data that the game can eventually overwrite as new items are found during gameplay.
There is equipment that is consistently in every game, but the stats are still random.
If you quick save before running your mouse over an item/chest/merchant or hitting the alt key, you can identify the item or trade with the merchant, then quick load to get different stats or inventory. This can be done repeatedly to get the best stats or specific bonuses on an item (save after finding good candidates) or looking for specific items (such as spellbooks or charms) from merchants.
