Crafting or blacksmithing is pointless considering the point investment right now, IMO. The few things to make are not better than random loot found and will gimp a character in combat if you waste points and talents on this. It really feels annoying and tacked on, but it did so from the beginning.
It does, however, seem like you can take the random loot you find and improve the stats on it via crafting. At least that's been my experience so far, which is helping it to pay off more (and countering the sting of the
"this item I found is better than the stuff I can craft" problem).
Edit: OMG, this post is a year old. Darn it, Rattle! :P I was like
"Why does Crom's post seem so less jaded than normal?".