I like this. The only thing I'd change is instead of increasing the skill value by x%, I'd have it decrease the variance off your lore output.

I.e: If the AC of an item is 10, you might get anywhere from 5 to 15 as lore output. With the edge, you'd get something like 8-12 more often.

Sidenote: Even the dumb races have an easy time maxing lore, as it improves via observation.