[Low-Tech/Basic] Pick: War Club or Pickaxe

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Balor Patch

That's backwards. Woodcutting axes tend to have heavy wedge-like heads while war axes (at least dane axes) have their thin smiles.

Woodcutting axes are optimized for... hitting wood. A very large number of times. Weapons are going to hit far fewer times, and thus don't need anywhere near as much durability. However, a wood axe may well substitute quantity for quality.

The net effect is that cheap (balance) is probably more appropriate, because even if the wood axe is made of cheaper metal, it's not going to be easier to break (it might be easier to cut through the haft, though).