Jag tror att detta och ännu mer denna länk förklara problemet ganska bra.
Till sistnämnda kan jag tillägga att en yxa gör det mycket bättre att hugga vapen än ett svärd, vilket gör det mer användbart för rang-och-fil-soldaten, speciellt med tanke på dvärgens arketypiska karaktär, brist på fin fingerfärdighet och villighet för utsökt swordplay.
Det finns också andra omständigheter. Pansarmål? Ax / falchion / morningstar är bättre än ett allmänt svärd. Obarmat mål? Hämta din scimitar. Unprofessional / klumpig / tungt rustad wielder? Glöm svärd, ax är lättare att använda. Fonder är begränsade? Glöm svärd, det kostar en förmögenhet.
Sidotag: Tolkiens dvärgar hanterade sverd bara bra ibland (Torin, till exempel).
EDIT: I enlighet med förfrågan inkluderar jag citatet från den andra länken i inlägget:
Useful for chopping wood and heads alike, axes are often pressed into service as weapons. An axe's wide, cleaving head is effective against armor, making it a slower and more powerful weapon than a sword, though not quite as massive as a hammernote . Smaller axes, such as the tomahawk or the francisca, can be used as throwing weapons. In certain media, they may even return to the user's hand like a boomerang, though they have the tendency to stick in enemies if they score a hit.
Historically, due to being somewhat easier to manufacture, their general familiarity to the peasant population and mobility (real-life combat axes were small and rarely weighed more than one kilo), they used to be the close combat Weapon of Choice of the common foot soldiers, as opposed to the officers and nobility, who wore swords (which were generally too expensive for commoners). While military weapons were often illegal for peasants to own, axes are tools, and avoid the prohibition. Franks used them extensively (lending their name to the francisca), and nowadays axes are associated with dwarves, Orcs, Vikings (and other members of proud warrior races), barbarians, medieval executioners, woodcutters, firefighters, and psychopaths (giving Ax Crazy its name and meaning). If the Big Guy of a Five-Man Band isn't using a hammer or his bare fists, he'll generally use a gigantic axe as a weapon. For extra comedy, the Cute Bruiser may be given a head-chopper bigger than the rest of her body.
May also include halberds and other poleaxes, which combine the chopping power of an axe with the range of a Blade on a Stick.