Pick axe stone axe difference

[Antaraner]

Where is the difference between stone axe and pick axe for mining.
And i dont mean one is better then the other, i mean the math.
A q10 pick is better then a q10 axe thats clear.
But how does it scale? A q10 pick is like a q? axe ?

[lachlaan]

I want to say a q10 pickaxe is like a q20 axe. Jorb phrased it as "A pickaxe contributes twice its qualities towards the mining ability formula" Mind you twice its abilities only means 1.41 times better at the end of the day, but then that's the same effectiveness a q20 axe would have when compared to a q10 one.

[VDZ]

See these recent posts from the grand list of simple questions for a more detailed comparison. The TL;DR is that a Pickaxe is practically always better for mining efficiency, but the hardness of rocks you can mine depends on quality. When I crafted my ~q15 pickaxe, it was much better at the nodes it could mine than my ~q70 stone axe, but I was left unable to mine my main ore node with it (which I could mine with my ~q70 stone axe).

Always go for a pickaxe unless the node is hard and there's a big difference in quality.