It's also not very expensive to get something that works. For example, a req 12 axe does just as much damage as a req 8 one, but is far far cheaper because the mods aren't as easy on the eye of perfectionists. My axe is custom built, but green ones are relatively cheap, and even making your own gold one isn't that hard on the wallet.
All of mine are ones I've found, and the mods for all 4 of them only cost about 15k in total. They all have 'of Defence' on, because it's supposedly better than fortitude, and since it's much cheaper I'm not going to argue.
If you want to, you can just craft your own max damage axe from the Command Post a little later in NF, but I wouldn't recommend it. You need materials plus 5k and it doesn't come with any mods, you still have to get them yourself. I would recommend just using ones you may find at first because those will get the job done, and once you get around 15-20k or so try to buy a green axe (granted I'm sure some fall outside that range, but that's just a goal to shoot for).