Differences between Phys. Damg. Weapons

I'm a newbie of sorts, and i use an axe. It seems like a better melee weapon, with lots of speed and skills, but i'm not totally sure. Can someone outline the differences between swords, hammers, and axes?

Weapons and Items
Base Item Properties
Warrior Profession

And there probably is still more information at the site itself, not to mention all the information you could find by searching the forums here.

Sword and Axe got the same and fastest attack speed. Hammer is a bit slower.
Max Axe Dmg: 6-28.......... Attack speed 1.33 seconds
Max Sword Dmg: 15-22..... Attack speed 1.33 seconds
Max hammer Dmg: 19-35... Attack speed 1.75 seconds

With general terms of how weapon skills are usually set:
Swords = Average. Most skills are damage dealing.
Hammer = High damage / knockdown
Axe = Big damage range, highest chance to crit. Speed & lots of conditions.

Thanx Pinch, that's pretty much what i was looking for.