Saltys 1h axe suffers from the same difference in the game as the BoP. Ambiente enemys.
In V1, ambiente enemys were a significant threat, which made axe and pistols useful for clearing them, since they were usually in small groups of 3-5 clanrats with the occasional stormvermin. The other threats, horde and boss, could be dealt with the Devastating Blow and Backstab trait.
In V2, the threat in ambiente enemys lies in more armored elites, which are now dealt with high damage ranged weapons. Every other non-elite ambiente enemy is usually killed during a horde. Since we also dont have Devastating Blow anymore and hordes are now coming in three waves, the axe and pistols just have another disadvantage to deal with.
Axe and BoP would need a serious buff against armored enemys to become a somehwhat significant choice again. But it seems like, they are just not the right weapons for the game itself anymore.