Historically you see an evolution away from maces and axes. In archeology one of the ways you determine if civilizations went to war is to see if they developed maces. The spear was a dual purpose weapon meant for hunting and war but the mace was designed specifically for war. You also find the axe falling out of favor as well when armor starts to improve. One handed axed can't be that heavy and you still have the surface area vs. force problem.

Again, later era swords re-emphasized piercing over slashing and could be employed quite effectively against armor without being damaged. *Spiked* hammers with a bonus vs. armor perhaps, but a lower overall attack value should be used.