Took a hiatus from the game and decided to give 17 a try. Perk up my intelligence and crafted my fist green axe. Looking at the stats, only difference is how long before repairs? All other stats were the same?
No. The mod slot stat is different. That green axe can hold 3 mods which will each add block damage in addition to whatever special ability they bestow. So racing up to green before you have mods to fill three slots isn't necessarily advisable unless you like the longer durability on its own but once you have some stuff to attach then for sure getting to green and attaching those things will give you a way better green axe than any alpha's green axe before.
In addition the axe now counts as a bladed weapon which is new for A17 so the mods will also increase entity damage.