This is tied to the “bug” (not sure if its actually a bug or just an oversight in coding that is working as intended) that makes it so that certain targets cannot be hurt/harvested because of sideways swings.
This bug was reported here: Hatchets and daggers missing targets on female characters
Right now, from what I’ve seen, tools are swung the same regardless of which mouse button is pressed, unlike weapons that have the light and heavy attacks bound to the different mouse buttons.
My suggestion is to do the same with tools, but it would be the angle they’re swung at.
Left mouse click - sideways (and upward) swings (currently used by hatchets, pickaxes, etc)
Right mouse click - downward swings. (currently used by picks, skinning knives, etc)
this would help with the target missing, at least for tools.