I guess I missed it, since I'm already at the Forge of Xshathra, and have the combat axe from the temple of farum, but where was the biting axe? Would have been useful, even if the queen's sword was at least OK all the way to the temple?

The Biting Axe can be first found in the Fortress of Nemrut. Once you get into the inner fortress, look and listen for a breeze in an outside area. Go down to the right of the breeze to find it.

Yes, it's first found in Fortress of Nemrut. It's very useful, until the sword of Ianna and the Doom hammer. You might even want to keep it for the final boss. The combat axe has really weird arc that rarely touches enemies.

Can you post a screenshot please? I was struggling with the dwarf, and then my saves got corrupted, so I would need to find it should I try again

Here's some screengrabs from a youtube video