I have chopped tatamis with my eastern style viking axe. It maimed, not chopped or cut through but maimed. The edge was a bit to short to cut off the tatami but cult clean clean through 90% of the tatami before it cut itself free. I was suprised and the other HEMA folk who all luse swords were genuinely suprised by the performance of my axe. As mounted presently the edge is alinged slightly backwards towards me, but with a very sharp and strong point leading the cut. So it bit firmly and the edge followed on cutting and because it was turned slightly backwards it cut itself free without getting stuck.
It strikes me that while this makes the axe a bit more tricky to chop trees and such with, the leading point would still make chopping firewood pretty easy and it makes for a nasty beak that could potentially pierce a helmet or chainmail. Intially, all the force will be on that point, just like with an icepick.
