“Chopping the fire-wood into small pieces is done by women who crouch down with bent knees to do it. In place of a chopping block, they utilize the ground, the door-sill of stone or wood, the paving of the yard or street, it matters not the cutting edge is foolproof.”

Apparently if you chop level to the ground the bit at the end prevents the blade from going into the ground. This picture is from Shanghai, where I presume chopping wood on the door-sill or the road would be about your only option.