A permeable quartzose sandstone was subjected to full-scale cutting tests under a chisel-type drag pick, in both dry and fully saturated conditions. Contrary to the results observed from disc cutting tests in the same setup with the same rock ( Abu Bakar and Gertsch, 2011), saturation actually increased the cutting (drag) and normal (vertical) forces by 9.9% and 9.4%, respectively. The specific energy of cutting also was greater in the saturated samples, by 28%. More expectedly, the relation of fracture surface area to specific energy was confirmed through several descriptors of chip size distribution, including the Rosin-Rammler x' parameter, and the empirical coarseness index. An inverse power relation between coarseness index and specific energy was also confirmed.