Abstract: Blind shaft drilling method represents a typical mechanical rock-breaking technique for large-diameter vertical shafts, where wedge-tooth cutters serve as primary rock fragmentation tools on drill bits. The rock-breaking mechanism of wedge-tooth cutters provides crucial scientific basis for optimizing cutter arrangement and determining technical parameters. Based on reconstructed weakly cemented rock samples, acoustic emission (AE) monitoring tests were conducted during wedge-tooth cutter fragmentation, revealing the correlation between rock damage progression and AE characteristic parameter evolution. Key findings demonstrate: Under constant thrust force, initial cutter penetration immediately reaches peak AE ringing counts, which gradually decrease with repeated fragmentation cycles. AE energy exhibits similar evolutionary patterns. When thrust force increases from 80 kN to 160 kN, cumulative AE ringing counts and energy show exponential growth, accompanied by accelerated rock damage accumulation and intensified failure. AE source localization effectively visualizes fracture zones, with damage depth and range expanding dramatically under higher thrust forces. Increased thrust force reduces specific energy consumption while improving fragmentation efficiency. A ternary relationship among thrust force, specific energy consumption, and cumulative AE energy is established. The results provide theoretical foundations for determining weakly cemented rock fragmentation ranges and elucidating underlying mechanisms.